It was with some trepidation that I set out for the Scout/Guide HQ in Kidderminster for the start of one of the most faumous Audax rides: "The Elenith". A 300 worth 1 AAA point: I didn't really know what this meant - a lot of climbing over 185 miles is all I needed to know. In any case, the Elenith is a known hard ride and lst April (!) was certainly a red letter day for me.
I arrived at 6.40am to see many familiar faces: John Spooner, Dai and Isobel, Ron, David Elvey, and David Lewis amongst the AUK "names" such as Shiela Simpson, Liz Creese and Mark Houlford. There were 25 non-starters, but this still left a big field of 150 riders - I always get a thrill from seeing so many people on bikes all decked-out in their dayglo yellow and multifarious bikes and colour schemes. I had decided to ride a la Spooner and to this end I set off with him right at the back of the back as we pelotonned off at 7am, but within a quarter of a mile I found myself in the bunch without John (I later found out that he'd waited until everyone had gone before starting.)
We headed west towards Presteigne over Clows Top. I could see the entire field stretched out up the hill for a mile ahead of me on the straight dual carriageway - if it wasn't for the fact I'd just started then this would have been a demoralising sight. After a steep pull up to the Top I settled down to a bit of tandem trike drafting. Very handy as there was a stiffish headwind and not much to break the wind up on the A456, but after a few miles the TT pulled over and I was left on my own to battle on at 8mph.
Things improved a bit later when I'd warmed up and started to feel good about the pleasant scenery as I passed through Mortimers Cross and Shobdon. My mood was even further improved when I clocked in at Presteigne at 9.30 (39 miles) with two hours in hand.
After my first food of the day (ahh!) I set off again on my own towards Builth Wells. The weather was getting sunnier all the time, but due the headwind I didn't have much opportunity to savour the views as I had my head down most of the time. To be honest I recall very little of this stretch except the one fine view at the summit before descending into Builth - it was really quite a slog!
At Builth (64 miles) it was time to change down a gear. I had an hour and a half in hand, but I was knackered. I met up with Dai and Isobel who were likely riding partners as we'd soon be hitting the hills to Tregaron. I also saw David Elvey (who'd got in with Ron an hour ahead of me) who told me Ron was in trouble - he'd broken a spoke and when the guy at the local bike shop had tried to replace it, another had broken - and then another would break when he replaced that one. Just as Dai and Isobel were ready to set off John came in and I decided to take the opportunity of more tea and cake, and then ride with him.
Typically for John, we set off 20 minutes after the control closed. I was feeling a little weary, but pleasantly "broken in". I smiled to myself at the thought that I was effectively starting a 200, and a hilly one to boot, in this state. The road to Tregaron is a tough ride, but very scenic. From Builth to Abergwesyn is flat but then there is the "longest 13 miles" (Spooner) to Tregaron. The route from Abergwesyn climbs above 400m, and notably includes the "Devills Staircase". You approach it along a lovely flattish valley that ends with an obviously too-steep-to-climb mountain. The sharp-eyed rider will notice that the forest on the mountain ahead, does, in fact, seem to have a large brown 'Z' painted on it - the Devil's Staircase. There is a 1 in 6 to 1 in 4 for a couple of hundred yards followed by a steep double hair pin, and then another couple of hundred yards of steep stuff. This is the kind of "steep" that is characterised by your back wheel skidding on the damp road surface when you stand on the pedals in your granny gear. John sensibly got off and walked more or less at the bottom, but of course I had to have a go. I managed it despite seeing black spots in front of my eyes and thinking I was going to throw up at one point. I collapsed at the secret control at the top and gratefully received a cup of tea thrust into my hand.
When John arrived we were more or less les lanternes rouges. There were a couple of tandems and a few solos behind us, but we were too close to being out of time for my liking. Nevertheless, I put my trust in John's experience, and we set off for the horrendous climb and jolly descent into Tregaron (92 miles). John is a cautious descender so I arrived five minutes ahead of him with about half an hour to spare at about 4.30pm. my mood was good and I felt fine - weary, but I wasn't in any discomfort apart from a slightly stiff neck. The ride was certainly taking its toll on riders by this stage: a tandem came in with 50 seconds to spare, a solo rider was late by two minutes (but this was ignored by the controller), and two more solos hadn't appeared by the time we set off (20 minutes after the control had closed of course).
So now the mountain road to Rhayader - so pretty along the marshes in the late afternoon sun - through Pontrhydfendigaid and the serious descent into Pontrhydygroes where the road climbs up and up and up. At the turning right to Cwmystwyth on the "Mountain Road" the gradient just bites into those flagging energy levels with a 1 in 5 to 6 before plummeting down into Cwmystwyth and climbing up again to 488m. Urgh! The scenery though was fantastic - long views along valleys across the moorland and mountains.
At the bottom of the descent and the start of the last big climb, I'd got a little ahead of John. I was plodding along enjoying the evening sun, waiting for John to catch up when I noticed with alarm that I'd got a little over an hour to do 20k, and we hadn't even started the long climb! I started to doubt John's judgement - perhaps this was the year that John Spooner, the famous lantern rouge, had got it wrong? And what if I had a puncture! Eeek! I really didn't want to have gone to all this effort only to run out of time, so I pressed on. In fact I put a bit of a burn on and charged up the hill - it's not steep but it does go on and on, so it was with some pride that I went up at 15mph and caught a few flagging solos. I guess what I'd forgotten was that from the summit there is a sheer drop straight into Rhayader - I'd got this confused with that awful road around the edge of the reservoirs outside Builth with its repeated 1 in 6 to 8 ascent/descents. Thus I got into Rhayader (120 miles) with half an hour to spare, and John of course comfortably rolled in ten minutes behind me.
We set off for the penultimate control at Eardisland (just outside Leominster) at about 8.20pm. "Just" a 100k ride to get home now. Lights were needed now of course, and I calculated that I'd need to run the dynamo for a couple of hours before I could put the Nightsun on - I especially wanted to have the Nightsuns for the climb back over Clows Top. We set off as a group of 6 or so riders on what I expected to be a long dynamo-encumbered drag along the A44. However, I'd forgotten that Rhayader was a couple of hundred meters above Leominster, and this stretch of road turned out to be one of the most enjoyable as we coasted along chatting amiably though the clear night at near evens down the slowly descending and smoothly surfaced road.
We left the final control at about llpm with 32 miles to go. I was tired and very stiff at the neck, but in good spirits as the prospect of a completed Elenith was on the cards. With about 12 miles to go I found I'd got bags of energy and decided to have a burn up Clows Top. Quite a struggle to keep the momentum going as the ascent on that side is like a roller-coaster, and my eyes were starting to get tired focusing on a single patch of light for so long, but I rolled into the control at 2.15am with 45 minutes to spare.
© Kilgore's Enterprises February 1997