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Whoosh 2026 Day 1\nAberystwyth to Llandidloes\n40.7 miles. 3,346 ft of climbing
\nI have never heard my own breathing sound so deafeningly loud.
\nAround 25 miles into Friday’s first day of the annual Herne Hill Whoosh cycle ride, starting from Aberystwth, I hit one of the day’s most demanding hills. I was initially unsure I would manage the climb, with a gradient of at least 25 per cent and a nasty blind bend part way up. I kept labouring upwards, nevertheless, just with the unusual sense that there was no sound in the world as ear-splitting as the din of the air being hauled in and out of my lungs.
\nBut it was the kind of day when we were regularly reminded of how rugged every aspect of nature is in this wild part of Great Britain. A steady rain began as we headed off west from Aberystwyth, initially along the scenic floor of the Vale of Rheidol. The overall dampness became more apparent as we climbed up to the main road over the pass to Devil’s Bridge. At points, we were looking down at clouds forming in the valley below. The landscape was a soft-focus panorama of green, rolling hills as far as I could see.
\nI had been caught up by the first steep hill and found myself forced to get off and push. But gradually I began to adapt myself to this environment, remembering the tricks of when to change gear, when to take off an overwarm jacket and gradually gaining confidence that I would make it up each ascent.
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I was rewarded with a succession of babbling brooks and tiny birds that fluttered away as I approached. I reflected that the countryside’s attractive green had been created by exactly the kind of drizzly rain that went on and off throughout the day. I arrived at Devil’s Bridge at the same time as a gleaming, 100-year-old narrow gauge steam locomotive that had just made the same journey from Aberystwth that I had.
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The goal of the day came three-quarters of the way in. A few miles after that vertiginous climb – which I eventually conquered - I got my first glimpse of the infant River Severn, just below its source high in the hills. Others who chose an off-road route got still closer. But I ate lunch in the Severn Source car park then rode down with other members of the party to a spot where water just embarked on its seaward journey played over big, rectangular blocks of stone.
\nMuch of what happened reminded me of the charities that this year’s ride is supporting. My efforts on the hills made me grateful to have a suitable bike for the conditions, with excellent brakes and a good range of gears. World Bicycle Relief, the international charity we’re supporting, provides “Buffalo Bikes” to people in developing countries to make it easier for them to access education, healthcare and jobs. The machines are adapted to the demands of their countries’ tough conditions.
\nI was equally strongly reminded of Thames 21, which seeks to make the Thames River basin more able to cope with climate change and cleaner. The sight of the water in the Severn’s top reaches was a powerful reminder of the delicate nature of river basins and the fragile balance between people and such millennia-old nature.
\nAll that climbing had its compensations, meanwhile. After I had cycled with two other Whooshers down to that waterfall and back to the car park, we started on the short ride to the picturesque town of Llandidloes, our first overnight stop. The narrow road swooped down into dips to cross small tributaries of the mighty river, taking us down sharp descents then up sudden climbs. I felt a renewed pleasure in manoeuvring my bicycle deftly around the potholes and gathering momentum to rush at the uphill stretches. We sped down the final downhill into Llandidloes, full of the pleasure of nature enjoyed from the perfect perch of a seat on a bicycle. Over the next four days, we will be following that infant stream and watching as it grows first into a substantial waterway and finally spills out into the sea.
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