Dragon Ride - Dragon Devil

Event Introduction#

The Dragon Ride is a fondo that weaves through Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, northwest of the Welsh capital. Had I been taking part in this event alone, I might have travelled to Wales by myself, but since we had to catch an overnight ferry to the Netherlands from Harwich the day after the event, we moved as a family.

I stumbled across this event by chance while I was still in South Korea last year; it’s one of the most popular fondo events in the UK, drawing around 4,000-5,000 participants. Because of this, last year I recklessly signed up for the Dragon Devil route—which was, at the time, the longest distance and highest elevation gain I had ever attempted.

Wales features a red dragon on its national flag, and many of its place names are associated with dragons. According to 5th-century Arthurian legend and Welsh mythology, a red dragon (representing the Celts/Welsh) and a white dragon (representing the invading Saxons/English) fought beneath the land of Wales. Ultimately, the red dragon emerged victorious to protect the realm, giving rise to many dragon-related symbols today.

15th-century image illustrating the story of Vortigern and the red and white dragons.

The routes are split into the Cymru Classic (99km, 1,324m), Medio Fondo (153km, 2,332m), Gran Fondo (222km, 3,583m), and Dragon Devil (298km, 4,500m). The course is designed with backwards compatibility, meaning if you’re tackling the Dragon Devil, you can drop down to a shorter route as needed. The organisers actually encourage participants to adjust their route based on how they feel on the day. On the Dragon Devil, the following four detours are possible:

• 55km mark: Diversion to the Cymru Classic route
• 112km mark: Diversion to the Medio Fondo route
• 138km mark: Diversion to the Gran Fondo route
• 153km mark: Skip the Sugar Loaf Hill and Devil’s Staircase sections on the Dragon Devil route

All Dragon Ride routes

The Dragon Devil route included 10 named climbs listed by the organisers. I naturally found myself comparing it to the Jirisan Gran Fondo (246km / 4,400m) I took part in back in Korea. At Jirisan, a single climb like Seongsamjae racks up 1,000m of elevation gain on its own. Here, however, even the highest climb, The Bwlch, reaches only around 500m. Since the total elevation gain was similar, I anticipated a relentless series of rolling hills. In Korea, we call this kind of routes ‘camel backs’.

The truly undulating landscape of Wales

Finish Strategy#

As the event drew closer, my nerves kicked in even more. However, having completed a 300K Audax two weeks prior, confirming that I could handle a 300km distance, was a real confidence booster. Having ridden 300km with 3,000m of elevation from 6:00 am until sunset back then, I figured I’d end up riding into the night for this event. Knowing it would get quite chilly in the mountains morning and evening, I made sure to pack front lights and a jacket.

My plan was to switch to the Gran Fondo route at the 138km mark if I felt I couldn’t complete the full distance. I like having a pre-planned exit strategy for when things go wrong. While events like this usually have a broom wagon, being picked up by one feels a bit embarrassing! 😅 Because I had an exit strategy, I didn’t set any overly rigid finishing strategy. Looking back now, though, I should have used lighter gears early on to save my legs for the rolling hills.

Result: Finished in 15 Hours#

Beautiful Welsh Landscape#

The Welsh scenery was truly spectacular. It genuinely felt like a road where dragons had once meandered through. Most of the climbs I had experienced in Korea were tucked away inside forests, making it hard to take in the winding contours of the route. In Wales, however, the climbs ran across tree-bare pastures, allowing me to see all the way to where I needed to climb, spotting riders near the top as well as those who hadn’t even started at the bottom. Thanks to the open views, it felt wonderful to feel connected with the other riders. Riding along the course, I couldn’t stop thinking about coming back here for a proper road trip by car with my family.

Official photo taken by the organisers. Judging by the crowd behind me, it looks like the early stages of the ride.

Heading up Devil’s Elbow. Look at the people climbing from far below. It’s called Devil’s Elbow because it bends sharply like an elbow.

Truly Fiendish Rolling Hills#

Some of the steeper sections on The Bwlch and Black Mountain hit gradients of around 20%. I managed to power up The Bwlch through sheer force as it was early on, but on Black Mountain, I couldn’t push through and had to push my bike on foot for about three minutes. Luckily, no one witnessed this blow to my pride! 😅 The only real way to deal with relentless rolling hills is to drop your overall torque early on. Otherwise, you’re bound to suffer from cramps later in the ride. I felt cramps creeping up this time as well, but fortunately, I managed to keep them at bay.

Climbing up Devil’s Staircase. Fittingly for a staircase made by the devil, the road drops frequently on the way to the top.

Successful Rest Management#

Since riding at night was a bit daunting, I managed to keep my rest stops reasonably brief. I didn’t spend more than 30 minutes idling at any single stop. However, the stretch between Feed Station 4 (153km) and Feed Station 5 (219km)—which involved looping out to Sugar Loaf Hill and Devil’s Staircase before coming back—felt psychologically quite long, so I ended up taking an extra 5 minutes to rest at Feed Station 5.

• Feed Station 1 (Pontbren, 58km): 10 min rest
• Feed Station 2 (Ystradfellte, 96km): 13 min rest
• Feed Station 3 (Crai Reservoir Dam, 130km): 13 min rest
• Feed Station 4 (Llandovery, 153km): 13 min rest
• Feed Station 5 (Llandovery, 219km): 21 min rest
• Feed Station 6 (Ystradgynlais, 256km): 8 min rest

The provisions were mostly sweet pastries, but they also had boiled potatoes, which were great for getting some salt in. Having hot coffee available—even if it was instant—was a very welcome touch.

The food was mostly pastries like croissants. I ate plenty of boiled potatoes to get some salt back into my system.

A Finisher’s Medal I Absolutely Love#

In the end, I successfully finished in 15 hours flat. As I got closer to the finish line, there were no other riders around, forcing me into a solo ride. However, for the last 30 minutes or so, I caught up with a rider matching my pace, allowing me to draft behind them. I expressed my gratitude to them right after crossing the finish line.

Finished in 15:00:19. Even though it was 21:40, it still felt like early evening rather than pitch black.

I’ve never received such a cool finisher’s medal before. It looks like a secret key to a temple guarded by a dragon. Looking at past Dragon Ride medals, it seems they put a lot of effort into designing them.

Look at this medal design. If I had seen the design beforehand, my determination to finish would have been even stronger.

After completing a ride I had been somewhat half-doubtful about, I realized that taking a “just give it a go” approach isn’t a bad attitude at all. I enjoyed a refreshing alcohol-free beer at the finish area booth. After driving back to our accommodation in Cardiff, we had to set off for Harwich the very next afternoon—it was a demanding journey, to say the least!