25/01/04 A WINTER RIDE TO WHITECASTLE

I cycled out on a cold clear dry Sunday morning to meet Nick in Usk at 10.00. I had a strong head wind as I cycled through New Inn and Glascoed. As we left Usk to cycle up the lane to Llandenny the winter feel to the ride took its place. Thankfully there was a fair bit of climbing to warm us up. The downhill sections just blew cold air over us. However it was an enjoyable ride to Raglan where we stocked up with a few supplies for our lunch later on. Our ride from Raglan took us though the now barren winter landscape of the countryside. The winter country had a Smokey smell to it, as we went through the cider orchards of north Gwent, which were devoid of apples! It was now pleasant riding, before long we arrived at Llantilio Croessenny and then climbed the lane to Whitecastle.

Here we ate our food and then climbed the top of the castle tower to view the surrounding mountains. It was now time to ride home, it was cold now as we descended the hill back to Llantilio, from here we took our usual route home through Llanarth and then to Goytre. From here we decided to take the main road home to have a fast ride to arrive back at 14.45

43 miles

1/02/04 AROUND AND ABOUT USK

I met Nick on that Sunday morning around 10.00 near Newbridge on Usk. I was sporting my new race blade mudguards. I have been searching for reliable light weight muck stoppers for years and these seemed a pretty good offering. We rode against the biting wind for a while; we came upon a road closed sign that led to Usk. The river had been in flood that week but unfortunately it had dried up a bit, so the road was accessible by cars. We carried on to Usk and then took the main road to Usk. There was a strong head wind for a few miles so we diverted up the Treherbert road to Croesyceiliog. I was pleased with my new guards they had kept the mud off so they did the job outstandingly well.

25 miles

15/02/04 LLANSOY

We met at 9.30 again on a Sunday morning; I cycled up the few miles from Newbridge on Usk to meet Nick cycling up from Caerleon. The weather had been getting a bit warmer over the last few days, but today there was a cold wind blowing from the north. We cycled along the old Roman road to the village of Llantrisant; from here we cycled up the quiet and lonely lane that ascends out of the Usk valley toward the village of Llangwm. This was an immaculate ascent, the countryside was now taking on its spring appearance and it was now an appetizer of things to come this year. A quick drop down into Llangwm, where the road to Llansoy beckoned. We cycled quickly along this remote lane to the village, form here we tried out the resurfaced road for a while, and we then branched off toward the gliding club. It is strange how you think you know an area for years, when you realize you do not. I had noticed a church near the gliding club, it was one we had not visited before; we made a quick visit to the mediaeval church of St Michael, before heading off to Usk and then taking a good strong ride up our ‘traditional’ route home through Prescoed, Coed y Paen and the Treherbert road.

30 miles

7/03/04 WENTWOOD

I met Nick at 08.15 outside the Celtic Manor hotel on the outskirts of Newport City. It was a mild Sunday morning, the weather was dry. We decided to set off along the lane that intersects the Celtic Manor golf course. From here we dropped on to the main A 48 road toward Chepstow; we cycled along here for a while and then turned off up the lane near Parc Seymour. This lane winds its way past a housing estate before ascending up in to the Wentwood forest. This is road is narrow and steep. It makes for a great climb up into the woods. We reached the summit of the surfaced road, from here we turned off along a forest track; from here we had terrific views of the Severn estuary and the two Severn bridges. We rejoined the asphalt road and set off for the descent to Usk. Along the top of this ridge we saw the Black Mountains to the north and picked out the peaks of Pen y Cader and Waun Fach. It was a quick ride down to Usk; we then set off on our usual route home through Prescoed, Coed y Paen and the Treherbert road, to arrive home at 11.00

30 miles

28/03/04 ANOTHER WENTWOOD

I cycled to Newport City, to meet Nick near his house, it was a Sunday morning. We cycled out along the main A 48 road that took us out of the city and then we carried on the busy road out into the country. At Penhow we turned left up a narrow lane that quietly and gently made its way up toward Wentwood. I had not cycled up her before and it made a change to take this unfamiliar route to a very familiar place. We had some good views as we cycled along the ridge through Wentwood. After dropping down the steep lane to Llantrisant, we cycled to Newbridge on Usk, near the Cwrt Bleddyn hotel, the road was closed due to a car upside down in the road. Our route home after viewing this spectacle was along the Treherbert road, Nick acquired a dose of bad gear changing, after trying to adjust his gears he discovered his new T.A cranks had come loose. I cycled off, to get the car and return to rescue Nick.

