Day 5 - Maerdy to Prestatyn

First up as before i want to thank the proprieters of the b and b i stayed in(heulfre b and b) as they kindly donated to the cause and ferried me to the pub and back for my evening meal.
So when i set out on my last day of riding, it was an easy first  5 minutes back down the nice flattish road i had come in on. Then i turned off the main road and was confronted with my first hill of the day. And this was the pattern of the day. Up, down, up, up and then a down. ... My legs were not cooperating and neither was my brain which was struggling to cope with the fact that it had decided that as i was going towards the coaat, there would be a gently sloping downhill most of the way, a delusion which was continually dashed throughout. The resevoir that was on the way didn't materialise soon enough and although i kept telling myself that i would see it from the top of 'this' hill, it took another 10hills before it stretched into view and by that point i was too knackered to appreciate it.
After a long morning the afternoon was a blessing, the hills became less steep and the towns came with names that i knew were getting towards mu destination and i ticked them off as i passed. I stopped at Rhuddlan and gazed upon the castle and felt a deep satisfaction when the first prestatyn sign appeared.
I swooped into prestatyn with a slight giddiness that i'd actually got there and made a bealine for the beach for the obligatory lhs t shirt displaying picture.
most memorably though was a sculpture standing tall on the sea wall. It was meant to mark the start of journeys along offas dyke path which runs the length of wales, it's name in english means the beginning and the end. Standing there i felt the full force of the symbolism of the sculpture and my bike ride. I felt sad that the ride i have been planning for a year was done and the end of that coupled with the end of my course and the beginning of my new job coupled with tue possibility of a new mad scheme to plan, seemed to be neatly summarised by the sculpture.

Day 4- Foel to Maerdy part 2

Soooo. . . I made it over the mountains unhurt (apart from a few bruises) and discovered that my legs had found a new lease of life. Suddenly i could cycle along the flat sections at 15 miles an hour and go over the lumps and bumps at more than the 4 miles an hour that i had started out doing. The road was good, the hills (the big ones anyway) were behind me, and a beautiful river valley stretched out ahead of me below. The rain stopped and the sun (tried) came out.  The suicidal animals returned, in the form of sheep, hundreds of pheasants, the occasional squirrel and some small bird, who all tried in their turn to kill both them and me by darting in front of my wheels, standing stupidly in the middle of the road as i was hurtling along or flying at my (thankfully) helmeted head. Having dodged all these bullets, i arrived at my b and b, elated with the day, the climb, the weather and this beautiful country. It was a shame not to see the lake and the dam but i pass another tomorrow on my final day and as a friend texted me earlier, wales will soon call me and my bike back, though perhaps with a car as well next time! Looking forward to seeing the coast tomorrow but also slightly sad that this journey is coming to an end shortly. Have to start planning the next one!

Day 4 -Foel to Maerdy part 1

1st up I need to say thankyou to the owners of the b and b in Foel (Dyffren b and b) for very kindly donating the cost of the stay to Lhs foundation. It was a lovely place to stay and very kind of them.
so out of Foel, i hit the hills straight away and to tell the truth my legs felt like jelly this morning. Just a short ( in length, not time as it took me ages to get there) way away was the dam which i wanted to see but when i got there i discovered that it was a mile (downhill) detour from my route. No problem you say, untill you realise that you will then have to climb back up that mile. I stopped and chatted to a nice older gentleman who ( very kindly) warned me about the road i was planning to take on the grounds that it wasaa very steep long climb. It was either that or an equally steep ?impassable bridleway. Having done my share of cross country yesterday, my legs decided that i'd better stuck to the road. On my way there i passes, stopped and went back to a village hall, purely cos they were advertising cream teas and i never pass up on those!  the lovely old church was filled with probably all the residents (15) of this village who were welcoming and donated me a coffee on the house. So to that road. . The rain had finally caught up with me after chasing me from cardiff (i could see it in the distance but haven't really got wet up to this point) and under dreary skies, fig and rain closing in, up i went. Ok so i won't lie, i stopped repeatedly, but i did cycle the entire way, ignored by the car drivers staring miserably ahead as they drove down, dry.
When i reached the top, the view was stunning made moreso by the weather, and although now soaked, cold and knackered, i had a whoo who moment and realised that i was enjoying this more than any other part to date. Then it was cross country time again, though this time on a fairly decent track. It was at this point that i thought that if i was going oo break something, this is where it would happen, as the track was stony, wet and very slippery downhill. !

