"He looks half asleep" said the uncharitable cyclist next to me. "Who can blame him?" was my first thought; after all, it was 8.15 am on an October Sunday morning in a Cardiff car park. My next thought was "How can you tell?"
Geraint Thomas was in full Sky regalia and trademark white Oakley sunglasses, making it impossible to work out if he was a coiled spring or had just rolled out of bed. What wasn't in dispute was that after a long, hard pro season, Geraint had given up his Sunday to be Ride Ambassador for the Castles & Cathedrals sportive organised by Shelter Cymru.
I rode the first Castles & Cathedrals sportive last year. On that occasion there was no Geraint, fewer riders and no final feeding station, as it had packed up and gone with riders still on the course. However, the course, more accurately described as Cardiff-Brecon-Cardiff, was varied and challenging and I enjoyed it a lot.
Forward on to year two and lessons had been learned and ambitions raised, as witnessed by Geraint's involvement and more than double the number of riders. The route was the same 92 miles round trip starting from either Cardiff or Brecon with 2,000 metres of climbing. There was also a one-way option, again from either Cardiff or Brecon, but riders would have to make their own arrangements to return to where they started. At £40 for the full trip or £25 for an individual leg it was on the more expensive side for a sportive of this type. However, there was also an opportunity to meet Geraint at a pre-event reception the day before between 4.30-6pm at the Miskin Manor Hotel. Unfortunately, I was unable to make this.
The majority of riders, including myself, started from Fairwater Leisure Centre, Cardiff. Registration from 7.30am was straightforward. The ride started en masse, rather than staggering smaller groups as had been advertised. Once all the riders were ready in the car park, Geraint was introduced and led everyone out. It was quite exhilarating riding in a big peloton through the outskirts of Cardiff. The motorcycle marshalls seemed very experienced and professional. They were almost operating a rolling closed road policy, ensuring there were no car vs bicycle incidents at key roundabouts and junctions.
Eventually, the riders thinned out as we entered the Rhondda Valley. After a succession of terraced houses in small villages the first main climb of the day over Maerdy Mountain was tackled. It was long, rising to 400m over the 7 miles from Porth, but manageable. At the top, around the 21 mile point, was the first feed station. Bananas and Welsh cakes were the order of the day. There were no toilets. The exposed location and windy weather also discouraged lingering. Back on the bike it wasn't long before a steep descent with a couple of hairpin bends into Aberdare. The road then rose up again to the unique part of the course - Brecon Beacons National Park. The desolate but beautiful area was perfect for cycling with mainly only sheep and ponies as spectators.
The second feed station was meant to be ten miles after the first, but was more like 16 miles. However, the location right by a reservoir was worth the wait. The rest of the first leg into Brecon was an easy downhill roll apart from a short, sharp final climb to the leisure centre. On arrival I could see that bikes were strewn all around the entrance, but I was more interested in the free soup and roll inside. However, a Pinarello Dogma right outside the door briefly caught my eye and stood out from the rest of the machines. I assumed that Geraint would already be back in Cardiff, tucking into his Sunday lunch at that point as I was towards the back of the field. I couldn't have been more wrong. Geraint had obviously spent some time mixing, socialising and posing for photographs with his laid-back and friendly manner, as he only started out on the second leg as I was tucking into my soup. He took hold of the Pinarello, stopped for another photo and then started the homeward journey.
The second leg from Brecon back to Cardiff was generally easier and featured more traditional sportive scenery through country lanes. The sting in the tail was the steepest climb of all, Blaen-y-glyn, rising 250 metres in under three kilometres and going over 20% gradient in places. It was hard, and from what I witnessed most people (including myself) ended up pushing up sections of the hill as it seemed to be never ending. The sole feed station on the second leg was at the top of the climb, again in an exposed location.
The remaining 50km of the ride back to Cardiff was mostly downhill, through increasingly more populated areas. The weather had been mainly dry and warm with the odd shower up to that point, but the showers became sharper and heavier at the end. The wind was constant throughout the day. I suppose the ten or fifteen riders around me should have ridden in a group to conserve energy, but instead it turned into every man and woman for themselves. This did keep things interesting for the last few miles. At the finish there was a free jacket potato including choice of filling for every finisher.
There were some unique aspects to this sportive, and I enjoyed it even more second time around. It has developed a lot after only two years. Hopefully, there will be even more improvement to come in terms of location of feed stations and the variety of food on offer. These are only minor criticisms; the Castles & Cathedrals sportive is a testing end-of-season challenge, and the involvement of Geraint Thomas was a master stroke.
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