A CYCLING JOURNAL 1996

1/1/96

                                                NEW YEAR’S DAY

The weather had been bad over Christmas ,freezing rain a few days earlier had turned the roads into sheets of ice , so our original plan to ride to Cannop ponds, in the forest of Dean was abandoned for a more favourable (shorter) ride.

 Dad was due to ride with us, but did not because of the bad weather, we planned a ride to Llandenny, but could not go to New Inn because of the ice ,so we cycled up the Treherbert road, then on the main road to Usk.

In Llandenny we took the road to Gwehlog, but we found this was treacherous in places , nearly a foot thick with ice. We kept on the main road home through Usk and Treherbert road.

             24 miles

 

                                                    PARC ROAD

Sometime in March we ventured out after the cold winter ,a short ride down the Treherbert road and then to Llangybi ,up Parc road and then to Coed y Paen, the Darren and home 18 miles.

 

 

                                                  COBBLER’S PLAIN

On Easter Saturday Nick came to the house, we cycled to New Inn ,Glascoed ,Usk and then to Llangwm ,where we started the ascent to Cobbler’s plain. We had a good climb up and then carried on to the top of the Star pitch, where lit the lamps and fired on down to Llansoy, hitting speeds of 45mph.

After avoiding colliding with each other ,we sped off to Usk where we ate chicken tikka massala  and keena naan from the Dil cuisine.

Full up it was then a hard ride to Llantrisant , Newbridge , the Treherbert road  and home at 10.30pm

     38 miles.           

 

 

20/4/96                               TOUR OF THE MOOR

 

I cycled down the newly opened Llantarnum by-pass, to meet Nick near his house in Newport. The weather had cleared after a shower and it was dry, as we went toward Goldcliff along Nash road.

      We stopped by the church near the Farmer’s Arms pub ,Nick was riding Dad’s bike and kept moaning about it’s riding position, with it’s large 35mm tyres. We then went past the old zoo in Whitson and then on to Redwick church, where we saw the level of the great flood of 1606 marked in the wall.

Then to Magor and past the perimeter fence of Llanwern steelworks .In Bishton I recollected the story of the Bishop of Llandaff, who was so scared of the Black Death in the city, that he fled to the unpopulated moor to escape it,but he did not evade it and soon after, it claimed another victim.

Up over the rise to Llanwern village, I then left Nick at the bottom of Royal Oak hill and cycled to Caerleon, where I lost my back light .I carried on home riding mostly on the pavement.

32 miles.

 

10/5/96                                     ABERSYCHAN

 

Our plan was to cycle to Blaenavon and the Keeper’s pond ,but on the way to Pontypool I heard a noise from my cranks. We saw that my pedal was coming loose where I had cross threaded it the year before.

It then became apparent that we had to shorten our ride, so we just went to Abersychan via Freeholdland and  ate a kebab with chilli, mint and garlic sauce.

We cycled back along the canal from Pontymoile, we saw the new marina in Five Locks with the canal dug up.

 

10 miles

 

1/6/96                                  MYNDDISLYWN

 

We left the house at 6.00pm. on a Saturday evening ,we cycled to Pontypool and then on the old road to Crumlin, which had changed a lot due to the new roadwork’s. The climbing then began, we cycled past the old college in Crumlin and then along the flat road, past the Mediterranean looking ,‘ Our Lady of Peace’ church.

We then carried on up the old road toward Pontllanfraith ,where we forked left up Tonypistyll   lane, up and up we went to the church high on the mountain .We then cycled along a remote lane across the plateau, to three radio masts on top of the mountain. In  the evening light they looked quite eerie and we cycled off a bit spooked, downward we went, with only sheep for company ,like the British and other ‘Valley’ mountains, it reminded us a lot of  mid Wales.

It was a severe descent to Wattsville, which had me clinging on to my brakes, then we peddled along the flat to Risca where I ate a kebab. Our homeward route was to Rogerstone , over the canal and down the country road to Henllys . I was having what I thought was a good ride and was quite enjoying it, Nick however seemed to think I was going to slow, which was probably true, so he cycled on ahead, I arrived home at 11.00pm.

 

28 miles.