Day 3 - Rhyader to Foel

Set off from Rhyader, having stopped to wash off the extra weight of mud on my bike. Took a byway, supposed to be a good path but ended up a somewhat nightmare of an hour. Finally got back to the tarmac and beautiful views as i whizzed along. Then right turn onto a bridleway, this time rideable, until the path ran out and the supposed bridleway was more like a sheep track. So basically i had to drag my bike up the 'mountainside' and some serious cross country map reading. Some great, if somewhat terrifying downhill later i finally reached the road. Many ups later, i made the decision to stick to the road as it would be easier. This was before i saw the road!! the view over the lake when i finally got to the top made it all worthwhile though. I passed through some stunning countryside, saw the mountains of snowdonia in the distance, fed a horse one of my nutrigrain bars, found a few moments of tranquility by a stream and almost got hit by several pheasants flying across my path, all on the way up the valley. Legs killing and having hit the 'bonk', a cycling term for the brick wall, i found the main road that would lead to my b and b, at least i hoped it was cos no one saw fit to signpost it at any point. Fortunately my sense of direction prevailed. So i hit the b and b, more tired than yesterday but certainly less so than tomorrow and still smiling ( just).

Day 2 - Brecon to Rhyader

Having woken up still able to move, there was a degree of optimism as i set out from brecon, which quickly dissapated as the up part of hills hit my legs with unrelenting force. Having been spoilt by the wonderful taff  trail yesterday, i realised quickly that this was going to be one tough day. I was slightly sad to leave the beacons behind but soon got back into the swing of things. The wildlife i saw (including one recently killed but luckily for me totally dead badger) consisted mainly of squirrels running across my path, and sheep standing in the middle of it. That is untill after an enforced detour. Being attacked by dogs (5), is a bit scary, luckily i put my bike in between them and me(and not trying to outrun them on my bike as i have tried before) until the owner came and  chased them with a broom. She then showed me the most adorable puppies (good job there was no room in my bag.  Following a long long climb across deserted moorland i had the best downhill stretch. Great fun but have now begun dreading downhill as in wales you know punishment is just around the corner. When i did finally limp into rhyader, even after heaven, in the form of shower and hot chocolate, i was almost too tired to eat. Asleep by 9pm and see what tomorrow brings!

Day 1 - Cardiff to Brecon

Last night was spent in a cheap yha place. Not bad, once i'd circled the block a few times to find it. Met some nice people there who i think were left with the impression that i am mad. : no change there then.
I left cardiff this morning to sunshine and had to convince myself that i was still in wales by cycling to the welsh assembly on cardiff bay and the start of the Taff trail which i would follow to brecon.  The first 20 miles of the day weren't bad, good track and mostly flat, so much so it felt like cheating.  Then came payback in the form of castel coch, a beautiful old castle, up a big hill.  Then more gradual uphill with flat sections and a bit more countryside. Got some donations on the way and people were really friendly.  Coming into myrthr ibruprofen became necessary for my knee (twisted in snowdonia last month) but the worst problem was a slight sense of humour failure which lasted until the resevoirs about 15 miles from destination.  The sight of familiar territory and surprising some poor woman trying to go for a wee, made me laugh.  Then just as i hit the high point in the beacons, breathe comes onto my ipod and the rain starts to pour. Still downhill all the way into brecon ( the welsh version anyway) the sight of brecon in the distance was only bettered by the public loo i passed. I have never loved brecon more than when i rolled into it today, 62 and a bit miles from my starting point. Shower, food and bed, in that order, and here's hoping i can walk tomorrow!

Snowdon (belated) Rocked!

In gearing up for my 3rd challenge I realised that i hadn't updated my blog for snowdon Rocks.

Snowdonia is the 1 mountain range I miss on my South to north wales bike ride so it seemed appropriate that as well as hike up Snowdon for LHS I also did some cycling...

Arrived on the Friday, somewhat later than planned after a long 5 hour drive from home!  Despite plans going somewhat awry I found my Youth hostel (I know I'm nearly 30 but they will still accept me) and then set out to meet some friends for dinner in Bwetsy Coed.

