Day 3We left Builth Wells with a bit of a hangover and minus a man as Simon knee had not recovered in time. This was evident as we realised that we were travelling north. After around 5 miles we made a joint decision to turn back. We then headed south towards the Brecon Beacons. We arrived Brecon via a signpost marked the three cocks (bit apt). At Brecon we found a café that served curry and chips and this was my tonic for the final day.

We then carried on from Brecon with the target of getting to Cardiff to watch Italy getting knocked out of Euro 2008 by Spain (we didn’t know that at the time). The last climb of the trip was the worse for me. We followed the lon las route which I regret as this was a old train line and was very hard ride on although Simon enjoyed every minute of the climb. We then headed to Cardiff and to be honest I can’t really say that we enjoyed the last 4 hours, as the scenery isn’t the best (what is good about the valleys?). We arrived in Cardiff Bay and my family had arranged a little welcome party. We enjoyed a few sips on the sparkling wine to my disappointment we didn’t get a bottle of bolly.

Here are the photos of day 3

Well after a good night sleep at the Gwernan Hotel at Dolgellau, (I can recommend the accommodation as 5 Star B&B. The food, beer and breakfast were just the order of the trip) we left in the driving rain with a quick descent into Dolgellau. An instant climb out of Dolgellau followed with an ascent of 1,300ft according to the Garmin Forerunner. The roads turn into lanes and a slow descent to Machynlleth. Here we managed to stop and dry our clothes and fill our stomachs with some mushroom soup and a cup of tea in a café. A quick trick was to use a newspaper to dry our cycling shoes. We then visited the bike shop and bought a dry pair of socks and some jelly beans. As soon as we left Machynlleth we were challenged by the highest ascent of the trip, a gradual climb of 1,650ft according to the Garmin Forerunner. We carried on cycling through the bad weather and arrived at Llanidloes. Here we had a late lunch (4pm), to my surprise we walked into a vegetarian café. I asked a question

“Are we in a veggie café ?” Steffan

“Yes, they don’t serve meat” Huw

So I ordered some veggie salad and I must admit I enjoyed every fork full. We then carried on and came to a mutual decision to continue on the A470 as some of the guys we’re flagging. We formed a team formation and did a quick 30 miles into Builth Wells. I think we arrived around 7pm just in time to watch the footy. We stayed at shocking accommodation called Cedars Bed and Breakfast in Builth Wells, the guys reminded me of it throughout our stay. Entering the accommodation you’re struck by an old building stuck in the 1970 in décor, the bedrooms are very small and have little visitors as we found some evidence in our beds. The final reminder is the smell that strikes as soon as you enter of deep fat fried food. We had some good food out in the centre of Builth Wells and several pints and wine. This helped with the sleep although I decided to go and find some water and ended in the bar with a pint of Stella.

View Photos of Day 2

My Garmin Forerunner 205 kept the data of day 2. To view on motionbased click here.

We started the day in Holyhead in the Dublin Ferry B & B. We had a good room with a double bed and 2 singles, I took the double as I organised the trip. We arrived late that evening and fitted in some pints of Guinness. On the rush to pack the car I had forgotten the official maps, we should have been fine as we had a Garmin satellite navigation device. Anyway on leaving Holyhead we were faced with the problems that the route road was closed for reconstruction and no diversion signs. We finally found our way to be stopped by road construction again. This time we risked crossing the HOT HOT Tarmac and to our cost we had some flat tyres soon after. We arrived Caernarfon at 2pm (very late) and found a bike shop to get the bike repaired and also got a copy of the maps from our support driver. We then left and headed towards Porthmadog, here we decided to take another detour and follow the route over a toll-road(30p for motorcycles). We then managed to get back on route and decided to make up some time and head for the A470 for Dolgellau. I attacked the hills and decided to go alone for the last 15 miles. I finally arrived Dolgellau and tried to find the accommodation for the night, the Gwernan Hotel, Cadre Idris. I made a mistake in booking the Hotel not thinking of the location. The Gwernan is located on the top of Cadre Idris, quite a challenge at the end of the day. But I managed to get to the Gwernan and order a pint of shandy and 4 others for the lads. To my surprise the others arrived quicker than expected as they managed to get the support car from Dolgellau. I was gutted !!!!

View Pictures of Lon Las 2008 Day 1

Due to me losing the data of Day 1 from my Garmin Forerunner 305 as it couldn’t store all three days, here is a link Courtesy of Simon Andrews Garmin 705.

