A CYCLIST is claiming a solo record for riding the full length of the A470 from Cardiff to Llandudno.

Rob Kersley, a deep tissue therapist from Lower Chapel, near Brecon, cycled the 187-mile route in 15 hours and 45 minutes.

He tackled the ride to raise money for Guide Dogs Cymru, where his brother Steve works as a puppy trainer coordinator, and also for the Lower Chapel Village Hall which is in need of repairs.

Rob and his wife Liz were hoping to go on a two-week cycling tour in the summer, however they felt unable to leave their elderly labrador Woody after the dog had a stroke, so instead they took him with them on a camper van tour of the French Alps

During their break in September they explored the mountain passes on their bikes. Rob, 54, said: “The altitude training gave me the platform to consider this A470 challenge, but we only committed to it on our return from France just seven days before we embarked upon it.”

Rob and Liz stayed overnight in their camper van near Marshfield in Cardiff so Rob could set off from his “start line” outside the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay in the early hours of September 23.

While Rob rode on his bike, wearing a head torch in addition to his bike lamps as they approached the Brecon Beacons so he could be seen in the dark, Liz and Woody followed in their camper van. Rob said: “The first part of the ride blessed us with fine weather and started gently with a gradual gradient.”

After two hours of riding, Rob took his first 30 minute food-stop near the Nant Ddu Lodge.

The next ‘porridge stop’ was near Newbridge on Wye after he had covered 70.9 miles. Rob said his third stop was for 60 minutes to take on carbs, which take more time to digest. He said Liz served him “much needed spaghetti bolognese” in a pub car park in Caersws. Rob said: “It was then the fun started. The course profile showed a mind-blowing 11,278 feet of ascent – but most of the serious stuff was contained in the second half. So up and up we went. My legs were good until Dinas Mallwyd, where I was relieved to find Liz parked up for my fourth scheduled 30-minute stop.” 

With 130.8 miles behind him, Rob then faced a series of long and very steep climbs, some of which had up to a 20% gradient, just as it started to rain. While Rob has twice ridden up Cross Foxes previously, he said on both occasions he had approached it from the more forgiving northern side and with “fresh legs”. He added: “To dismount would have meant surrender so even if I made it to Llandudno, it would have been a hollow success. The effort and scale of the climb came to the surface with an unstoppable wave of emotion as I crossed the summit, before the long descent to Dolgellau. It was just all about climbing in the cold, driving rain until our next and final food-stop at Blaenau Ffestiniog after 160.5 miles.” 

In his final stop, Rob donned a dry kit and warmed up with beans on toast before steeling himself for the last major climb to Crimea. He said from there it was a “long sweeping, slippery drop to Conwy” before he got to the end of the A470, where it meets the promenade at the seafront in Llandudno, at 6.25pm.

He said: “I was well prepared for this ride. The long climbing in the altitude of The French Alps couldn’t have conditioned me better, but this was a toughy.  I had absolutely nothing in my legs over the last 40 miles and even slight inclines on the run-in to Llandudno had me out of the saddle.”

Rob has completed several solo cycle challenges to raise money for Guide Dogs Cymru in the past, including Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2014, Cardiff to Madrid in 2015 and the Alps in Switzerland to the toe of Italy last year. He was also the first person to cycle the entire A40 in under 24 hours in 2016. It took him 22 hours and 47 minutes, riding from Marble Arch in London to Fishguard.

Rob said: “My wife, Liz, prepares all the logistics for these cycle tours, and together with Woody shadows me providing support from our motorhome.

“There is no record of a previous successful solo A470 ride and with a sub-16 hours against my name, I hope this record will stand for some time to come.”

It was a spontaneous decision to do the ride so Rob didn’t set up an online donations page. He has asked people to make donations by cheque payable to either Guide Dogs Cymru or Lower Chapel Village Hall and send it to him. For more details, call Rob on 07974 721071.