Sat am... long ambitious day ride planned... pack loaded off I go  (in pouring rain) out from Llaberis (obviously up) to Bwetsy Coed where I knew there to be some fine off road mountain bike trails.

Going up the pass around snowdon (7 miles of winding steep road) was tough and cold and wet and I'd only just started.  Eventually got to the top to see stretching before me a road of beautiful proportions (going down) with sweeping curves.  Going down that made all the up worthwhile and even better was the straight section of road to capel curig which by some miracle had a tailwind blasting down it.  this tailwind was so strong that it propelled me and my heavy bike along at 30 miles per hour without me having to turn the pedels once!

When i reached Bwetsy Coed a beautiful bridge over the river made for a good photo opportunity before continuing onwards and invariably upwards (the map had 2 chevrons across that road).  finally I was off road in a wooded area and skirting the famous Marin trail full of ups and downs.  At one point i turned the corner to find an absolutely perfect picture post card moment , Snowdon, framed by trees.  Needless to say the camera did not do it justice.

The way back was marred by that self-same perfect road, where the tailwind was now a headwind.  so instead of speeding merrily along at 30 miles per hour, i was now crawling along at 10, only to have a beautifully clad young man whizz past me on a super light road bike and no back pack to weigh him down....  This was payback for the tailwind!!
i did however reach the top of the pass about 5 mins behind him which didn't seem too bad going.

Sunday... Rocks day.
The short walk from the hostel to the start of the walk almost killed me with reports of a very steep road found to be oh so true!  As always when amongst fellow Alarm/Mike Peters fans, everyone was friendly  and a feeling of a shared goal/interest prevailed.  the walk itself was steady with a stop along the way for a musical interlude.  the best part on reaching the top and the cloud cleared (for the first time in all the times I have walked on this mountain) to reveal a stunning view.  Pictures duly taken, some with the welsh flag fluttering others with LHS flag displayed.  The day was made perfect with a rendition of Breathe by Mr Peters, my favourite song atop a mountain, surrounded by fresh air.

All in all it was a fantastic day and made me long for the week in which i will find myself out in the middle of nowhere, with my bike and Mike Peters and the alarm on my ipod.

Challenge 2 down, challenge 3 to go!

Avebury Rocks - challenge 1/3

1st challenge 20 mile walk round Avebury...add in a crazy impulse...result 1 broken body

The crazy idea...to cycle from Reading to Avebury, do the walk and cycle back.
I started out at 01:30 Saturday morning to give myself plenty of time... my first assumption about the route.. that it was basically flat.. was destroyed by about 10 miles. That and i couldn't see my hand in front of my face, let alone the myriad of potholes, dead animals, live animals darting in front of my wheels, made me wonder what I'd let myself in for.  the one silver lining of it being so dark was i also couldn't see the hills in front, therefore avoiding the inevitable..oh shit moment of being confronted by a particularly steep looking stretch of tarmac.  4 hours, 42 miles and countless caffeine loaded energy gels I arrived at Avebury...way too early.
Faced with sitting in the cold and wet or cycling in cold and wet i chose the latter and pottered around the village until it had reached a more respectable time.
Upon arrival at the pavillion I was greeted by a couple of chaps, one of whom (later turned out to be Nick Harper) offered me a much needed hot cup of tea! (thankyou very much)
I had been a little concerned that everyone would be in their little groups but as people started to turn up, everyone was really friendly and willing to chat.  A good start to the day. Registered and got given my (now prized) walkers badge before turning my attention to the one thing that had kept my mind occupied on the way down.. bacon sarnie.
The walk started with a fitting song written and performed by the aforementioned Nick, surrounded by the beautiful stones that make up the circle.  then it was down to business.  following a good pace set by the walk leader, we set off through the undulating countryside, with music stops along the way. Weather perfect for walking and good company throughout.
Lunch was at Barbury castle, with another fine round of songs by the Fixx boys, Nick Harper and the ever-entertaining Chris Summerill.
Sitting down was probably a mistake though as the aches and pains had set in already, making the final 6 miles slightly uncomfortable, though i was aided by the cheerful encouragement of a kind gentleman who had seen me starting to struggle.
The first stone sighted was one of the most welcome sights i have seen, although we were sent the long way round by a team of smiling marshalls, (no doubt at our exhausted and in my case slightly bedraggled appearance).  collapsing on the grass back at the field, everyone seemed to be still smiling with the odd audible groan, as necessity made them get up again.  The 'Avebury Rocks' walk ( a phrase coined by a lovely couple that I met) was in evidence as people wearily limped to the beer tent or in many cases to get a perfect hot cup of tea.
A special mention must be made here for the gentleman who can be easily considered crazier than me who RAN round, who appeared remarkably fresh, putting the rest of us to shame... so well done to him for his efforts to raise money.
The music in the evening was brilliant though I only stayed until Chris Sumerrill have played his great set.  then deciding that the lack of rain and wind, with a bit of early evening sunshine, made it the perfect time to set off, I creaked onto my bikeand tentitively set off.  Despite the agony that walking/moving had brought, cycling seemed not too bad and with a very friendly tailwind(almost unheard of in cycling circles) negotiated the ups, downs, and one very nasty hill, made good progress back to Reading.  That and the fact that thought of crashing horribly were outweighed by the need to crawl into bed and therefore I was braver on the descents than before, meant that I completed the journey in a shade over 3 hours.
So having navigated through dark, steep country roads, I arrived in Reading only to be nearly knocked off my bike by some ditzy driver who jumped a red light!!!!
So 92.3 miles cycling and 20 mile walk later, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. . . .
Fast forward and I'm still struggling to move, deep heat has become my new best friend and energy drinks are still the order of the day.  HOWEVER, I had a great day, thanks to Katrina and the rest of the LHS team and anyone else who had a hand in the organisation... 1 challenge down, 2 to go.  (hopefully my aches and pains will have gone by the time Snowdon Rocks comes around)

