WE DID IT!!!!!!!

Starting at Caernarfon Castle

 At about 4pm on Sunday afternoon, and in the pouring rain we all safely arrived in Rhiwfawr after cycling over 180 miles across Wales! between us we had 2 punctures, 1 broken chain, 2 falls (both Jack -he didn't hurt himself), lost 1 rider at Machcynlleth (again Jack- we found him again),  a couple of wrong turns, climbed countless hills (Dolgellau area was particularly hilly), had gallons of rainwater fall on us on Saturday,  and had 1 support van get stuck (thanks to the local farmer for the tow)  but WE DID IT!!! fuelled on masses of cakes, biscuits, bananas, tea, coffee and ibrobufen plus we had many many many laughs along the way and no tears (not that I saw anyway).
All 12 riders who set off from Caernarfon made the journey so well done Niall, Charlie, Will, Duncan, Jack, Emyr, John, Mark, Anne-Marie, Sue, Tanya and me - it was a brilliant trip - I enjoyed it so much

Charlie and Niall  getting to the top of the final big climb on the Black Mountain

The support team of Phil, Hannah, Lucy, Maureen and Sarah were superb and we couldn't have done it without you and our backup support of Andy and Ciaran, who stepped into action when Phil got stuck somewhere in the wilds around Lampeter, were exemplary.

At Borth we were joined by The Walsh family who guided us through Aberystwyth in the pouring rain and rode with us almost as far as Tregaron. On the toughest day and in the worst of conditions this was a real boost - so a massive thank you to Gabriella, Steve, Fay and Zoe.


On the last day for the last big climb we were joined by Margaret, Carys and Alun  and again this was a real boost for tired legs - so thank you to you guys for helping us on the final stretch.


Thank you so much for all your support and generous donations.

Will on the final climb, still smiling

First day finished and now onto day 2

We all had a beautiful ride from Caernarfon to Dolgellau, stopping off at Penryhndeudraeth and Barmouth. The support team kept us going with lots of tea and cakes.

Riding up to Kings YHA was stunning, following the river uphill through the wooded hillside.



All set off this morning after a full breakfast straight uphill!!!. First stop is at Machynlleth for more tea and cakes. The weather is warm and showery and everyone is in very good spirits and looking forward to the bike ride today.

Internet connection is patchy and slow..too many hills but will try and update in Aberystwyth, our next stop.

And They're Off!!!!

As planned the bike ride started at 2:00pm from Caernarfon Castle, the riders were Sarah, Sue, Anne-Marie, Tanya, Charlie, Niall, Duncan, Will, John, Jack, Mark and Emyr.

The support team of Hannah, Mo, Sarah, Lucy and Phil then enjoyed a well earned cup of tea and some biscuits. The weather is very good, nice and warm with a gentle breeze.

First stop for the riders is at Penrhyndeudraeth, about 20 miles away.

Tomorrow We Ride

The bike ride starts tomorrow (Friday) at 2:00pm from Caernarfon Castle. I will try to keep the blog going with how we get on throughout the day (if the internet connection is ok).

Thank you all who have followed the blog and made donations.

We are all very excited and hoping for a fair wind to the South.

Nice........... 14th August

I don't think Phil is a good influence on my training. We now seem to choose our training routes based around getting something to eat - ideally a cream tea! So when he suggested a route which took in the Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre and in particular the cafe there I thought what brilliance and suggested that if we timed it right we could get there in time for Sunday Lunch.
Our route took us up the Swansea Valley past the Cray Reservoir, this section involved about a 1.5mile climb which was gradual and not too testing. We then turned off the main road into peace and tranquility.

Me on route for The Mountain Centre

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After awhile we started a steep descent which went on and on 'til my hands ached from pressing on the brakes for so long and of course all I was thinking was I'm going to have to climb up this hill on the way back. We pressed on cycling down quiet lanes lined with beautiful wild flowers and smelling of honeysuckle and eventually we arrived at the mountain centre in time for lunch.

