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!