30 miles

6/04/04 ABERSYCHAN

It was the first time I was to take my Mercian out this year. I met Nick in Croesyceiliog, we were to try out the cycle track to Blaenafon; the remaining rough parts of the track have been surfaced so we decided to test them out. I had some new Speed play pedals which I had bought from Roaring Mouse Cycles in San Francisco. After a few miles I had trouble engaging the left pedal. I thought there was something wrong with it, when the left crank fell off! I had obviously caught Nick’s loose crank syndrome! I had to then cycle back one legged, much to the amusement of Nick!

15 miles

12/04/04 THE THREE CASTLES

Again Easter is our traditional time for riding out to the three castles of northern Gwent. I met Nick on the Easter Monday near Newbridge on Usk. We cycled off on our usual route toward Raglan, which included the village of Llandenny. The weather that morning was surprisingly warm and sunny. We stopped to buy supplies from our favorite shop in Raglan; here we ate a bit of brunch in the warm sun. Raglan was quite busy for a small country village so we were glad to ride out and along the quiet Cuckoo lane, which climbs gently into the heart of the deepest countryside of northern Gwent. Before long we were in a cycling heaven, meandering through the narrow lanes that took us past the Rolls golf course of Monmouth. We then climbed a rather steep lane from Hendre to Newcastle village, here it started raining, but after a few miles we arrived in Skenfrith and the rain stopped. We stayed here for a while to view the castle; there were a few tourists here. But we left them behind to ride up the climb that took us up the Monnow valley before reaching Grosmont. Our second castle of the day was to be our lunch stop; we devoured our delicious freshly made rolls from the shop in Raglan. This castle is set in very quiet countryside and we were taken aback by the loud singing of the birds. The ride to Cross Ash from Grosmont takes in a long steep climb alongside a mountain; from here we had excellent views of the black mountains. We were now riding along a maze of narrow country roads that eventually led us to the remote and secluded Whitecastle. However this was not one of our winter or late evening visits, there were a lot of people here this afternoon and this did take away a bit of the atmosphere. However once we were back on the road all was peaceful again. We cycled to Llantilio Croessenny and then down the long meandering lane to Llanarth. The ride home from here was taken without any fuss through Croes Llanfair, Goytre and then on the main A4042 road to Croesyceiliog to arrive in the early evening.

60 miles

25/04/04 A CUCKOO RIDE

I cycled the six miles to meet Nick in the city of Newport at 09.30. Nick had just finished his Saturday night shift at Maindee Fire Station. After weeks of freezing cold mornings and rain and gales the weather had turned into what could almost be described as a pre summer. The temperatures had soared to 23 degrees and the sun was blazing as we made our way out of the city and along the flat lanes of the land known locally as the Moor, which is along side the Severn Estuary. After several miles of boring flat riding we made our way through Magor and along the lane to St Brides Netherwent. It felt quite strange to cycle in the warm sun while the trees were not yet in leaf. We parked our bikes and viewed the church here, a tree was in full blossom and this quiet place made a spectacular announcement of the summer yet to come. We carried on and started the climb toward Wentwood. This was a pleasant part of the ride as we cycled past the Wentwood reservoir. We climbed higher and higher into the trees, where we heard our first Cuckoo of the year heralding the summer that was nearly here. Nick was riding his newly put together Olmo, which he has renovated to its original style using mostly contemporary parts. This bike looked spectacular in the sunshine as we descended the hill toward Usk; here we took on refreshment from our favorite shop in Usk. From here we cycles our “traditional” route home through Prescoed, Coed y Paen and the Treherbert road.

38 miles