Enjoying a cup of Earl Gray after my lunch

When we arrived at the centre there seemed to be a little festival going on and we enjoyed our lunch to the accompaniment of some live jazz ......nice. During lunch I started scanning the map looking for an alternative route home - which avoided the big hill - but there really wasn't anything and I resigned myself to getting up the hill.

Leaving the Mountain Centre

Well I kind of made it up the hill and must confess I walked the steepest bit. The descent down the Swansea Valley was just fantastic it felt like we were flying and was well worth the slog up the big hill.
Here's our route

The long climb up to Ty Cornel - 12th August

I'd been losing sleep over the big climb up to our hostel, Ty Cornel for Saturday night! the route planner was telling me we had 450m of climb over about 6miles to get to our beds for the night and that would be after 70 miles of cycling. I wanted to see just how bad this climb was going to be so on Friday Phil and I drove out to Llandewi Brefi (no sign of the only gay in the village) and cycled up to the hostel





Llandewi Brefi is a very pretty village and the cycle out to Ty Cornel is through beautiful scenery but there's no getting away from it one section involves a steep long climb - only to be retraced the following morning just to get back on route! and then the last mile to the hostel is along a stony track which is too rough to cycle along on road bikes so we ended up pushing the bikes

the last mile to the hostel is along this stony track.

I was beginning to think this hostel wouldn't work for us - it's too far off our route and too much of a climb but then we arrived and I fell in love with this little house on the hill

our home for Saturday night

There was no one around so we couldn't get in but they did have a shelter with a kettle tea bags and milk so we made a little cup of tea each

making tea in the shelter at Ty Cornel

and once we were back on the tarmac the ride back down to Llandewi Brefi was fantastic !!!!

wish I'd left my helmet on for this photo!

P&K Early Birds Arrange A Golf Tournament

I have just heard from my father the wonderful news that his golfing friends at Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club are organising a Golf Tournament to raise money for NPT Breast Endowment Fund.

Dad plays with a group of friends on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,  they call themselves the 'Early Birds' because they Tee off at 8.00am. Apparently they also go on golfing trips (sounds a lot of fun) and it was on a recent trip that dad mentioned my bike ride and showed them a few printed pages from this blog - hoping for a small collection to support me. But dad was overwhelmed by the response - after some discussion they decided to hold a small golf tournament to be held in September and hope to raise something in the region of £200!!!! this is a significant amount of money and could take us over the £1000 mark. I'm very grateful to the 'Early Birds' and what a fantastic group of friends you all are.

Hope he can make the P&K Early Birds Tournament

At Last I Get My Cream Tea - 10th August 2011

I still wanted a cream tea so decided to do a route that took in a cafe that I new would be open. Phil couldn't make the cycle today but agreed to meet me at Craig- y-Nos Country Park, and specifically the cafe, at a set time. The ride was great and I felt stronger on the hills. One minute it was hot and sunny the next it was dark and cold and as I climbed to the highest point I climbed into mist and rain which was pretty nasty really. Then when I turned for home I turned straight into the wind, I hadn't appreciated just how strong the wind was and with this behind me no wonder I got up the hills with a bit less effort today.

Also can I have a rant about cattle grids - I hate them they are sooo horrible to cycle over especially on a road bike I'm sure they give you brain shake and Wales is full of them. But I 've always accepted that they are necessary to keep the sheep on the hills but today I witnessed a sheep daintily walking straight over a cattle grid - so what is the point!!!!

