But is it harder to get up, the older we get ?
My Mrs is from the valley's
Hopefully one day soon they will open the boarder so she can return for a family visit and give me some peace.
Fred West opened his boarder and look what happened to him ;-)
Thanks Cymro.I live in South Wales on edge of the Valleys. Cycling is great but challenging. To leave my home the lowest gradient is 12%, and I have a 20% gradient if I come back on the best cycling route.
Once your legs are used to the hills it's great cycling country. It does influence your choice of bike too - I have three bikes, all with very low gears to ensure I can keep pedalling even when my legs are going.
There are also lots of NCN routes along old railways although the quality is very variable. You're better off searching out quieter roads up on the hills. There are also lots of opportunities to get off road on forest and mountain tracks. My main bike is therefore a steel tourer which copes well with rougher surfaces as well as tarmac.
Always lived here. Apart from great cycling, Wales has pros and cons. Community is still pretty good, although not as strong as I remember growing up in 80s. Environment is much better than before despite poorly designed roads everywhere. You can cycle up the mountains and down to the coast on a day ride.
The main work opportunities are public sector non-jobs or no future private sector. Quality of most services like education and health have declined dismally since devolution. Most people i know would gladly abolish the Assembly in a heartbeat.
Worrying rise of nationalism exploiting patriotism, and blaming England for all of life's problems.