well, sort of. Because the ride starts at the Millennium Basin which is not quite Cardiff proper, and ends at Mwmbwls, which is five miles beyond Swansea. Both are extraordinary - the Millennium Centre
and the nearby Sennedd are buildings that show the good that public funding can achieve, and the long circumnavigation of Swansea Bay is as sweet an ending as any cycle ride could wish for.
In between times it's an odd, but hopefully compelling mix. The road out of Cardiff is a bit on the dull side, and there's not much one can say about the A48 to Bonvilston, but then.......then there's a switch to twisting lanes running beside purling brooks and gentle hills all the way to Llantwit Major, and on via the wonderful Dimlands Road to Ogmore-by-Sea where we'll stop for a bite.
The second half of the ride is a different thing altogether. Think Manchester to Blackpool, but with added hills. I'm telling you, peeps, every time I try and reason with our modern-day Rebecca she says things like 'they're coming to Wales! They want to see proper hills, not nancy-boy English jobs! No wonder you lot are crap at rugby!' So hills it will be, on roads barely wider than a bike. Remember last year's descent of Bog Road? Luxury! I've been checking out the route on Google Maps and the words Perygl o Farwolaeth and Rhoi'r Gorau Gobeithio feature a lot. Cast iron spokes and inner tubes fashioned from welded sheepgut are the order of the day!
(picture taken with the aid of the Google Maps Smart Car periscope)
Breakfast (for the survivors) will be at Mwmbwls Pier. After Party at Castellamare. Drinks in Mwmbwls. And then it's all down the pub!
So far we've got
Claudine C
Susie F
Greg C
Mick D
Stuart A
any of you think you're hard enough?
and the nearby Sennedd are buildings that show the good that public funding can achieve, and the long circumnavigation of Swansea Bay is as sweet an ending as any cycle ride could wish for.
In between times it's an odd, but hopefully compelling mix. The road out of Cardiff is a bit on the dull side, and there's not much one can say about the A48 to Bonvilston, but then.......then there's a switch to twisting lanes running beside purling brooks and gentle hills all the way to Llantwit Major, and on via the wonderful Dimlands Road to Ogmore-by-Sea where we'll stop for a bite.
The second half of the ride is a different thing altogether. Think Manchester to Blackpool, but with added hills. I'm telling you, peeps, every time I try and reason with our modern-day Rebecca she says things like 'they're coming to Wales! They want to see proper hills, not nancy-boy English jobs! No wonder you lot are crap at rugby!' So hills it will be, on roads barely wider than a bike. Remember last year's descent of Bog Road? Luxury! I've been checking out the route on Google Maps and the words Perygl o Farwolaeth and Rhoi'r Gorau Gobeithio feature a lot. Cast iron spokes and inner tubes fashioned from welded sheepgut are the order of the day!
(picture taken with the aid of the Google Maps Smart Car periscope)
Breakfast (for the survivors) will be at Mwmbwls Pier. After Party at Castellamare. Drinks in Mwmbwls. And then it's all down the pub!
So far we've got
Claudine C
Susie F
Greg C
Mick D
Stuart A
any of you think you're hard enough?