Anyway I made it to Craig -y- Nos and met up with Phil  and at last had my cream tea

The Search For A Cafe - 9th August 2011

Phil and I were still in holiday mode and decided to cycle out to Carreg Cennen and visit the excellent cafe there. Unfortunately Phil's gears weren't working well and so we cut the trip short  and didn't make it to the cafe - well that was his excuse when he found out he was paying!
Still had fabulous time, perfect weather and of course still enjoyed the distant views of  Carreg Cennen Castle (and cafe)  sitting on its rocky hill. 
At Brynamman we tried the Black Mountain Cafe but this had just closed for the day - another nice try Phil!
 So we eventually got our lunch at home

I've been away on holiday

....... and the bike came too. I've spent the last week or so on the beautiful West Coast of Scotland close to Oban. Our campsite was next to this stunning beach

the main part of the holiday was 6 days of orienteering which I  managed to complete -  yipee although my overall result was rubbish 38th out of 75 competitors on the short course! but I promise you I'm just glad to be running again and really pleased to have completed all 6 days. I won't bore you with the details of the orienteering but simply say that the 'classic Scottish terrain' proved quite challenging here are a couple of pics from the event

Day 1 start on the beach

Charlie Day 6

I managed to fit a bit of cycling in around the orienteering. A few short one hour rides around the beautiful coast next to our campsite. Plus I cycled to the orienteering on days 2 & 3 a round trip of about 12 miles which took me over the Connel Bridge and the amazing swirling waters of the Falls of Lorna

The weather was gloriouos and sunny for the so called 'rest day' i.e.no orienteering and  Phil and I  cycled over to the island of Lismore with our friends Niall, Margaret and William their 13 year old son. Niall and Margaret were on their tandem and set a fast pace. From our campsite we cycled about 12 miles to Port Appin, this was nearly all on a tarmacked cycle track and was so much more enjoyable than cycling on the road. From Port Appin for £1.50 we caught a little ferry over to the island (bikes were free)

Me waiting for the ferry

We cycled right across the island a distance of about 10 miles soaking up the wonderful views all around us when the road ran out and we could cycle no further we climbed to the top of a little hill and relished the breathtaking views over to Mull.

on the beautiful Isle of Lismore

Just as we thought the day couldn't get any better we came across the local church hall serving afternoon teas and just had to stop and devour the most delicious homemade cakes ummmm then it was a race back to catch the ferry

Phil and lots of other orienteers waiting to catch the ferry back.

and cycle back to the campsite by the end of the day we'd cycled 46 miles.

I also managed a 12 mile cycle on the evening before we left again with Maragret and our friend Kath the route took us along the banks of Loch Etive where we spotted and heared lots of Curlews.

  I really hope we go back to Oban with the bikes and thanks to Andy and Anne-Marie who recommended the cycle trips that we did.

The Black Mountain No Longer Frightens Me - 23rd July

Saturday was a beautiful day and I repeated my favourite ride the Trecastle Road loop. This time I had Phil with me or maybe I should say I had to try and keep up with Phil. We met another cyclist going the opposite way and stopped and chatted with him for a while. He'd obviously been cycling for years and was doing many more miles than us on this particular day - but he still seemed quite impressed with the route we were doing apparently it involves a grade 2 climb - whatever that means. He also said that to cycle through Wales is fantastic and that we'd really enjoy it, I felt like asking him to join us.

Me on the Trecastle Road 

Eventually we said goodbye to our friend and cycled on and the scenery was as stunning as ever! the only thing spoiling it was that there seemed to be a lot more traffic than normal - I counted 46 motorbikes along the road to Brynamman. . Once again I got over the big hill, this no longer frightens me.

Me on the grade 2 climb

nearly at the top

Here's our route. Would have done under 4 hours if we hadn't chatted for so long

People Wonder Why My Hair's Gone Curly - 22nd July

The forecast had shown that the weather would be dry - so why was I now cycling to work in the most torrential rain.

It was as they say bucketing down, the roads were flooding and I was soaked through to the skin. I had no choice but to press on and besides I knew a hot shower, cup of tea and toasted teacake were waiting for me in the office (before I clock-in). What I hadn't appreciated was that even my change of clothes in my rucksack had got wet and consequently I spent the rest of the day slightly damp - no wonder my hair's gone curly!
Another milestone as today I also cycled home from work, by which time it had stopped raining and the sun was out  hooray.

