We met at 8.00am by the entrance to St. Woolos Cathedral, the weather was warm and sunny, unusual for a bank holiday Monday! We were heading for the high mountain pass from the Rhondda Valley over to Bridgend commonly known as the Bwlch. The roads were quiet as we cycled through the sunny lanes of Draethen and Rudry. We were in unfamiliar territory, but were pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this area. After a quick stop to look at Caerphilly castle, we cycled along the Taff trail cycle route for 4 miles until we arrived in Pontypridd, here we went out on the main road that climbed gently up the Rhondda valley. Just before lunch we hit the bottom of the mountain climb, Nick stormed off ahead while I thought I had hit the wall, but fortunately I managed to compose myself to make a good ascent up the mountain. The climb has a few switchback bends but is not steep and rises to nearly 2000ft, where we were greeted with splendid views of the whole of South Wales, North Devon and Somerset. There is some confusion if this is the highest road in Wales, or it maybe the Gospel pass in the Black mountains, which we have cycled many times, however it is certainly the highest A road. We ate some food from the burger bar by the viewing point, after talking to a local character, we cycled along the highest point, which took us along a mountain ridge with views either side.

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