Will + mate, (sorry didn't get your name, I was too breathless to converse for most of the ride) Steve C, Toestrap Steve, Chris Reed, Haydn, Chris G, Jason, Wayne, Roy, Rob and Keith and myself on the tandem, made up today's Pacers ride.
Headed east with benefit of the tailwind, tandem setting much of the pace, under no illusions of how much we were going to suffer in the headwind home! Made good progress until Groesfaen where Jason punctured, soon mended headed into Cardiff, where we seemed to catch most of the lights on red, which was frustrating. Soon onto the flats where pace increased with tandem again doing much of the work joined by TS Steve. Only real climb of the day at Gaer separated the field, with the tandem starting to struggle, most of the others climbing well.
Short sharp kick in Basseleg saw the tandem once again being dropped and also saw Roy off the back. As we had now turned into the wind it became a struggle, but we managed to work together with the rest waiting for us at proposed cafe stop in Machen. Unfortunately the cafe has closed for the winter, much to our collective disappointment, so Costa in Caerphilly it was!
Well earned but expensive coffee and cake before the last leg home. Keith and I both agreed the cake had made us feel better but had done nothing for the legs. Managed to hang in, with some judicious pushing from TS Steve on the climbs, on the way home until the drag up to Llanaharan and despite some pacing from Steve C couldn't rejoin the group. Soft pedalled back to Ewenny from Pencoed, with Keith and I both running on empty.
Good workout and the weather stayed dry, if a tad windy!
Will look to the hills for next week's route.
After last week's debacle with post race nutrition, refined it this week and a cornish pasty and a McFlurry ice-cream seems to have hit the spot!!