For some reason my garmin didn't work for the outward journey but I did a time of 1:38:20. This was slower than the week before but not surprising considering the conditions, plus I also stopped to put up a site notice as it was on my route.
These are the stats for my journey home - bit of a struggle really

Overall

Time:	01:46:19
Distance:	17.13 mi
Elevation Gain:	930 ft
Calories:	1,866 C

Timing

Time:	01:46:19
Moving Time:	01:42:33
Elapsed Time:	01:46:19

Avg Pace:	06:12 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:	05:59 min/mi
Best Pace:	02:34 min/mi

Speed

Pace

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	930 ft
Elevation Loss:	246 ft
Min Elevation:	10 ft
Max Elevation:	711 ft

A Warm Summer's Evening Run - 20th July

I managed to make it to one of  SBOC Wednesday evening orienteering events. This one was in Penmaen Burrows overlooking Three Cliffs. I was one of the last to start and hardly saw a soul all the way round my course, just me the map, the compass, the dunes and oh yes my little dog.

Seren cools off in a trough of cold water after her run

I enjoyed my run but still so slow .....did a time of just under an hour and didn't come last.

A Bumpy Ride In The Wind -19th July

I managed to get a quick bike ride in between sorting out my daughter's social life and cleaning the house! I headed out towards Brynammman with a view to climbing up Pen-Rhiw-Wen but there was a strong gusty wind blowing and at the last minute decided not to go for the climb. Instead I dropped into Lower Brynamman and through Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and back down towards Pontardawe. But this wasn't a good road for cycling as there was a lot of heavy traffic and I won't be repeating this route.



Still had to climb up onto the Gwrhyd, which was a bit of a struggle I really need to work on getting up steep hills otherwise I'll end up pushing my bike. But my reward for getting up the hill was a chance to watch a beautiful  pair of red kites hunting for food over the Gwrhyd.

Was That Mark Cavendish I Was Cycling With?

Phil and I did the Carreg Cennen loop. Well I say Phil and I but in reality Phil was just a florescent dot on the horizon as I tried to keep up, how can he be so much better than me already ....Grrrr he says its because he's got proper cycling shoes so I'm getting a pair now!

Eventually I caught him up mainly because he wasn't sure of the way and we cycled together enjoying the stunning views of Carreg Cennen Castle

Carreg Cennen Castle

I've now mastered the art of drinking and eating while cycling which is going to be useful for the bike ride.

My Journey To Work - 14th July

I cycled to work - yippee. This was quite a milestone for me as I had often wondered if I'd ever be able to do this again -cycling about 20 miles and then doing a days work is exhausting, but I was fine. The weather was perfect and I felt great especially whizzing past all the queues of  cars attempting to get into Swansea but going no where.

I wasn't going to leave my beautiful bike outside all day, just incase she got nicked, so I took her into the office - hope nobody minded.
Here's my route

Three Days In A Row - 11th July

After bombing out the day before Phil was brave enough to get back on the bike on the Monday for an evening cycle . There's no such thing as an easy ride around here so we opted for a ride over the Gwrhyd  to Llangiwig Church a distance of about 8.5 miles. When we got there Phil seemed more interested in the Golf Course than the pretty church! On the mountain road we pass this little chapel

The Little Red Chapel on The Gwrhyd

We were out for about 1 hour. Although this was only a short ride it meant I'd been cycling three days in a row.

Phil Gets A New Bike - 10th July

I think Phil had decided that the only way he was going to see his wife and son was to also get a road bike and it was  with great excitement that his shinny new bike arrived on Saturday. We couldn't wait to get out on it and  decided to ride down to Swansea the next day where the air show was going on,  Charlie joined us.

