Wales, home to sheep, Tom Jones and for the past weekend – me.

Things I’ve learnt this weekend:

The annual Tour of Talybont is best completed at the end of a riding season (unless you’ve trained all winter like me and want to watch your friends suffer.)

My roofbox and roof mounted cycle carrier do not fit my new car.

Never, ever, ever get your bike serviced at the same place as Chris. 3 of us enjoyed a hassle free weekend. Chris enjoyed 2 broken spokes, a front mech that wouldn’t shift, a broken shifter and a pinch flat. For the record, Chris was the only person to shell out on servicing before we left. £250 well spent.

Donkeys are very noisy. After setting up the tent, Chris hit us with two sets of news:
The good news – “Guys, if you like donkeys, there are 10 in the next field.”
The bad news – “There are 10 donkeys in that field.”

Jamie is not the person to follow downhill.

Hairpins can result in Jamie doing a forward somersault into a ditch (see above).

When everyone agrees that the next 7 miles back to the site are fair game for a race, what they actually mean is that it’s fair game unless you win.

Pub food and cider is great for recovery.

I am faster up a hill than a group of 10 year olds on mountain bikes. Fact.

Camping in April can be very cold.

102 miles in 2 days with 8,000ft of climbing is fantastic but don’t expect to be over enthused about work on the Monday.

Same time next year lads….. in fact, how does August sound?