 

 

                                                                      MONMOUTH               

23/6/96

 

In June I bought new Shimano Deore gears for my bike , I had a few practise runs, like one of 25 miles to Nantyderry. I then decided to cycle to the British road race championships in Monmouth, it was a very warm Sunday morning as I left at 10.00am.

I went through  Glascoed ,Usk, Raglan and then in Mitchell Troy near Monmouth , I watched the race with a few other club riders. We saw the pack including Chris Boardman do 6 circuits before they headed off for Abergavenny.

I then cycled back and I was overtaken by two cyclists going at a ferocious pace , but as I arrived in Raglan I saw them getting into a car Hmmmmmm. I went to Usk past the gliders taking off in the glorious sunshine. By now however I was starving and ate a pasty and drank Lucazade from Dillons.

         I then went home through Llanbadoc and took the top road to Coed y paen, down the Darren and home along Trehebert road.

 

42 miles.

 

 

 6/7/96                              THE KEEPER’S POND

 

Nick came to the house at 6.30pm. we cycled to New Inn and then to Pontypool ,Freeholdland and then on the main road to Blaenavon , where we stopped for a drink in the Spar shop. We then climbed to the twin masts on top of the mountain ,near the grave of Foxhunter a famous racehorse. The weather had been bad for the last few weeks , but that evening we were blessed with sunshine and had excellent views of Pen y fan , Corn du , Waun fach and a good few other mountains.

It had turned a bit cold as we took the steep descent to Llanover ,then on to Llanfair Kilgeden where we tasted ‘the Champagne air’. A fast sprint to Chainbridge , Usk and then home via Coed y paen at 12.00pm

32 miles

 

                                           THE ROOD SCREEN AND BEYOND

 

13/7/96      

          We left the house at 7.00pm in  good weather though it had been changeable all week , we cycled out to Usk via Trehebert road . I had a new Shimano 105 front hub which Nick had made up, in Llangwm  a said to Nick that I knew a shortcut that took us past the Bridge inn and then on to Cobbler’s plain . It in fact was a dead end that took us to the twin churches of St. Jerome , we then saw the famous rood screen  in the quiet and mysterious far church .

A puncture on Cobbler’s was soon mended and we lit the lamps in Trellech grange , where we decided it was to late to carry on to Organy pool . So we headed off for  Llanishen where we took an unknown lane that took us on a mystery tour of the lanes of Gwent.

We eventually found our way to Usk where Nick punctured , it was now 11.30 pm and by the time we arrived home via Coed y paen it was 12.30 pm.

40 miles .

 

 

 

                                                 THE BRITISH

 

27/7/96

 

With my bike ready with it’s new brake levers , 105 cassette hub and new chain , we cycled to Hafodryns , via New Inn , and the old Crumlin road .After a drink in the garage, we took the mountain road around the back of the chinese takeaway. This took us past the Star inn and then across the common to the old school in Pantygasseg . We then took the road to the British and then a fast descent down to Abersychan . Here we shared a kebab and then had a fast ride home along the main road .

 

 22 miles

 

                                   BRECON AND THE TAFF TRAIL

 

3/8/96           

 

Our big trip had arrived Dad , Nick and I were to go to Brecon , stay over night and cycle down the Taff trail to Cardiff , the occasion was to celebrate Dad’s 65th birthday. I met Dad at his house at 10.15 am ,we then set off for Pontypool , Blaenavon , Brynmawr , Beaufort and then took the mountain road to Llangyndir from Garn Llydn. Here we rang Mum on the mobile, to find out if Nick had left, to meet us near Brecon .

We then ate lunch at 2.00pm and rested for a while , although I had had to wait for Dad a couple of times, he was doing very well . I hit 38.5 mph going down the mountain, but Dad took it steady , we then enjoyed a five mile  flat ride in the afternoon sun ,to the Traveller’s rest  pub in Talybont . Dad had been going on about having a drink here all day and indeed we did have a good drink of Scrumpy Jack cider.

As we were leaving the pub at 4.00pm Nick arrived , he had cycled the flat route from Abergavenny to  Crickhowell and was laden with gear for his overnight stop. We then cycled along the road that followed the canal, to arrive in Brecon at 5.00pm .  The town  was very busy with the Brecon show ,also the  cycling charity Sustrans were in town, with over two hundred cyclists , who were going to cycle the Taff trail the next day . We did not know about the Sustrans ride when we planned the trip and thought that it might be a bit crowded on the trail the next day.

