The Taff Trail Across The Brecon Beacons in Pictures

More pictures to be uploaded over next few days......

Exhaustion and Recovery

It is Friday and I wake up in my own bed. My recovery plan involves rest, naps, sleep and cup after cup of herbal tea. I manage to blog, then send Neil an email in understanding of his feelings our ride together had invoked. New Years Eve had been a good day to enjoy beauty and friendship.

I am determined not to cycle anywhere today. In accepting the Rector and Christina's invitation to enjoy good cooking and a warm hearth, a lift is immediately offered - as they already understand how I might feel.

Again I am with friends, they tell me of their own plans to undertake a long journey and busk everyday for charity, that my ride has helped inspire. Warmed in many ways by a lovely evening, I begin to think of another French Cycle Tour this coming June - perhaps with back-up crew.

Well?

New Year's Day 2009 - A Long Last Leg East

I slept under two heavy duvets in the high round tower at Daffy's and the first memorable event of the year was my slipping in my socks on the steep narrow wooden stairway that curve downwards to 'ski the lot' and hit the first floor landing! The steepness and small size of the stairs made for a fast bruising yet injury free descent?

Daffy had learnt the need for lots of food, so we had a huge whatever-you-want breakfast and piles of snacks to store away enroute. The plan was to follow the Taff Trail(8) to where the Celtic Trail(4) divided off to the East. The Celtic Trail would then lead me on a winding route through Caerphilly; On to Newport hence to wander the Coastal Salt Marshes to Caldicot; Then the long hill into Chepstow before a couple of miles of up-and-over on the old Severn Bridge cycleway; Then wander the lanes to the A38, to head North in the direction of Gloucester, before going East towards Stroud to reach Stonehouse - a journey of nearly 70 odd miles.

Daffy wanted to join me as far as Caerphilly Castle, it was chilly so instead our leave taking was well timed at the divide of the trails. She had surprised and seen me off in Holyhead, found me in Brecon, accompanied me to Ponty with Neil and now waved me goodbye dan jalan bagus on the Celtic Trail home. I headed back towards a cold home, the hot bath, an exhausted sleep and a blog or two. Yet, knowing what warming presents to buy Daffy for her 40th Birthday Party next week!

Lets just say the trail home was a bitter cold slog and I could have done without the broken beer bottle in Newport!

The fierce beauty of Snowdonia, the Cambrian Mountains and the Brecon Beacons were the best, with the solo legs of Lon Las Cymru having each been an adventure. Having company and sharing the beauty of New Years Eve morning had made my journey the more memorable and enjoyable.

Thank you

PS. There are Neil's pictures to download, upload to the web and add as New Year's Eve '08 & Taff Trail Slideshow. I also plan to blog on the related subjects of staying warm and survival soonest.

The Off - New Years Eve 2008

New Years Eve, Inspirational Company and Snow?

Neil, Helen and Carys had driven up in early morning temperatures of -7 degrees Centigrade to the Castle at Brecon - where Neil is to join me and Daffy on the Taff Trail section of Lon Las Cymru to Pontypridd.

Firstly, Neil held a master class, truing and making reliable both of BadBoy's wheels! No ordinary mountain biker, he is best described as an 'acrobat on wheels' who enjoys long black runs down French mountains. Watch out though, this year the taxman is buying Daffy a mountain bike and lessons, so she might carry out a long time wish to downhill Ben Nevis!

Ho, another long time mountain biker and our guide on few previous adventures in the Brecons can not now join us today.... But, here at the start I have my soul mate and hero Daffy. The best and truly inspirational friends, Neil and Helen! So I am feeling good, happy, loved and yes, ready for what awaits us this New Years Eve.

Helen, captures an image or two of this happy threesome at the start, then will deliver my rear panniers to Daffy Towers in Ponty. We set off through Brecon, to follow the canal for a mile or so before signs take us winding up to Talybont reservoir.

Here, with ice in our hair and in my beard, the cloud white-out sees us start the forest trail on-up past beautiful ice and stalagmite grotto's to our left and views of the Brecon Beacons o'so slowly appearing above the clouds as we pedal ever higher. Near the top, the cold flooding at the entrances to the old railway tunnel is as Ho advised. In a few minutes, its midday and we are in Sunshine before the freezing cold that win's out when we descend.

I am wearing warm liner socks under thermal waterproof socks inside roomy leather boots which are again partly shielded by the front panniers I am still using - its this combination of footwear carefully dried each night, that has kept my feet warm during the damp freezing cold afternoon and evenings of my journey from Holyhead. Daffy and Neil have tight fitting light cycle shoes and socks, thus their feet are 'blocks of ice' within minutes of leaving Brecon during a light snow fall. Plastic bags, loosened shoes, extra socks and plastic bags, plus some walking brings a little relief.

We are trying to avoid exhaustion through snacking and taking drinks every forty minutes. As we travel down through Mertha, Daffy realizes the need to find warmth and eat - the choice is very limited, so we end up enjoying poor food, poorer service and late service. Which means we are warmer yet going to now reach Ponty in the dark! Its the cold that is sapping our energy the worst, so we are happy to find ourselves nearing our evening's destination.

Daffy is passionate about surprises! So when she stops at a pub we are greeted by friends and start in on the New Year celebrations....

Wain Fawr - New Years Eve 2008

All My Yesterday's

I have done many things over the years, crossed the Sahara by accident, written a book in Indonesian that led to my traveling the archipeligo, survived Mogidishu, had a ship pirated off Beirut, sailed the confluence of the Blue Nile & White Nile, watched in utter amazement as the entire crew of the vessel I was commissioning threw themselves into the sea and swam away, escaped the Libyan Secret Service Lock-Up etc. However, the last few days took me to the edge of exhaustion that the likes of the coldest Tough Guy event didn't manage! Because I got it wrong, doing too many miles a day whilst overloaded with kit on extrordinary trails hurts and exhausts after some nine hours in the saddle.

On a cycle tour you plan to cover a certain number of miles, when mountain biking you plan your route in hours and this adventure was more akin to mountain biking! So I needed to do it as light as possible, carry the minimum not 150 litres of luggage, wear the same clothes with only a few essential dry items stowed away and perhaps just the military survival blanket instead of the two panniers of survival gear I took!

So, having planned safe I had overloaded the bike for the trail I found myself doing and the planned daily mileage. Yet, having all the gear for surviving the mountain conditions gave me the confidence to ride solo, ride into the night and to do a nine hour day in the saddle. Wrong or right, the last three days in Snowdonia and the Cambrian Mountains exhausted me.

Last night Daffy joined me in Brecon and we plan to cycle todays leg to Pontypridd with a couple of friends, then celebrate New Year! To save my bikes wheels I intend to send two panniers on ahead with a friend who is driving down.

I would love to do those last three days again on a mountain bike with friends over some four days...