On March 21st I did something I had been wanting to do for a long time; ride the length of Wales non-stop. I decided that I would undertake the challenge in aid of Sport Relief. I didn’t have the luxury of a time window; I would have to complete the ride whatever the weather conditions. During the build up in the week before the forecasts were changeable apart from one aspect which looked certain, I would be battling against a headwind.

On Saturday evening I headed up to Holyhead with Nia and her father who would be my back-up and also drive the car home. The plan was pretty simple, starting at 5am I’d leave Holyhead along a route I picked myself with 3 checkpoints along the way to refuel. I used Memory Map to plan the route, which I then put onto my Garmin Edge 705 to keep me on track, the total distance came out at 205 miles.

I was feeling very nervous before starting, just like I get before big races. I think it was partly because I didn’t know what to expect, but also partly because I didn’t want to let anyone down who had supported by donating money. When planning the ride I thought a 12hr time would be possible, but only with a tailwind. With the headwind forecast I was hoping for somewhere around 13-14 hours.

Right on time, 5am Sunday morning I left Holyhead, starting from the port gates. The first hour and a bit were in darkness, so I used my Exposure Strata light to keep the way ahead well lit. Time flew by pretty quickly and as dawn was breaking I was on main land Wales heading to Caernarfon. From here I took the scenic route through Snowdonia to the first checkpoint just under 50 miles in. I was feeling fine by this point so just grabbed some Torq bars and gels quickly and kept plodding on.

The route was very hilly to the 100 mile mark, but even so I came in feeling fresh and then hit a strong wind which seemed to last forever as I slowly climbed up to Llangurig. From here on the going was slightly easier and I was making good time. The worst part came 160 miles into the ride as I climbed to Storey Arms in the Brecon Beacons, a 6 mile climb taking me to the highest point of the route. From here on it seemed like it was downhill all the way I was flying and feeling great. I rolled into Cardiff Bay to finish my epic ride in a total time of 11 hours 44 minutes. Much faster than I had hoped for and equated to an average speed of 17.4 mph.

I’d like to say a really massive thank you to everyone who has supported my ride by donating money to Sport Relief. So far I have raised over £750 for the good causes they support both in the UK and abroad. People can still donate if they would like, just visit my Sport Relief web page.

The following week I was unsurprising fatigued. I was both mentally and physically drained and wasn’t able to ride on the Monday or Tuesday after. I did a 2hr recovery ride on the Wednesday, but even that left me shattered. I was starting to wonder if the National XC race at Sherwood on the weekend was going to be a waste of time. On Thursday I was very exited to receive my new Focus Raven MTB which will be my XC racing bike and also used for training. I spent all of Thursday building it up so was unable to ride again. I was starting to feel a little better on Friday and managed a couple of easy hours with 20 minutes at a good pace to test the legs.

On Saturday we travelled up to Sherwood Forest to the venue for the first round of the National XC series, which I was quite exited about but also very unsure about how the legs would be. I have not had a racing licence for 3 years so it was good to be back racing in Expert category, even if I would have to start from the back of the grid! In my mind I was hopeful of a top 10 as this would mean I’ll get a better grid position for round 2. Ben had come up from Wiggle to support myself and Lee Williams and he gave the bikes a final check and a few little mechanic tricks to make the bikes super fast.

Race time on Sunday soon came and I was number 38th on the grid with a total field of 46 this meant I was on the 4th row – a long way back! From previous races I have done here and my practice laps on Saturday I knew the start of the race was crucial as there are very few overtaking opportunities once riders hit the first singletrack. The gun sounded at 12.30 and we were off! The start was manic but I kept my head on the first few corners, a crash here and it would be race over. The first long fireroad drag was going to be the only chance to overtake and try and get into a good position. I stayed below threshold towards the bottom and then put a big effort as we crested the hill, but I was still a very long way down. Queues were already forming and I had to stop a few times as everyone ground to a halt. I past Nia in the pit area after 2km and she told me I was in 16th position – not too bad. I kept the power down and was picking riders off wherever possible but getting held up badly on the long singletrack sections.

By the time I came round to Nia on the 2nd lap I was up into 8th position! I was really happy as top 10 was the aim and seemed achievable. The legs were feeling OK as well which made things even better, although I was having to put in massive efforts at times to get past riders. Lap 3 and I was up to 7th and able to see some riders ahead that I knew were very quick. Somehow come the 4th lap I was up into 4th position; I have no idea how! This really spurred me on as I knew that a podium position was only 1 rider away. By this time I didn’t have a clue what category riders ahead were in as I was passing slower Elite riders and also lapping Sport riders. All I could do was keep the power down and hope that I’d be able to chase down some Expert category riders. Coming into the 5th and final lap I could feel my legs were starting to go and my quads were showing signs of cramp on big efforts. I also found out that I was in 3rd position and I was able to see 2nd position just ahead of me. For the first half I was pushing really hard and seemed to be slowly closing the gap. I was also constantly checking behind to see where the 4th place rider was behind. In the second half of the lap my legs were starting to scream! To make it even worse 4th place was closing down very quickly and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to hold him off. With 1km to go I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch 2nd and with only 10-15 seconds to 4th behind it was going to be a tight finish. Second by second I kept hammering down on the pedals, just about holding the gap. Coming into the finishing straight I put everything into it and crossed the line to take 3rd place.

I exceeded all of my wildest expectations and this is my best ever XC race and my first ever XC podium. This is after a massive ride the week before, without any XC specific training and a back row grid slot. I wonder what would have been possible with a front row position as I know I lost over 30 seconds to the winner on lap 1 and the big power efforts when overtaking really take their toll. Obviously I am over the moon and it is proof that training is working. I can honestly say that I the biggest difference is using a Powertap when training and having a coach that really understands how to train with one. I also can’t say enough good things about the new Focus Raven either, it was simply awesome! The perfect XC race bike in every way; stiff when you put the power down but also very comfortable. When riding the bumpy singletrack I was able to stay in the saddle when other hardtail riders around me were getting bounced around. The race was only my second ride on it, but right from the first second I felt comfortable riding it.

I have a break from events over Easter, but have a double whammy the following week with the Exposure Lights Big Night Out and then a 70km enduro the following day. The next big race for me comes in May at Enduro 6 which is my big test ride for the UK 24hr Champs.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 5:04 pm and is filed under Athlete Diaries, Matthew Page. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.