The Swansea Airshow was fantastic

I  thought Phil was going to be a bit cautious initially but there was none of this he just jumped on the new bike and sped off in hot pursuit of Charlie and I had to go flat out to keep up. Basically with these two it was a case of keep up or get left behind - which I was really happy with because it meant I was coming out of that box labelled 'cancer patient'. It took about 1 hour 30 minutes to get down to Swansea, we could hear the the aeroplanes as we approached.

Phil on Sail bridge

Look at all the people on Swansea Beach

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By his own admission Phil found the cycle home hard going and in the end I was waiting for him... ha ha This is what he posted on facebook

got my new boardman, first ride for years was from home to the swansea air show with sarah and charlie, and back..50 miles later, dizzy, feel sick, shaking, no legs...just typing up a "Free to good home" sign

Here's our route

Tanya and Sarah Start To Fly - 9th July

Tanya had been having bad dreams about getting over the big hill (Pen Rhiw Wen). This is the climb towards the end of The Bike Ride and  its also part of the 'Trecastle Road loop'. So she decided to attempt this loop just to see how 'bad' the climb was going to be and I decided to join her. Its great to have company on a training ride and we pelted along chatting about this and that and generally having a good laugh (must be getting fitter  to be able to cycle and chat).

Chance for a brief rest while Tanya changes into her shorts

It was also great to see Tanya relishing the scenery as I had done on my first excursions especially since she's been giving me a lot of stick about how I find everything  so' wonderful'! We made Usk Reservoir about 5 minutes ahead of schedule and decided to  press on and it felt like we were flying  we're both getting fitter and this was feeling good. I'm also getting much braver on the descents and we were just flying down these .. yahooo. Eventually we joined the road that leads to the big climb and things got a bit more serious and my little friend fell quiet, the focus now was on getting up the hill we just took it slowly and steadily climbed, there was no enjoying the scenery now we were just pushing on up the hill and eventually with legs burning we both made it to the top!!!! the descent down the other side of Pen-Rhiw-Wen is fantastic and the new fearless Sarah was hammering along  just about hanging onto my bike when suddenly I was aware of Tanya alongside me singing 'she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes' - what a nutter. We nearly got taken out by a couple of sheep which would of been a bit of a shame after surviving the climb.
Anyway thanks Tanya  for a great training ride I'm so glad you'll be doing this with me.
 Here's our route

Jane Gets An Unexpected Visitor - 4th July

The Monday after our epic journey to The Lakes, Hannah and Charlie were playing with the Cwmtawe Brass Band in a concert at Margam Orangery. They had to be there 2 hours before the start of the concert to rehearse so rather than just waiting around for a couple of hours I seized the opportunity to catch up with some desperately needed training

I decided to head for the coast and cycle over to Porthcawl. It was the most perfect summers evening for cycling and lots of people were out on their bikes. Now in the Swansea Valley we're a friendly lot and if you see another cyclist you always acknowledge each other even if its just a grunt or lifting a finger off the handle bars. But here I was saying hello to other cyclist and just getting blanked so I quickly gave up on that! Cycling by the dunes and the sea on gentle hills was very pleasant and in no time at all I was in Porthcawl. I decided to visit Jane. She had a real surprise and for a few moments thought I'd cycled from Rhiwfawr, anyway had a cup of tea with Sis and then headed back just in time to catch a wonderful concert though I was a bit of an embarassment to my children as I enjoyed the concert still wearing my flourecent cycling gear.

Cymru Am Byth 1st - 3rd July

Phil and I had the absolute pleasure of taking the Welsh Junior Orienteering Team up to the Lake District for a weekend of competing in the Junior Inter Regional Championships (JIRCs). Whilst this was a complete honour for us both it did mean that I wouldn't be able to get much cycling done for the third weekend in a row. I took my running kit just in case there was a chance of a run.

The biggest challenge of the weekend for Phil and me was driving our wreck of a minibus all through Wales and then onto The Lakes and back -  we affectionately named the bus Myfanwy. Believe me she looks good in this photo!

