After some confusion with transport, 4 riders left Monmouth on our motor assisted ride. The route from Monmouth over to Abergavenny with its undulations and views over to Sugar Loaf was excellent and really enjoyable. However, the main reason for the ride was the Tumble, and here the Vice Captain fell victim to the intense heat, just as he did on Alpe d’Huez some years ago, and was forced to stop shortly after the cattle grid, eventually cresting the summit in last place. However, Ed-spresso knew exactly the right medicine, and swiftly procured a “Mr Whippy”.
Full of ice cream, the peloton opted to forego the cafe in Blaenavon, and push on to Crickhowell. On the climb over the Llangattock Plateau, a motorist passed, shouting at us. While two of us thought it was just the abuse that some motorists like to vent, he was actually trying to helpfully inform us that one of our riders had stopped. We retraced our steps to find that she had stopped in need of a sugar rush, which was satisfied by a handful of “Pink Piggies”.
The descent to Llangattock village is an absolute delight, and everyone had smiles on their faces at the bottom. The VC’s knowledge of the back streets of Crickhowell took us to the cafe for well earned coffee and cake. The return route, broadly down the Usk valley, then across to Monmouth was very hot, and given our previous exertions was taken at an easy pace.
Not the confidence-building ride that I had hoped would prepare me for the club monument “The 3 Cities” next Sunday.
60 miles, 5,350’ ascent @ 13.4mph, with Garmin reporting a temperature of 26C.
