The Last of The Sportives

Yesterdays Wales Sportive marked the end of the sportives for this year's challenge and it couldn't have been in nicer surroundings.  Starting and finishing in Tenby the route took in some of the fantastic Pembrokeshire countryside including a fair amount of coastline which made for very enjoyable riding.  The weather caused a few problems though because although it was dry (which is always appreciated!) it was very hot and sapping on the energy levels.  I had company for this one though with my friend Paul joining me for what would be his own personal challenge with this 70 mile route being 20 miles further than he had cycled before.

The ride went really well and I've got to be honest, I enjoyed doing the shorter distance compared to what I have done on the other sportives this year.  It seemed to change how I viewed it and was more of a "fun" ride rather than constantly thinking about how much further I had to go.  Timing wise it wasn't a very fast ride but given the heat, the slow and steady approach seemed the most sensible and was needed given the lack of water/feed stations available on the route.  The finish in Tenby town was fantastic as well with people lining the streets to cheer you on the final part.  It felt like being in a proper bike race and was very nice!

So that's the pure bike rides done although I'll still be riding the bike in more of the events with a few triathlons still to come.  I'd never done a sportive before this year and although the first one wasn't the best experience and I struggled with the Wye Valley ride, I'll definitely be doing more in the future.

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