This was the first time that i had entered into the toughride and after looking at last years vids on you tube was expecting a nice but difficult ride in sunny Moorlands!!

How wrong could i be…. Left a 5.30am with my dad (56) from sheffield in bright sunshine, this quickly changed and the rain started. Arrived a little late to car park, about 9.30 due to breakfast stop on route been longer than anticipated. set off to start line at 10ish and went through start line about 10.20, the climb to the start was a little more than a warm up!

Got to the start line and found the going tough due to quick sand like ground, managed first couple of hills and rested for little while whilst waiting for my dad!! Not feeling to bad at this point, had a slight off which was more fun than painful.

The pain then started on the long push up the hill, the ‘Waterproof’ Endura MT500 Jacket which is classed as “An Ultra Waterproof Jacket” by bike Radar failed me. Started getting slightly concerned to see people in trouble (guy in bright Orange jacket) hope he got down to first aid as was not looking good.

Hill down to first water stop pretty tricky, had another off but only minor. Like other people have said hope the guy been treated by medic is doing ok. Took the road back which was a 12 mile challenge in its own right. Will definately be back and weather dependant feel would be able to and would enjoy completing the short route. 😉

The pain then started on the long push up the hill, the ‘Waterproof’ Endura MT500 Jacket which is classed as “An Ultra Waterproof Jacket” by bike Radar failed me.

I’m sure the jacket itself didn’t leak. In those conditions water will get in neck, up sleeves or wick in on other fabric from shorts etc. Also no jacket can cope with the amount of sweat you produce pedaling uphill in those conditions.

I think I was one of the last around the short trail, (I wondered why the motorbike was following us down!) I believe it was closed after the feed station just after I left 😯

Just found out one of our riding companions was treated in A&E for a broken rib after he drove himself to Hereford!

tbh Why anyone would set off in anything less than warm/waterproof gear is beyond me.

I rode in Gore Phantom with Goretex over the top, baggies and waterproof shorts plus waterproof socks and overshoes. Just normal summer glovers but a spare set in the Camelback.

Got soaked, but at least I was warm.

I have symapthy for those that had problems with the cold, but I can’t help feeling it was a little naive to go under-dressed, particularly given the conditions at the start and the warnings on the roughride website. I was cold and saturated even with waterproof trousers, lycras and padded shorts, jersey, base layer, berghaus waterproof (ditched my biking one on the day as this one much better) and seal skinz socks! At the start I was tempted to remove some of my garments as I felt a bit over-dressed, especially as some were in lycras and short sleeves! As soon as over the top of the first hill and the wind hit, I was glad I didn’t.

There were also some wholly inappropriate bikes, I saw one that looked like it had just been dragged out of the shed, complete with tyres as smooth as a babies.

After what I saw in future I shall be carrying one of those silver blankets to wrap up in.

My tyres might as well have been as smooth as babies for all the good they did me!

Re clothing choices:
Met Office has a Mountain Weather Forecast site; on day in question I checked Brecon forecast as it is a good indicator for the area. Under section of hazards , Hypothermia –Moderate risk, particularly if inadequately dressed was noted for Sunday. Many found this to be true it seems.
The organisers have always also put warnings on their site about how inhospitable the hills can get even in summer, and need for waterproofs even if slightest hint of rain

Well guys …I had a great ride, loved every minute of it. A few layers on under the Altura race cape with lycra shorts and off I went (mind I had a crud catcher on the rear wheel). Start brief was rather short “…don’t litter” , as we strolled up to the line only to have the horn go, so off we went without missing a beat. Like riding with glue stuck to your tyres (2.1 speed kings with stans – lower pressure seemed to work well on the grass, not so well on muddy sections as expected – speed kings are far from a mud tyre – and not nearly as fast on tarmac as when fully pumped). Wore a set of WM80 shimano winter boots thinking my feet would stay dry and warm …wrong. warm yes, but within 5 mins they were sodden and I was cycling with two buckets of water strapped to my feet and nowhere for the water to escape. Anyway completely soaked within 30mins, but from sweat not rain, just listened to the ipod and it was a magic ride. Like others I had indended to do the long route, but experience said nope, not in these conditions, so took the short option, only to make the wrong left turn on Hergest Ridge and started to follow the short route all over again – dodgy marking at the crossover point – realised the error and had to climb all the way back up to the ridge from the tarmac road 🙁 bummer. Anyway, just let the bike and tyres do their thing in the mud on the last section and a few whohha’s later back into the finish. Lessons learned 1) don’t get lost coz it bums out your finish time 2) ditch the water weights on the feet – use for training purposes only 3) follow your instincts – could well have turned out different if I had turned right instead of left and taken the long route.

Apologies due if you were the person who loaned us a fleece at the water stop I mentioned previously, seems it wasn’t left with the organisers after all. She’ll be trying to contact you via the organisers if possible, but if you’re reading this, please e-mail me and we’ll try to get it back asap.Thanks again.