Must add

Also just to add a word about May... it was a great month as I got to play on stage with Mike Peters and The alarm. Mike was the inspiration for this bike ride and it was a dream come true to share the stage with him.....

Peak district and next challenge

So the Peak District rides went well...some great singletrack, a huge hill through the peaks called snake pass, which is a 2 category climb and one friendly mountain jersey wearer who cheered me up on a headwind filled ride back to Sheffield, by saying I made him look like a poof cos I was carrying a huge rucksack.

So the next challenge.....
A 20 mile WALK, a bit different for me, followed by a weekend bike ride round Snowdonia including another walk up Mt Snowdon, all in aid of LHS.  this will be another packing practice weekend, when although i have a car to get there, i should be cycling most of Friday afternoon and Saturday.

For the big cycle ride, one of the guest houses that I've booked has been kind enough to offer a donation towards the LHS foundation.  Thankyou to Malcolm & Sheila Clements at Heulfre B&B in Corwen!


update on fundraising...
Nearly £500 raised so far...soon i will be looking towards the £600 mark so thankyou for all donations.

Peak District cycle trip planned

ok so An update...have almost 350£ in sponsorship so going well....  Have booked a few days in the Peak District to iron out any kit issues/packing probs.  Map bought, routes planned, just gotta book the train...

for the one person following...at the moment

So practice kit packing...failed miserably.  the rucksack I'd earmarked to take is too small...either that or I've got too much kit...hopefully the latter.

do I really need 2 pairs of socks???? Unfortunately yes. Or shall I just take a bag of washing powder..or will this weigh as much as a pair of socks.

Can't dispense with the maps, bike tools or my recently arrived LHS T-shirt.

Practice trip planned for May to the Peak district so I shall see how much I've crammed into my kit then and hope that I don't need much more!

Route Planning

Armed with every conceivable OS Explorer Map for Wales and the brilliant (if sometimes infuriating) Map my ride website (http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/28927960)... over hours and hours i have finally planned my route...over the Brecons, the Cambrians, but avoiding Snowdonia (at least on the way up).

I am now hoping that the bridleways marked on the map are accessible and somewhat rideable.... detours might be inevitable given my map reading skills.. but i aim to stick to my route, not least because unless I want to spend a night in the mountains with no tent or cooking kit.. I have to get to my next planned B and B.  This brings me nicely onto my next point..that of mileage calculation.  During a recent training ride , the Map my ride website confidently predicted that I would be travelling 55 miles...  70 miles later I staggered through my front door.

There are advantages to this..namely that i can ride 70 miles in one day over rough terrain...however I nearly died! (slight exaggeration, although a broken leg almost became a reality)

But either my cycle computer or the website are slightly out in their calculations and short of getting a piece of string and measuring the route on the map I'm going to have to trust the website...