Tour of Wales - Go Team Cruachan!

Just back for a very mellow week in South Shropshire, Mid-Wales and then home via Snowdonia and ultimately two days tough running in our own The Shap Fells.

What struck me is just how peaceful and unspoilt Mid-Wales is. Also, how ‘real’ it all is without an over developed tourist economy. The weekend did start a little competively with The Longmynd Hike, a traditional 50 mile challenge walk that is now part of the Vasque Ultra Trail Running series. Hence, there were some fairly hyped up athletes, who posted scary times as they battle to secure series points and positions.

I didn’t do too badly ‘for an old giffer’.. as one cohort reported, and it is 31 years since my very first LMHike as a sixteen year old. Sunday followed with an easy warm down ride around secret parts of The Mynd following Keith’s back wheel. As a local expert he knows one or two sneaky singletrack loops. A rest day pottering around Bishop’s Castle and Clun, just 20-30 miles from where I was bought up, was fun and wild remote '10 hour sleeps' in the campervan took us to The Elan Valley. What an Oh-so beautiful, especially in such Autumnal colours. It is totally co-incidental that The OMM is taking place there in a couple of weeks and I’m not competing … against popular belief.

Mid-Wales is big and rambling. Nothing extra special there just wild rambling country. Marvellous. We stayed one night at Hafron Hotel, at Devil’s Bridge with an excellent Veggie pasts special dish and a few pints of Old Speckled Hen, one bath a week will suffice. An ascent of Plynlinon followed – wild again (and with many memories of ACE Races, Open 24 and even The Dragons Back way back in '92. Shame I can't remember what I did more recently) Only Cader Idris and The Mawddach Estuary could better it. There is an excellent Sustrans Cycle path from just outside Dolgelleau alongside the estuary to Arthog and over the bridge to Barmouth. It’s nine miles each way, but really smooth and flat being on old railway line. We even sat in the sun outside the excellent Davy Jones’s Locker Café and enjoyed the views of Cader Idris nestling behind the Palm trees.

A plan to have a few beers at The Pen-y-Gyrd was thwarted by all the nearby lay-bys being coned off for re-surfacing, but it did mean that I was ‘beer-free’ for an early morning ‘run’ over Snowdon. Being a Friday, and mid-October, it wasn’t at all busy and the new summit station café is very well designed, and very much in keeping with it’s environment. It also has very green ‘eco’ credentials, so a big improvement all round. How well it will last after a busy summer remains to be seen.

It’s a long time sine I’ve run down the Llanberis tourist path, but chasing the train was entertaining. Last time would have been in the dark as part of The Three Peaks Yacht Race; the view across to a very impressive‘Cloggy’ did warrant a few photographs. Sadly, Pete’s Eats veggie breakfast was not the best it could have been; but perhaps I’m growing old and discerning.

One more task on the Tour of Wales Agenda – to visit Anthony Gormley’s sculptures on the Formby/Southport coast. Unfortunately, a lack of actual preparation meant we didn't really know what we were looking for, in terms of location and increasingly congested Friday afternoon traffic resulted in a ‘DNF’; I have challenged Linz to go via train and foldy bike next time. Formby dunes are impressive.

Back home late on Friday, but straight out onto the High Street fells with the NFR/NAV4 fellrunners over for the Bob Graham Dinner. An ‘interesting’ BG dinner… then an even better run from Wet Sleddale over to Mosedale Cottage Branstree and Tarn Crag, Green Crag. Excellent navigation and route finding by Chief Carbo Daveed The Apprentice.. and even Wilko realized she had been to one spot twice in two days!
Overall and exellent week, and I do feel a little bit back in shape and motivated for greater things… even as an ‘old giffer’.

Reluctantly firing up the laptop to a wall of emails and Farcebook, I learnt amongst much other stuff, that Team Cruchan are well prepared and psyched for Portugal XPD and they have Pryo on board as team reporter. I’m only a little bit envious, but mightily relieved that it is them and not me that is ramping up for an expedition race. I wish them all well and feel doubly relieved that I stepped down from the team. Pyro’s enthusiam for the post race party is applaudable … I just wish I had his Mojo? I wonder if Ruth Johnson still has mine?

Have a good race...have fun...start steady...be smart...and don't miss any cut-offs

All the best, www.teamcruachan.co.uk

Joe