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