After a wet Christmas the weather had turned cold and dry, we met in Croesyceiliog for the first ride of the year. It was 1100 the sun was shining, but there was a biting frost which had turned everything white. It was a great way to start that year on that cold crisp, Sunday morning. We cycled on the old abandoned road to New Inn, then on to the cycle track that cuts through Pontypool, following the old railway line.From here we took another old road, the virtually deserted road toward Hafodryns. It was good to back in the saddle again, there were a lot of people about walking also quite a few cyclists taking advantage of the morning Sun. Although it was cold we were nice and warm, Nick also had the addition of his new battery powered feet warmers! From Hafodryns we climbed up the narrow steep lane that climbs toward the Star Inn on the approach to the British mountain. We stopped here for a bite to eat and a cup of coffee from my flask. A couple of miles more and we were heading northward on the plateau of the mountain , in the distance the peaks of Pen y Fan and Corn Du mountains could be viewed against a crystal clear sky. We then cycled steadily up to the summit of the mountain and then took a steady descent down the narrow road to Tal y Waun. From this point we joined the cycle track southwards to Pontypool. This part of the ride was the coldest, as the track had not seen the sun all day, I wished at this point I had Nick’s feet warmers! We made short work of this ride home as it was all downhill, we arrived in Croesyceiliog at 1500, it had been a very enjoyable outing and we were looking forward to the year ahead and more cycling adventures!....23 miles.
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