Dad and I left our bikes in the Paris guest house where we staying , but Nick was going to find a spot to sleep in his bivvy bag . We then all ate a good meal in the Indian Ocean restaurant , of chicken tikka massala , pilau rice , onion bhajis and coconut ice cream washed down with a few glasses of lager.

Nick left to find a field  for the night while Dad and I went to the pub and then back to the guest house at 10.00pm. It was a busy night in the town and outside our window across the street, there was a start point for an all night motor rally, this stopped around 1.00pm and I was soon snoring .

 

33 miles

 

 

4/8/96  The next day we had a good breakfast with four Sustrans riders and then waited for Nick , (who was late) in the brilliant sunshine .He eventually turned up after his night in the field and we set off at 9.30am just in front of the hundreds of Sustrans riders.

Cardiff seemed a long way off and we were confident that we would finish , as we chatted with two Sustrans riders ahead of the pack , we cycled past Talybont reservoir. As the sun shone on the water it made a pleasant start to the day’s ride. We rested at the head of the reservoir and cooled down in a stream, before we made the ascent up the steep road to Torpantau.

    We rode our bikes to the top , where we were greeted with the sight of over  two hundred cyclists having a break, they had climbed up the old railway track which was a gradual climb. As we set off for Merthyr we heard that a rider had collapsed ,( we were later to find out, that it was the famous gardener  Geoff Hamilton, who tragically died en route to hospital ).

       Nick ,as planned left us at Cefn coed to ride home alone , Dad and I carried on to Merthyr, where we had some lunch , we were now getting mixed in with Sustrans quite often and it was good following their  Marshals directions. We had a good ride  along a tarmac path that followed the course of the dried up Glamorgan canal. In Pontypridd we met up with Nick who had changed his mind and decided to carry on with us, he had in fact been not far behind us , riding with the Sustraners .We stopped for a cold drink , we decided that Nick and I should carry on to Cardiff bay where  we due to be picked up at 5.30pm by Ann . Dad carried on with the Sustrans gang while we sped off in front of the pack , several people  were waiting along the route taking photos and asking about the main peloton.

      We went to Castell coch and then down the trail along the side of the Taff , we were taking a trip through the back of Cardiff as I had never seen it before. The dusty track made good riding and there were plenty of people out leisure riding in the warm evening. We went past Cardiff castle and along the Hayes where live jazz music filled the air on that glorious summer’s evening .

      Down Bute street and into Cardiff bay, the official start and finish of the Taff trail . We met Ann and Patrick at 7.00pm, outside the new Harry Ramsdens fish and chip restaurant , we ate fish and chips in the sun as we waited only 45 minutes for Dad, who had enjoyed himself being dragged along with the Sustrans riders . We all then went home in the car after doing  52 miles that day and a grand total of  85 miles for an excellent weekend of cycling.

 

 

 

17/8/96                                  THE GOSPEL ALONE

 

It was a blistering hot Saturday as I decided to cycle the Gospel pass , I left alone at 10.00am and had a good ride through New Inn , Glascoed , Usk and then on to Chainbridge and the old road to Abergavenny ,where there was a time trial taking place .

 I went past Llanthony priory , as I ascended the pass I thought I would catch fire in the terrific heat of the day . I drank my last drop of water near Capel y ffin and hoped I would be able to obtain more somewhere.

My old Vittoria tyres had been ripped apart on the Taff trail , but my new Hutchinson 28 mm tyres were performing excellently. I made light work over the top, although I was hindered by traffic and dropped like a stone to the cross-roads where a scene from the film ‘ An American Werewolf in London’  had been filmed some 15 years previous .

Here I drank two cans of cola from an ice cream van , then took the quiet lane to Talgarth. On the descent I stopped to let my wheels cool from the excessive braking .From Talgarth I climbed out on the big hill to Crickhowell , I then took the road to Gilwern . The traffic was heavy now in the late afternoon ,so in Llanfoist I took to the canal , but this was too rough , so I hit the road to Llanfair cross and then on the main road from Nantyderry, to arrive home exhausted at 7.30pm.

 

72 miles