Well Myfanwy got us there and back and the Welsh Team did brilliantly and Mrs Wales as I became known to the organisers was very proud. Here's the fabulous team 

No chance to run and so no training all weekend :( but still had a good time).

Brief Encounter - 28th June

I was keen to do the Trecastle Road (beetroot sandwiches) Loop again and so as soon as I'd recovered from our flying trip to London I once again headed out up the valley. As I turned into the Trecastle Road there were a group of DoEers aimlessly wandering across the road ladened down with immense rucksacks, some with saucepans dangling. As I approached they started encouraging me 'keep going!' 'you can do it love!' they shouted - blimey must be looking tired already I thought. I pushed on still savoring the magic of this place, this is the view from the highest point on the Trecastle Road you can see Pen-y-Fan in the distance.

                                       
Eventually I stopped for a breather in the tiny village of Pontar Hydfer as I munched on my museli bar this magnificent buzzard swooped down and landed on a stone cross in the church yard right in front of me we shared a brief moment and then he took off again. I pressed on up a hill past the Usk Reservoir and out into the open moorland eventually joining the road to Brynamman. But before I reached Brynamman there was a small matter of a big hill to get over. I slogged on. The road seemed a lot quieter on a Tuesday afternoon, but just as I was thinking how wonderful no racing motorbikes to contend with  I heard the distant whine of an approaching motorbike the noise kept getting loader and sure enough 5 minutes later two bikes screamed passed me. Once again I made it to the top of the hill but  I was more tired this time (maybe because I hadn't had a beetroot sandwich) the last few miles were a bit of a struggle but I made it. Here's my route

Discovering Churches 25th -26th June

I'm soo behind writing this blog, lots been happening but not as much cycling as I should be doing. On the weekend of 26th June my neice and nephew were baptised so we had a very special day in London with my brother's family and friends. Here's photo of some of the girls in my family outside the church

 On the saturday before the baptism I managed to get out on the bike in the evening. Once again it was raining and I found it hard to believe that there were warnings of a looming heatwave in the news. I headed out over the Gwrhyd and went for a little explore and found Llangiwig Church. I've lived here for nearly 20 years and this is the first time I've visited this remote pretty little church

here's my route

How Lucky Are We! - 23rd June

I was mad enough to go training with the Welsh Junior Orienteering Squad, Charlie was training so rather than just wait in the car or something I decided to join in. We met at Penmaen on this beautiful summers evening. How lucky are we to have such a beautiful place to do our training - right on our doorstep!

We started with a warm up run through dunes and then were put into pairs, I was paired with my great friend and long time running partner Margaret who had coaxed me into doing the training and now was so pleased to see me actually running. We did a mock relay race this involved running a set lap in the dunes handing over to your partner who runs the same lap while you recover. Everyone was told to do 5 laps apart from Maragret and I who could do 4 - well you can guess how many laps Maragret and I did yep 5! we then had a warm down run along the beach which turned into a bit of a scramble up the rocks as the tide had come in. I thought training with the squad was going to be a bit hellish no pain no gain sort of thing but it wasn't like that at all in fact it was a lot of fun so thanks to Mark and Alice- WJS coaches for organising the training and letting me join in.

Sand dunes and Spacehoppers - 17th - 19th June

The Jenkins family had a wonderful weekend of orienteering on the beautiful Gower Peninsula. Every year Swansea Bay Orienteering Club (SBOC) in our own laid back way put on this special midsummer event with a big emphasis on fun. But we always use quality areas and this year we were in the challenging sand dunes at Whiteford and Broughton and then out onto Cefn Bryn for a fast and furious relay. So not much opportunity for cycling but I wasn't going to miss out on speniding time with great friends, friends who has helped me through my treatment and besides all that running around with a map in your hand must contribute to improving overall fitness. The bike still came with us, just in case.

So on friday evening the weekend kicked off with a run around the magical Whiteford Point.

