As the nation took shelter and cowered from the worst storms to hit the UK in decades, Llangadog endurance cyclist Matthew Page got on his bike to break a new Guiness World Record.

Throughout Storm Dudley and the countdown to Storm Eunice, 37-year-old Page confronted howling winds and lashing rain to visit the highest number of Welsh Castles within a week. 

Between Saturday, February 12 and Thursday, February 17 (six days), he covered over 1,000 km and touched down on a staggering 67 castle. The previous record was held by rugby legend Shane Williams who visited 50 castles in a week.

"If it hadn't been for Eunice, I'd planned on reaching almost a hundred castles," Matthew told 'The Guardian'.  

Riding his Fairlight Winter bike, he averaged around 200km a day (130 miles) which is a considerable distance given the autrocious weather conditions. The Guiness World Record rules demanded that each of the castles had to be open to the public and not privately owned, they all had to have been constructed before 1800 and, on reaching each destination, he had to photograph himself touching the castle wall. 

The ride was based around south Wales, beginning at Carreg Cennen Castle then along the border to Welshpool, west to the bleak top of Castell y Bere, then south through Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire before ending at his hometown of Llandovery.  "Unfortunately the storm prevented me from covering all the castles of north Wales which I was really looking forward to doing."

When you consider his previous cycling achievements however, you quickly realise that last week's venture was a run-of-the-mill event for Matthew. 

He began competing professionally at the age of 20 and was twice named winner of the UK Mountain Biking Championships and one-time winner of the European Championships.  His endurance riding skills again came to the fore when he completed the Raphe Festival 500 in one day.  Matthew now runs his own company which organises major cycling events including Battle on the Beach in Pembrey which attracts up to a thousand cyclists and the Grit Fest, north of Llandoverey.

"Yes, it was good while it lasted and it certainly enabled me to see the world, but it's a pretty stressful existence," he concluded.  When I retired from professional cycling, I knew it was the right thing to do."

Always game for a new challenge, Matthew is now preparing for the London-Edinburgh-London events in August when he will be cycling in the sub-100 group.