5 Minutes With: Peredur ap Gwynedd

We catch up with Peredur ap Gwynedd Welsh rock guitarist from the renowned band Pendulum to delve into his love of cycling. It might come as a surprise, but you can listen to Peredur on S4C covering the Giro and Tour de France, as his part-time gig is as a commentator for Welsh language TV. You may also know his name from Ned's Never Strays Far podcast, and that ear worm of a jingle. 

The Road Book: What sparked your interest in cycling?

Peredur: Watching The Milk Race on tv when I was a child. We couldn't get the Tour de France on TV where we lived, so my first memory of bike racing was watching Robert Millar and Malcolm Elliott on the BBC.

RB: Can you remember your first bike?

P: It was a black Raleigh Chopper with chrome decals. I thought I was Evel Knievel.

RB: What has been your cycling highlight?

P: Going to training camps in Livigno, Italy. I've been lucky enough to be invited to ride many times pre-Tour and pre-Vuelta with some of my pro cyclist friends.

RB: Favourite cycling race to watch (on TV or in person)?

P: Paris-Roubaix. It's six hours of utter insanity.

RB: Mountains, Sprint or Time Trial stages?

P: Mountains. The action and excitement lasts for a lot longer.

RB: Grand tours or the classics?

P: Grand Tours. I'm actually more of a Classics fan, but three weeks of cycling on tv trumps one-day races.

RB: If you could cycle with anyone dead or alive who would it be?

P: My friend and ex-pro Manuel Quinziato, it's been a few years since I rode with him last. 

RB: Where’s been your most memorable (or favourite) place to cycle?

P: The 17km stretch of road between Port de Pollença and Cap Formentor in Majorca. It's the most picturesque 17km of road I've ever ridden on. Beautiful climbs, a little forest and the most incredible sea views.

RB: Team, Club, or solo rides?

P: Club rides. It's been a while since I've ridden with a club, but I used to have a lot of fun riding with the Pretorius Bikes crew in Hackney. There were quite a few hitters on these rides, and Tao Geoghegan Hart and Dan Craven used to sometimes join us for our raids into Essex and Hertfordshire.

RB: Post-ride drink?

P: Beer

You can follow Peredur and his adventures on Instagram and Twitter.