View Route of Day

Well i’ve now finished my last training runs.  I’ve done 2 training runs and they are detailed below :

Sunday 15th of June 2008

I decided to complete the CTC Stevenage Circular Cycle – A Half Century Challange. The ride was approximately 50 miles and had many riders. It was my first experience of cycling in a group and I left with Group D which started 15 mins after the initial group. Instantly we seemed to make a group of 14 and cycled quickly through the route. The route was mainly flat and I managed to cycle at an average of above 17mph. The group finished all together and I would recommend a CTC cycle to anybody who enjoys a good challange.

http://www.stevenagectc.org.uk/

Saturday 7th of June 2008

Not what I had planned. It was a 65 mile journey around the Chiltern’s with the 2 Simon(s), we all had a lot more in the tank, although mechanically my bike has been challenged with some quick repairs required before the ride. I managed to break my chain and my rear cassett. I got the parts from

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/

Although the packaging confused me as they we’re all packed in bubble wrap and not in the original packaging. I hope thay are originals ???

It’s getting close now till the ride. So this weekend I was in Cardiff for the weekend and decided to cycle to Brecon Beacons for a test on some hills. The ride was also to test the conditions of the taff trail. I cycled mainly on A and B roads to the A470. The route is on my motionbased page and some details are below :

1. Leave Caerwenallt
2. Turn Onto Rhiwbina Hill ( Left )
3. Turn Right
4. Take 2nd Exit On Roundabout (Pen-y Croes)
5 Head towards PontyPridd
6. Get on the B4273 towards Ynysybwl
7. Head toward Mynachdy, Perthcelyn, Miskin
8. Get on the B4275 towards Abercwmboi
9. Carry on towards Aberman
10. Carry on towards Penywaun
11. Carry on towards Hirwaun
12. At Hirwaun get on A4059 towards Penderyn
13. Go Forwards to A470.
14. A470 towards Merthyr
15. Get A4054 Towards Cefn-Coed y Crymmer
16. Straight Across High Street
17. Get on the Taff Trail back to Cardiff

I picked up the the taff trail before I arrived at Merthyr in Cefn-Coed. However, I missed the route several times as I was confused by the sign posts. My main aim for the taff trail was to figure out the type of tyre that is required. I used a Continental Ultra Gatorskin (Road Tyres) and found that this was fine as 85% of the taff trail is concrete. I would suggest if you want to go quickly from the Brecon Beacons to Cardiff I would choose the local roads that I used on my route. To view the image library click on the image below : 1492

I’ve decided to use a mixture of products to help energise me for the Cycle ride of the Lon Las. I first started using a Energy Drink called PSP22 Energy from Sports In Science (SIS). This is apparently according to the literature a complex carbohydrate energy fuel for high-energy performance. I’ve opted for the orange flavour drink.

After the ride I thought about a recovery drink. The only product on the Market that I found is from Maximuscle (The company that has Josh Lewsey in their adverts) called Recovermax. The drink is a unique ratio of carbohydrate and protein helps restore body glycogen levels. I use the Fruit Punch flavour and I can highly recommend that you try another flavour as I will not be using this flavour.

Finally, during the ride I will be opting to use a PowerBar and some Jelly Beans. Believe it or not the Jelly Belly company do sporting beans that contain added Vitamins B & C and provides 25g or Carbohydrate and 120mg of Electrolytes.

The other riders (Simon A and Simon M) suggest that I’m cheating using such products. But today I found that Simon A has purchased some at Evans Cycles over the weekend.

I’ve found this document that describes the Lon Las route in 6 days for a tour. It gives a brief idea on the route. This is an easier route than the one I’ll be doing.

Lon Las Route in 6 days.

I managed to get this ride from a friend that participated in the CTC Stevenage Cycle in 2008. The route starts at Fairlands Valley in Stevenage. However, I started from my home in Great Ashby, Stevenage. The ride wasn’t as hard as I expected and I completed 75 miles (I rounded up) in about 5hrs.

The ride was mainly on very quiet roads and I enjoyed seeing parts of hertfordshire and our neighbouring counties. I hit a snag right at the end of the journey and got another flat. I think I’ll be replacing the inner tube this weekend!! You can view my ride on motionbased.com by following this link.

Finally got the fundraising page up. Sponsor me at

http://www.justgiving.com/lonlas2008

We’ve booked our accomadation for the trip. Details are below :

Holyhead – THU 19 June 2007

Holyhead Guest house – Dublin Ferry B&B

Dolgellau – FRI 20 June 2007

Gwernan Lake Hotel Dolgellau – Cadre Idris ( LL40 1TL )

Builth Wells – SAT 21 June 2007

Cedars Guest House and Restaurant - Builth wells, Mid Wales (LD2 3BP)

Cardiff – SUN 22 June 2007

Ford Accomadation – Pantmawr, Cardiff