At 0819hrs on 27/04/18, I, Matt Stevens, set off on a WUCA world record attempt at breaking the record for the fastest crossing (East to West) of Wales.
The start was on the A44, west of the English town of Kington, at the junction with the B4594.
The weather was extremely poor. 5 degrees with a wind-chill factor bringing it down to -1 degrees C and heavy rain made for a very wet and cold start, but an advantage of a slight tailwind for the first section of the route was very welcome!
I wanted to attempt a record as a good way of entering the world of ultra-cycling. After a number of years cycling smaller distances, ultra-cycling has always been in the back of my mind!
My bike was a Specialized Roubaix. Not a particularly fast bike, but nethertheless one that I am comfortable doing the bigger miles on.
As the attempt wasn’t a mega amount of miles, fuelling was quite simple, about 4 energy bars, 4 bottles of SIS and 2 gels got me there.
The hardest part was by far the first half of the route as it was very cold and was torrential rain, which managed to by-pass my waterproof kit within minutes!
The last 20 miles of the course skirted along the coastline of Wales. By that time the sun had come out and there were some spectacular views.
The finish was the entrance to the Whitesands Bay car park, at the end of the B4583. Finish time of 15:20hrs
I also want to say a special thanks to my crew, Rob Stevens (my dad) and Ria Chappell and also to Reuben Croft for ‘officiating’ the attempt. Would never have been possible, both logistically and physically, without them.
Regards,
Matt Stevens
