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