To say it’s a relief to be looking back on the Wales 500 would be an understatement. Originally scheduled for May 2020, with some riders having booked their entries in late 2019, this was one of our major events that kept being pushed back due to you know what….
But we got there in the end and what a cracking weekend we all had!
Occupying nearly an entire campsite in lovely Llandovery, with food and drinks provided by the super staff at the rugby club next door, nearly two hundred of us had the venues buzzing with a real rally vibe.
There was a bit of drizzle on the Saturday morning, but that was all we saw of the storm from the week beforehand, and we were blessed with bright skies and warmth for the rest of the event. Some even seemed to appreciate a refreshing quick dunk in the river crossing on day two!
There was, as usual, a huge range in the results to reflect the huge range of riders, although the top scorers weren’t necessarily those with the most roadbooking experience! We see this a lot… perhaps due to the heavy penalties applied for speeding and minimal penalties for navigational errors… There’s a lot to say for the ’slow and steady’ technique in Adventure Rally events!
Well done to all involved, with special mentions to our ambassador team, who again and again show up to help out on course and do so with great humour and good will. We couldn’t have done this without the generous cooperation of Welsh Forestry, as well as our wonderful hosts at the campsite and rugby club.
Of course our members are due a huge thankyou for riding with respect, the feedback from the locals was on the whole extremely positive. This is one of our all time favourite events to run and maintaining a good relationship with the local authorities and residents is what will enable us to return again year after year! Speaking of which, let’s do it all again in September!
Photos will be available for participants to purchase soon…
