Six Pacers met at Hirwaun for a Bank Holiday treat - Harpo, Steve C, Dave W, Nigel W, Paul R and myself. The weather was lovely from the start, summer kit on we headed out via Penderyn through the small roads leading to Defynnog and Sennybridge. The first testing steep climb came as we headed onto the military road with probably the best surface in the UK followed by a fast descent into Llanwrtyd Wells for our first coffee stop. Apparently its the smallest town in Britain but still manages to have a good selection of pubs and cafe'. About eight miles of climbing followed on the way through some great scenic roads towards the Devils Staircase. It was great to see that coming up in the distance although a bit daunting if I'm honest. Hitting 25% and relentless in length it was as tough as I remembered. A steep descent followed where Chappers burnt some brake pad rubber, his brakes smelling like a burnt out clutch! Another official 100 climb quickly followed straight after with no real time to recover. The roads for the next 10 miles were great stunning rolling roads around the perimeter of Lake Brianne with loads of lambs out in force. A pretty rapid descent followed towards Llandovery for a well deserved lunch. Note to self - don't eat chicken ever again when there is more climbing to come - it was a battle to keep it in my stomach! Out of Llandovery we took the A40 which was pretty busy so we had a rolling chaingang working together all the way to Sennybridge. With the legs being pretty tired at this stage we still faced the climb back towards Devils Elbow, quite a drag to get there. The Devil starts at around 10% early on and ramps up to 14% so it was a bit of a grind fest getting up there. The ice cream van in Penderyn was a welcome sight and fuelled with a sugar rush from the coke we headed back to Hirwaun. 101 miles and 9000ft of climbing its a tough route but really worth it. Enjoyed, thanks all.
