High Spirits on the Arans

01.10.2002

Last night’s rain came to nothing more than a brief shower and day 3 is a perfect autumn day. Light mist soon cleared as the teams were set off at intervals to run north along the Aran ridge, with views of cloud filled valleys below and sunlit peaks all around. “That was a fantastic run,� said Jim Davies of Lythgoe, “just perfect. It was right along the ridge and firm underfoot – stunning.�

Neil Atkinson agreed and I asked how he was getting on coming into such a fast team at the last moment, something he’d naturally had doubts about. “So far so good,� he said, “ I’ve surprised myself, but you never know until you try. The team are great too, they are so relaxed most of the time, but competitive when they need to be. On the rides Morgan tows me, and on the run Jim just puts on a line and away we go. He’s like a horse going uphill!� The leaders are clearly having a great time. “I’ve loved the course�, added Jim, “doing things like that run and the Karrimor Trail, it’s great to do some really good quality riding.�

Teams were fast on the morning run and caught out many of the support crews, who had a long drive round to the transition to bikes the other end of the ridge. Team Wales arrived just as their support van did and in the melee things got a bit heated. Helen Jackson threw the bikes out and they set off, only to find a pair of underpants wrapped around her derailleur and Mark Thomas’ toe clip on back to front! Other arrived to find no support crew to their bafflement, anger and resignation.

Polar Travel Company had the longest wait, maybe half an hour, but they took it in good spirits and enjoyed the rest. They were not until after midnight last night. “We had a bit of a navigational cock-up�, said Pen Hadow, “and not being able to use A roads made it very hard.� They were clearly tired, often stopping in their speech or getting their words muddled and there were a couple of comments about being ‘close to mutiny’, so it sounded like they’d come through a rough patch to get to camp yesterday. When I asked Pen Hadow how he felt about the rest of the route he said, “Completely indifferent. We’ll just do it!�

The other team to have had a rough patch were Gorillas in the Mist who retired to the pub last night. However, they were back again for day 3, having recovered a bit, been rescued from the pub and decided to go on, with huge time penalties for missing so much of the course last night. “We made a huge error, trying to follow a bearing� said Phil Gould, “and got so lost and tired. We were 35 or 40 km from camp and had no way to get back other than A roads were weren’t allowed on. So we rang in and said we’re going to the pub! Even with all the time penalties we are still only a few hours behind ‘Bare Naked Racers’. Sadly though PC13 was the end of the line for Team Apex. Jeff Cherrington has injured his knee and can’t continue on a bike so the team are pulling out, though they are being taken on to have a go at the white water rafting.

That was the next special stage, after a quick ride on country roads to Tryweryn, the National White Water centre below Llyn Celyn. The inclusion of a white water rafting stage in the final part of the course had been a surprise to all. Most had guessed they would paddle up the Conway and knowing they a sea paddle to do thought about going through the Menai Strait. The rafting, however, was a pleasant surprise, but they got the centre earlier than expected and had to wait a couple of hours before starting. Still, the sun was shining and the café was serving breakfast! Tom Gibbs came out saying “I’ve had 3 bacon butties and a shower and feel great!�

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