Port Talbot Wheelers 2-up 25 2/3/08

Riding the Port Talbot Wheelers 2-up 25 mile event in south Wales has become something of a Team Grumpy tradition in recent years. In the past, the event has been held on the fast R23/3 (or variant) course, which features the improbably fast descent of the Neath bank, a hill that you don' have to go up again! Due to roadworks, last year the event was run on the R25/24, an altogether more realistic course - this course was used again this year. In 2007, the weather was astoundingly vile, torrential rain coupled with strong winds.

Team Grumpy entered the event this year with particular enthusiasm, as we plan to ride the Duo Normand again this year, after missing last year's event. Both Gerry and I always look to this event for a glimpse of our form; this year we were particularly keen as Gerry's had a bad neck, and after a winter of diligent training (well, as diligent as my work life allows), I came down with something that resembled winter vomiting virus exactly two weeks before this event.

This year, I received a series of increasingly gloomy emails with dire weather forecasts from Gerry - on the day, however, we drove over to the HQ in quite pleasant though rather windy conditions. We'd requested an early start as we had a lunch reservation at Y Polyn, a rather excellent restaurant we usually go to after the event, so we were the second team to start. The R25/24 course begins by heading down the Neath valley on a dual carriageway (A465). On the day, this made pretty hard riding, as it was into the teeth of the wind. Fortunately, Team Grumpy were working well, taking spells of about 30sec each. While I felt at the time we were riding rather cautiously, in retrospect I'm glad we kept something back for the hilly second half. After the southern turn, we roared back up the dual carriageway to the halfway point, mostly clocking 30mph or more, before heading south again on the B road that runs alongside the main road. This road's considerably more challenging, with many short steep climbs that throw you off your rhythm. Added to which, there were considerable numbers of road-kill toads! Fortunately the overnight rain had mostly drained away, and other than the aforementioned flattened amphibia, there were no pools of standing water (as there were last year).

We finished with 57:58, which we were quite pleased with. It gave us 5th place, and we won the prize for first composite team. We were also pleased with the way we rode as a team - it's likely we will ride one (or both) of the upcoming Icknield RC and Team MK 2-up events in a few weeks' time.

While driving home the following day, we stopped off to look at the Uffington White Horse, and Uffington Castle. Very interesting, if a terribly exposed and bracing spot!

This is my pulse monitor trace (if you click on it, you'll get the full size version). The black, green and blue traces are heart rate, altitude, and speed respectively (speed has been multiplied by 4). The blue band represents level 3. The race ends where the pulse rate drops out of level 3 - the remaining trace is the return to the race HQ.

Final Results

Position	Names	Team Name/Club	Time
1	DAVID POVALL DARREN CARPENTER	CWMCARN /CLIMB ON BIKES	54.48
2	STEVE BARRETT COLIN WALLACE	MERTHYR CC	55.44
3	JOHN GRAVELLE RHYS GRAVELLE	BYNEA CC	57.27
4	(1st) GARY JONES ALISTAR JAMES	MD SPECIALISED	57.47
5	(1st) GERARD ORAM ROBERT SAUNDERS	BYNEA CC NORTH BUCKS CC	57.58
6	RHYS ROWLANDS IAN DAVIES	ABERTILLERY WHEELERS	58.16
7	NEAL CRAIG JOHN ASPELL	FORZA	58.29
8	GERAINT ‘SPOT’ EVANS ANDREW EVANS	PORT TALBOT WHEELERS CC	58.30
9	JOHN TETLEY GEORGE BURGESS	HEREFORD WHEELERS CC	58.43
10	RHYS JONES JOHN HUGHES	ACME WHEELERS CC	59.50
11	ANTHONY REDMAN JAYSON JAMES	ACME WHEELERS CC	1.00.05
12	CHRIS HUGHES IAN RIVERS	HEREFORD WHEELERS	1.00.20
13	(1st) HYWELL STREDWICK HEFIN PRICE	BYNEA CC	1.00.49< /font>
14	RYAN EVANS CARL BANWELL	ACME WHEELERS	1.01.05
15	MARK ANDREWS LYN JONES	MERTHYR CC HIRAWUN CC	1.01.31
16	GARETH BATTLE CHRIS WOOLLEY	ACME WHEELERS CC	1.01.48
17	PHIL WEAVER PAUL CHUBB	LUDLOW CC	1.02.09 (inc 1 min late start)
18	GARETH CLEMENT GLYNDWR LEWIS	ACME WHEELERS	1.02.21
19	PAUL STEPHENS HEFIN JONES	ROSS ON WYE CC	1.03.26
20	IAN LEWIS GAVIN LEWIS	CWMCARN/CLIMB ON BIKES	1.04.06
21	(1st) CAROLINE GAY PHILLIP AUDSLEY	FORZA	1.04.21
22	CATALIN PATRICHI ALAN COOK	ROSS ON WYE CC	1.05.01
23	CHRIS PRICE DARREL WILLIAMS	PORT TALBOT WHEELERS	1.05.29
24	VERNON DAVIES NIGEL PITT	PORT TALBOT WHEELERS CC	1.05.44
25	GERARD MAYBERY MARK JONES	PONTYPOOL RC PEMBS. VELO	1.06.42
26	STU MACFARLANE IAN PEAKE	HEREFORD WHEELERS	1.08.34
27	MELANIE GRAHAM KERRY GRAHAM	BUILTH & DISTRICT CC	1.11.16
28	MICHAEL GEORGE RHIANNON ACE	PEMBS VELO	1.17.47
29	GARY ‘SKIPPY’ GREGORY DAVID ‘DAI’ TRIGGS	PORT TALBOT WHEELERS CC	1.19.41
30	ANTHONY ‘CHIPS’ VALLARIO JOHN WILLIAMS	PORT TALBOT WHEELERS	1.25.22
31	RUSS WHITE EFION WEINZWEIG	FORZA	DNF
32	MARTYN HERITAGE OWEN JASON WILLIAMS	LIFEFORCE/ CERVELO	DNF
33	PAUL FALLON STEVE REYNOLDS	ROSS ON WYE CC CARDIFF 100MLS	DNS