“Ah, you're going on holiday in the UK? If you have the chance, you should definitely do the Dragon Ride. Even more, I'll join you.”

To be honest, I had never heard of such a thing as a ‘Dragon Ride’. But this comment from a British colleague quickly piqued my interest. Some detective work taught me that the event was the Welsh version of what the Tour of Flanders tour is to the Flemish and the Amstel Gold Race to the Dutch. Beautiful scenery, quite a few hills. I was convinced. So, I signed up for the 150 kilometres last September, and so did my colleague.

Gliding in winter

Now I always get through the winter in terms of cycle training (cycling a bit through the dunes, a lot of Zwiften), but it's nice to have a concrete goal. In any case, I was ready for it. The few times I polled my colleague, he also seemed confident. His exercise bike had broken down, it was just raining outside and he was busy. But as soon as the weather turned nice, it would all be fine. Well, at least that's what he said.

Until I got a chat from him a week or so before the start, not long after I jokingly pointed him to the website www.indekken.nl, For all your cycling woes. It wasn't going to be him anyway. Busy at work, busy with kids, in short: hopelessly out of shape.
And so, on 23 June, the day of the march, I found myself at the start line alone after all.

That is, with the 4,498 others who had not come up with a subterfuge.

Brecon Beacons Nature Park

The Medio Fondo (you could choose distances of up to 300 kilometres, but I was fine with well over half of that) started at the coast and headed into the Brecon Beacons Nature Park. Or, as they call it in Wales itself, Bannau Brycheiniog.

After a not yet spectacular start along some busy roads and industry, the ride quickly became more beautiful. During the ride, you have to overcome just over 2,000 altimeters, spread over a few nice gradual climbs of up to 5 kilometres. Especially the last few are in stunning scenery.
My condition was fine, but as a mechanic it will probably never work out for me. Due to two punctures, I spent so much time messing around on the side of the road that I felt I had seen three quarters of the other competitors drive by. They all nicely asked ‘Are you okay, mate?‘

Cycling in Wales

That setback aside, I can definitely recommend the Dragon Ride. The scenery is beautiful, the event very well organised and the atmosphere is top notch. Does cycling in Wales have my preference say, the Vosges or the Eifel? Maybe not directly. England and Wales are a bit less geared to cyclists and it is a bit more time-consuming to get here.

But if you do happen to be in the UK, and are invited by a colleague to do the Dragon Ride; don't miss the opportunity!