Coming up in the end of May is the Welsh Ride Thing, and entries are now open for the fifth edition of the ride (link at the bottom of this page).
Hardly anyone knows what it is
If you never heard of the WRT before, I can’t really tell you exactly what it is, nor can the organisers. But one thing is certain: We’re not allowed to use the word ‘race’ referring to the WRT, because it’s not.
As the organisers put it on their website: “It’s much easier to say what the WRT isn’t rather than what it is, it certainly isn’t a race or even slightly competitive, nor is it a trailquest or orienteering event, it’s a bikepacking charity event in aid of Wales Air Ambulance.”
From eight to a hundred in two years
The WRT started up in 2009 with just eight participants (one did it a week after all the others), and only two years later the number of entries had gone into triple figures. And the name? It all comes from an e-mail with the subject “The Welsh Ride Thing”. Simple, huh?
What we do know about the ride itself is that riders who entry get a map with all the grid references on May 1st, and in the almost four-week build-up to the ride you’re supposed to find your route. Pick one that matches your ambitions – if you’re a fresher, lower your ambitions and vice versa.
When Saturday May 25th arrives, make yourself and your backpack ready for three days and two nights – then you simply start riding.
If you haven’t got time for a three-day ride the organisers has also launched a WRT Lite this year, which is the same thing, only one night and day shorter. You’re still eligible for the traditional tea, cake and banter after you’re finished.
What: The Welsh Ride Thing
When: 25-27 May 2013
Entry fee: £20 (which gives you a free WRT T-shirt, entry into the AlpKit prize draw – and last but not least as much cake and tea as you’d like
Click here to enter the ride online