Lee and I did the Dragon ride Gran Fondo yesterday (separately, due to a communication mix up at the start
) so I thought I'd share a quick race report with you.
I've done the very similar Double Devil ride in the Brecon Beacons 3 times now, but I have to say I found this harder - don't know if you agree
@berty bassett ? Two main things made it harder I think - the weather and the profile.
Weather-wise we had rain for quite a while about halfway into the ride, and it never really got that warm - there was thick fog on top of the mountains.
Profile was cruelly back-loaded with some of the hardest/longest climbs - Devil's Elbow was 85 miles in, followed by Rhigos (48 minutes of climbing including the pre-climb climb), and then Bwlch at 110 miles (35 minutes of climbing).
The first feed stop was 40 miles in and I intended getting some food in me here, but the queues were massive which was annoying. I had no choice but to queue for water but I decide to carry on without food and get some at the next stop instead. This nearly backfired because the next stop was 75 miles in and I only had a couple of gels to keep me going! I've never been happier to finally see the feed stop! Big queues again (even bigger when I left) but I had no choice and stuffed my face with everything I could grab
There were lots of groups on the road at the start which I kind of surfed through, but there was little drafting benefit because the road was never flat and the groups kept breaking up on the climbs and descents anyway. There were the usual nutters on the descents - I nearly got taken out several times and considering it wasn't closed roads some people were riding like complete lunatics - overtaking cars caught up with the cyclists on blind corners etc. On one long descent I was stuck behind a car, so I settled in at a close but safe distance behind it - by the end of the descent I had 4 riders who had squeezed past me at 35mph for literally no reason, one of which nearly went into the back of it when it eventually braked to turn right. I was glad when it thinned out a bit later on!
By the third and fourth feed stop things were much more civilised and there were no queues thankfully - I didn't really need to stop at these other than as an excuse to have a short break and stretch the legs!
So, job done - and if I was to do similar again I'd much prefer to do the Double Devil again (although I really don't want to do the Devil's staircase - I hate that one!) as it's a much smaller event and I prefer that, especially on open roads.
Well done Lee your ride was fantastic - you were 45 minutes quicker than me which is not at all surprising considering the amount of climbing involved, so had we ridden together I'd only have slowed you down!
). Nic Collins was awesome on the drums! Phil's vocals were obviously going to be gruffer than 30-40 years ago, but that made his performances of Home By The Sea and Mama all the more menacing, and Fading Lights all the more poignant. A decent mix of 80s bangers and 70s prog-fiddle. Loved it.
I know all the good cafes and ice cream parlours 
