And they're off!

[Bearbonesnorm]

... well, very nearly.

http://www.trackleaders.com/ewe

[Chew]

Wonder then they might be passing through the shire?

Might try and get out to take a few cheeky pictures.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Think I'll keep my head down when they pass this way ... don't imagine I'll be their most popular person, not with sticking an ascent up Foel Fadian into the route

[Mike]

Hats off to these guys, i downloaded the route to have a go in a few months but over many days!! ha

[numplumz]

Rob Dean has posted that he's got water in his GPS and has had to seek shelter hoping it will recover by drying it out.
Tough weather out there

[Ian]

Aidan and Steve are now well into the Beacons. They bivvied in Mynydd Ddu last night before tackling the Hermitage Climb first thing this morning. It's pouring with rain here at the moment too, so they've got a tough day ahead of them today with two 600m passes to do...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Yeah I don't envy them today. If they can keep pushing on, then hopefully they'll be rewarded with a break in the weather over the next couple of days.

[Ian]

I caught up with Steve and Aidan at Halfway Forest this evening after their day through the Beacons. Today was their toughest day so far, not helped by the weather this morning. Aidan said that its turning out to be harder than he expected, which must mean that it's pretty bloomin' tough indeed

At this point they'd done 66 miles since Mynydd Ddu where they stopped last night, and having started out this morning at around 6am.

Here's some pics:


P1040448 by ianbarrington, on Flickr


Steve and Aidan by ianbarrington, on Flickr

You couldn't get two more different setups: Full suspension & geared vs rigid & singlespeed:


Steve Heading by ianbarrington, on Flickr


Aidan by ianbarrington, on Flickr

[Bearbonesnorm]

Well they're still smiling, so that must be a good sign. Today could prove another tough one but it should ease up a little after that

[Ian]

Well, they're over Carnau already so that's the main difficulty of the day behind them. They'll be on good tracks now for quite a while. They should make it to Mach today I would think.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Given Aidan and Steves location, I can see them making it out the otherside of Mach before end of play today ... tomorrow should be a pretty mixed bag but hopefully sunny

[Ian]

Are you going to put on your body armour and full-face helmet and meet them at the top of Foel Fadian then?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Are you going to put on your body armour and full-face helmet and meet them at the top of Foel Fadian then?

I doubt they'd have needed me crashing into them

Looks like Aidan and Steve will be back in England for their tea and Rob seems to have picked up his pace too after his gps set-back.

It must have been so tempting to stay in Mach last night, rather than pressing on into the hills and rain.

[Ian]

Interesting developments today - Steve has made a break for it and edged out a lead of about 6 miles over Aidan.

Meanwhile, after making good time through the Beacons and out the other side, Rob is back in Brecon and at the bike shop on Ship Street by the looks of it. Hopefully not too serious I hope...

[Matt]

Aidan's seat pack noted

[numplumz]

From Robs posts on twitter his bottom bracket collapsed and his tyre sidewall seperated from the bead for about a 50mm tear in the tyre. just call him Mr luck for this trip then.

Are we going to see a proper race now then :D Aiden will need to keep Steve in sight to the peaks as Steves home trails knowledge will mean he's on Autopilot for most of that section.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Anyone know where Aidan and Steve have gone? ... seem a long way off course.

EDIT: Forget that, I've just read Aidans Tweet things

[Taylor]

which are?

[Ian]

Decided to finish here in Derbyshire. Would take another week to finish and I should get back to work.

With improved route ie no pushing through bog/slurry bridleways, EWE will be great. Right now, too slow, too stinky

[Bearbonesnorm]

With improved route ie no pushing through bog/slurry bridleways, EWE will be great. Right now, too slow, too stinky

In reality, given the amount of rain the country has endured over the last couple of months, plus the general nature of much of the UK ... the above isn't really a surprise

[didnothingfatal]

Am I not getting the Spot feed properly, they seem to be way off the route in the Peak District?

[slarge]

They all jacked it in. Aiden and Steve jacked it in as they found it too slow/hard and not enjoyable (not the race they were looking for). Still did 500 or 600 miles though so not shabby at all! Rob did likewise after 800 miles!
I imagine the EWE will be back with a better, more enjoyable, faster, less boggy route.

Top effort from all of them. I might have lasted the 1st day, they lasted 5,6,7,8 or something. Rob especially had a tough time - (broken GPS, then hit a tree, broken face and helmet and GPS charger, punctures) so top respect.