But it wasn't the weather you'd expect for midsummer. When we'd planned this event I'd imagined running in the cool of the evening of a hot summers day but instead it was cold with torrential rain, which was so heavy I could hardly read my map. But it was still great to be out running especially when the rain started to ease. If it rains for the bike ride you can't say I won't be prepared!

Here's my route (but only started watch 10 mins into run)


After the run dripping wet and freezing cold Hannah, Charlie and I went out hanging signs for the next days event at Broughton. This was a bit like torture all we wanted to do was get home and get warm and dry and eat and here we were trying to hang stupid signs on old telegraph poles and did these signs have proper string attached to them - NO!!! but anyway we managed to get the job done and it meant we wouldn't be rushing around putting up signs the following morning.

The next day we were in Broughton Dunes and as we drove down I was going to check that all our signs were present and correct. But they'd disappeared overnight - grrrr! we hastily put up new signs and all I can think that had happened was the over zealous organiser from the night before had collected our signs as well as his own - did he think they could breed or something??. The weather was much better today and I staggered round a blue course 6.7Km with 225m climb. In hindsight I should have done a shorter course as I stared to get tired going to #10 and lost so much time towards the end of the course but in truth I was just thrilled to be out running and to have finished the course, here's where I went:

As I was running in to finish all I could think of was food and spent a lovely few hours in the van having my well earned lunch and drinking tea with different friends popping in for a cuppa. Seren, the dog, also very tired and went into a deep sleep for the rest of the day!
Once the event was over and all the controls gathered in we headed for the campsite at Kennexstone. Again it was my job to put out signs for the following day which I did on my bike to get a bit of bike training in and covered about 15Km.



Back at the campsite there was a good crowd of orienteers staying and being British we still had our BBQ even though the weather was quite cold and very windy. After the BBQ we had spacehopper races, which is such a laugh and played rounders.

Sunday was relay day and I was paired with my darling daughter Hannah. I was off first and therefore in the mass start although not quite The Jukola our 2x2 relay mass start is still a bit of a spectacle when 44 orienteers race off in various directions - but it made me realise just how slow I've become as I got left behind the pack. needless to say hannah and I didn't win but there's always next year!!!!

This is me running into finish plese note my full arm cover Carol - Kay says I look like an ad for Persil!!!!

Late Evening Run 14th June

I was feeling tired because I hadn't got home until about 11pm the night before because of a SBOC committee meeting that had over run plus I'd spent the day in the office. But I remember the physiotherapist saying that when you feel tired probably the best thing to do is exercise. So once again Phil and I with dog went for run on hill behind our house. I didn't push it just enjoyed and ended up running a bit further than I'd planned !
Here's my route:

I want a Turbo Trainer!

I wimped out ...... I had planned to repeat last weeks 40 mile ride out in the hills but the weather was horrendous

Instead I headed for the relatively sheltered swansea valley cycle track - but I still had to cycle over a hill to get there! It was hard going cycling over the Gwrhyd being buffeted by the wind and riding straight into the driving rain and I was quite relieved when eventually I got over the hill and started to descend into Pontardawe. But give me the wind, rain and climb over traffic anytime I really had to battle with the traffic through Pontardawe, with a few scary moments :-S

But at last I got away from the traffic and into the tranquility of the cycle track.

Big drops of rain splashed onto the tarmac and there was still a faint smell of garlic as I bombed up the track. The rain was so heavy that not even the dog walkers were out which was great for me as it meant I didn't have to slow down or swerve around the odd labrador. However I did encounter a fallen branch across the  track, I tried moving it but it was too heavy.

I managed to bomb up and down the track three times, last time I'd only managed it twice - hopefully I'm getting fitter!!!!

On the way back to the house I met Phil and got him to take this  photo of me it doesn't really show how wet I was!

Oh yes the turbo trainer lets you train on your bike without moving i.e. indoors and in the dry!