Nope, there's far more rain.
Day 0.5
Train to Knighton, arriving at lunchtime. Café stop to fill the tea flask, then up into the sunny, rolling hills. Not especially steep, but a fair slog over the grassy farmland. Anyone fancy a Range Rover winter restoration project? Just don't spoil the patina
.Starting at lunchtime means I'm out-of-sync' with food stops (of which there are very few, anyway). Pie at a petrol station, then up hill to the woods to kip. 8pm. A bit nippy. 25 miles(?). Dark.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAIrl_io8Cc ... 42Y2Q4Y2c2
Day 1
Overcast drizzle, breakfast, then hilly bimbling before discovering the very welcome "Glyndwr's Way Café" at Bwlch y Sarnau, a modern DIY facility in the church hall porch with kettle, tea/coffee, milk, toilet and honesty payment system. Superb!
Then an hour's run into Rhyader for a proper breakfast at the TARDIS-like Ty Morgans cafe.
It was raining steadily as I passed the Rhyader charity and fleece shops, pondering whether to stop for a nosey, but decided to press on to Elan village. Turning north-west towards Claerwen reservoir into a strong headwind and lashing rain, I wished I'd bought a fleece in Rhyader. Ironically, the B.O.A.T was more of a river (and my bike more akin to a boat) as I pedalled towards the dam, relieved I had my flask of tea immediately to hand. At the dam car park I sought refuge in the WC to wring out my clothes and brew more tea. My Buffalo Windshirt was definitely keeping the rain off my Bear Bones jersey, but my waterproof trousers were saturated. I must look into Buffaloing my legs for winter.
Back out into the maelstrom to traverse the interminably-twisty shore of Claerwen reservoir, but at least the service road was in good condition. Unfortunately my front gear cable snapped, but at least it was too hilly to justify changing it.
After many miles I encountered a ford I could not ride through, but noticed a promising crossing point just up-river. Balancing on a mid-stream boulder I lowered the bike into the flow, intending to use it as a "vaulting horse" to help me jump across, but quickly hauled it out once the water level reached the fork crown. Options were limited in my rather precarious position so I lobbed the bike onto the far bank, only to watch it bounce back towards the river and finally rest precariously as a pedal snagged on the embankment, just where I planned to jump. I managed to tip-toe to the slippery end of the boulder and leap across without knocking the bike into the river. Good stuff.
During the next couple of hours the rain eased and "wet" improved to "damp" as I headed for the New Inn at Pont-rhyd-y-groes. Which was very firmly closed. And there was no shop. Soooo....find a bivvy spot and have tomorrow's breakfast, today. Riding towards a riverside "chapel" I discovered a heritage site office (which would have been a bit too cheeky), but at least it had a tap. The site was rather noisy and nippy too, so I rode uphill into the warmth and blundered as quietly as possible into the undergrowth to set up. 9pm. 40 miles(?). Dark.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAIu0RSo_Lr ... Jka2d2NzY4
Day 2
Early start, pack soggy tent, eat tomorrow's breakfast (today) and pedal up through the woods to the lead mines near Cwmystwyth, then along the track around Yr Allt where I stopped to chat to a couple of groups of navvies repairing the road. The Weather and the Wonders of Modern Flask Technology were the topics of choice. Today's weather was heavy rain/hail showers, followed by enough sunshine and wind to dry out a bit, then another downpour to thoroughly soak me. An improvement on yesterday.
Arriving at Langurig for breakfast I discovered the pub and shop were closed (on Wednesdays), so retreated to the pub marquee for tea, repairs and my Breakfast of Last Resort. I was pretty sure there was no food until the finish, so rode into the Hafren forest and Staylittle snacking on my contingency food.
Once over Foel Fadian the rain was replaced with weak sunshine to accompany the relentless wind. I began thinking about finishing the route that evening, as I didn't fancy waking up with no breakfast tomorrow, so pressed on down some epic descents towards the Dyfi Enduro area. One last lung-bursting effort, then it was down hill for miles, through the enchanted woods of the river Llyfnant Valley, then a quick sprint to Dovey Junction station. 8pm. 40 miles(?). Dark. Finito!
Phone calls and Google-Fu revealed there would be no food in Borth by the time I could get there, so my plan to visit the Winter Event bivi was binned in favour of a late-running train to Machynlleth and a takeaway chicken pizza in the rain. Bivi options were limited: I finally succumbed to the dubious pleasures of a wet ditch behind a roadside utility building. I imagined Reg protesting "Noooo Pete, it's too rat-infested and toilety". Heavy rain was forecast all night, so I put my waterproofs on over my down clothes, wriggled into my bivvy bag and set my alarm for 5am. The first train from Mach' to Birmingham was 05.58.
Thirty minutes after the rain started the machinery in the utility building rumbled into action and continued for the next few hours, only slightly quietened by the soggy earplugs I eventually found in a bike bag.
At the 5am alarm I became a faff-free flurry of activity, was on the road at 05.25 and arrived at Mach' station with 10 minutes to spare for the 5-hour journey home and the afternoon in bed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAIwnBkoPQT ... hwamg3a3Nm
A fitting conclusion to 12 consecutive BaMs.
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