Great morning for a ride, cool, little wind and dry, as 7 pacers headed west for sneakily tough ride to Seven Sisters.
Tempo pretty high from the off, as we headed out on the A4061 to Aberkenfig. First minor climb up Fountain Rd saw Mark Rosser blast off the front obviously on a Stava KOM chase, or not as it turned out just a 'comfort stop'!!
Kept the pace up past Margam and the new road around Port Talbot to Briton Ferry and Neath. Crossed the river to follow the A465 to Aberdulais then the long drag up to Seven Sisters. Richard Beech peeled off at this point and 6 continued the long drag to Seven Sisters, the group staying together for much of the climb, only splitting in the last mile or so. After regathering at the top we decided the only thing the ride was missing was a coffee stop, Mark R persuading Rob that a detour to Aberdare was a good idea as it was all downhill. (forgetting of course the little matter of the 'mini Rhigos' !
Fantastic descent to Glynneath followed by the climb where things got a bit tasty as Mark again shot off the front with Rob and Chris G chasing. Mark Nott, Jayson and myself in wonder as they disappeared into the distance.
Coffee stop up to its usual excellent standard in Aberdare, coffee and biscuits re-energizing all. Quick blast down the Cynon Valley to Pontypridd and the final drags of the day up to Church Village and finally Llanharan. At this point Mark Nott got dropped but it was decided that :-
1) He knew his way home and
2) He was close enough to walk if he had a mechanical
On meeting Mark back at Brackla it seems that 1) was correct but 2) may not have been achievable. He appeared a 'broken man'!!!!!!
He kept muttering, 'what just happened'?
Tough ride with the combination of pace, distance and climbing. I feel surprisingly good but not quite ready to run a marathon after it. LOL
