I had made a decision not to stop at the feed stations and to be self sufficient if at all possible, which also would help me practice eating and drinking “in motion”. This also provided a welcome opportunity to pass quite a number of riders at each location and make up some of my lost time! After completing the first half – the loop headed to Grosmont from Newcastle before returning to Abergavenny via Cross Ash – I readied myself for the Tumble climb, noted as 6Km at 10%, although in reality my Garmin records no more than 5.5Km!