Starting in the UK’s smallest city of St David’s the Tour Of Pembrokeshire is a spring sportive along the Welsh coastline, there can be few rides that are quite as scenic as this from the start in St David’s to some of the stunning coastal bays en route. The biblical weather and the severity of the course meant that I didn’t really pay any attention to any of this, and certainly wasn’t going to take any photos. My group, which included, my wife Libby, the local vicar (on a Trek Madone) and an assortment of friends, had opted for the truncated 79 mile (127km) route, which featured 7515ft (2,290m) of climbing.
The first few flat miles under the spring sun were glorious, and the only easy miles of the day, once hit the hills everything changed, the rain was relentless, the hills were sapping and the wind was terrifying. It quickly became clear that staying on the bike would be today’s real challenge. The first real climb was a short 25% gradient, this was probably the least challenging section of the ride, it was here that we came across the Mavic support team, yellow car, yellow bikes, loads of wheels the real deal. They cheered us on and and pushed me up the gentlest section of the climb. The summit plateau’ed out to an exposed plain with crosswinds threatening to blow you clean off the road. These same winds made the following descent torturously treacherous.
Then started the steady, leg-sapping, soul-destroying 8km 400m high climb to overlook Newport bay. Mind bogglingly there were groups of spectators through the route many ringing cow bells, to create a real grand tour feel. At the summit the view across the bay was breathtaking, so was the wind. The descent which followed was sheer hell, the gale force winds were determined to blow us off or bikes, I have never been more determined to stay on the bike, more people walked down the descent than up the ascent. Thankfully we all made it to the feed station. Which was by far the best feed station I have ever seen, the range and quantity of foods was staggering, faggots and welsh cakes. Despite the rain and hail we stayed a little too long at this stop and felt it on the next climb a rain drenched 20% to the summit of Tom’s Bend (907ft/276m). This was the closest I came to cracking and only Jens Voigts famous phrase “shut up legs, you’ll do what I tell you” got me through. Finally the first sheltered, but still sodden, descent of the day. The next feed station was at The Jubilee Inn in Letterston, the feed station was in a pub, awesome. Of course I enjoyed more welsh cakes and a Guinness (only a half there was still 19 miles to go). The last section was wonderful, fuelled by Guinness I was able to take advantage of the drop in wind and lack of hills for a fast finish. The final half mile ran past the stunning cathedral, Before finishing on a savage little climb. This hurt, it really hurt, but Libby and I finished together. The roast pork rolls, with crackling, stuffing and apple sauce, gradually eased the pain.
This was undoubtably the toughest bike event I have ever done, the course was challenging enough, but the weather, especially the wind, made this event utterly formidable. This is one of the few occasions when the climbs were more enjoyable than the descents. Well done to everyone who completed this gruelling event. Will I do it again next year, I’ll think about it…
