English
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Wiggle Dragon Ride.
This was my 5th Dragon ride. It started out, as usual, with the road trip down to South Wales. Some logistical problems coupled with the rapid sell out of places meant that I was a couple of weeks late booking the accommodation. This meant that we were staying in a 2-bed barn at our favoured location rather than our usual 4 beds one. This wasn’t a problem, but it did mean that the pre-ride crowd was somewhat smaller than in recent years. A quick trip down to the hotel where the rest of the Wiggle team were based meant that there was no lack of pre-ride banter though. Most of the talk was about the weather forecast that had changed from early week warnings of “make sure you wear sunscreen” to “have you got your waterproof jacket?” Back at the farm we settled down for the night praying that the rain would hold off at least until early afternoon. Event day dawned (at 5 am so that we avoided the inevitable queues at the car park) dry. Still the problem of what to wear was evident. I must have sounded like Mrs Carter before her annual trip to Royal Ascot!!
We assembled with the mass ranks at the Pencoed industrial park. I had already decided to ride the shorter 120km route. This was a plan that I had hatched some months ago. I felt that I had a good shout at achieving a comfortable silver time at this distance, even a glimmer of hope of a Gold time entered into my head, although neither I or my ride partners dare speak of such dizzy achievements.
After half an hour and many unforeseen trips to the nearby hedge (I’m pleased I am a male at that point) we were off.
The BWLCH! I’ve now ridden this climb 6 times and the thought of it brings both fear and excitement. Ok so it’s not the Tourmalet or Alpe D’Huez, but it is tough and climbing the whole thing from Port Talbot is a challenge for even the strongest riders. The first half is steady and I managed to ride up to the village of Cymer using only the 50-tooth ring of my compact chainset. After the village the climb ramps up to an average gradient of about 7%.
It was little ring time for me. I settled well into a comfortable rhythm and was pleasantly surprised my progress. My ride partner Malc was coping even better. He surged ahead and I wouldn’t see him again until the top. The fact that the 120km route only climbed the Bwlch once this year meant that you could put everything into it. That’s exactly what most people were doing. After re-grouping at the feed at the top of the mountain we were soon on our way. It was a race! Not against each other, but the competitors were the large black rain clouds beginning to accumulate overhead. We were on a mission. Malc and myself accompanied by team Wiggle riders Rich Pearman and Nicky Wheeler along with Malc’s other half Lotty. We drove hard towards the finish. Passing groups along the way we worked against the head wind. The rain arrived, as predicted, at about 1 o clock. Fortunately for us we were less than 2 miles from the finish when it came. We crossed the line and headed straight for the Wiggle stand for shelter.
My 5th Dragon ride (the 2nd that has been sponsored by Wiggle) must definitely rank as my favourite. At the start we had discussed that the route looked like good combination of fast riding with some challenging climbs. This is one thing it has in common with events like the etape du tour. Many sportives are concentrating on the “challenge” element, but fail to realise that this doesn’t have to mean climbing. Discovering 24 hours after the event that we had achieved a Gold standard ride was the icing on the cake for me. I can’t wait for next year now.
Next up for me will be the Wiggle Magnificat this weekend. 2 sportives on consecutive weeks will be quite tough, but I’m feeling good and up for the challenge. My son Sam will be joining me after my event to ride his own “kiddicat” ride, so it will be a Carter family affair. I’ll let you know how we get on. Ride Safe!
Rich
