Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Gychwyn

After competing in the Helly Hansen adventure race the previous week, and still up for more challenges, John and Jon decided to head off to sunny Wales (well that’s what BBC weather site forecast) with Mrs John to tackle what has been called Mountain bikers Nirvana, Afan Forest Park. Concerned for the fearsome reputation of the Gaelic tribes (Twll dîn pob Sais! Ed.) we thought it best to go up in force, so teamed up with a posse that Ad and Ju had put together. With bikes prepared, Vince the camper van loaded with provisions and sufficient nutrition for the forthcoming assault (Al would have approved of the energy bars and drinks that J & J had prepared, but not the choice of music that accompanied the journey) the trio headed off on Friday night to Devizes to rendezvous with TCA veterans Ad and Ju.

Once ensconced in their house, having eaten and drunk Ad and Ju out of house and home, we went to bed at a reasonable time, as an early start was needed to get to Afan for a 10am start the following day.On arrival in Wales (just over the Severn Bridge) guess what..? It was raining! As we headed to Afan the rain got steadily worse. On arrival at the Glycorrwg campsite in Afan Park, we met up with the other intrepid adventurers: Scott the single speed king; Charlie Boy; Charlie Girl and Ed. After some debate the group split into 2, with Ju's heading off to the main park centre to meet with 3 more riders, where an assault on the “Wall” trial took place. The rest of us then decided to attack the infamous “Skyline” trail, or at least part of it as the weather was truly disgusting.

Croeso i Gymru

In for a penny and in for a pound, Mrs John decided that she too would come with us , on the basis that apparently after a fairly short but technical start the trail became easier. It should be pointed out at this stage that the only “serious” off road riding Mrs John had done up to this was some single-track riding in the relatively flat Thetford Forest, two weeks previous. The start was extremely technical due in part to its design, route, the presence of lots of boulders, tree roots, switchbacks and extent of the vertical ascent, but the extreme wet also added to the difficulty. After what seemed an age and with the majority of the group having to wait for the struggling but determined Mrs John (at this stage let’s introduce her real name - Emma) and her concerned (and feeling very guilty for getting her into this) husband, we arrived at the top. (it should also be added that although at times Em’s sense of humour failed, at no times were there any expletives or threat of divorce mentioned, unless that was they were under her breath).

Emma (centre) , still smiling!

The trail then switched on to mixture of forest fire break tracks, single track, with some spectacular downhill’s and allegedly some equally spectacular views over the Welsh hills (well that’s what Jon told John!), but being up so high and that we were in the rain cloud, this could not be validated. Due in part to the time it had taken and the fowl weather conditions the group decided to take one of the short cut routes back to the start. Up to this point the intrepid seven had suffered a number of falls, but Em was to suffer one which prevented her from riding further (it’s not so easy steering when one arm refuses to play). Fortunately a jeep appeared soon after Em’s fall with a very helpful couple of guys in who were doing a reckie for a forthcoming RAC rally in the park. Em and her bike were loaded into the Jeep for a trip back to the campsite (with mobile phone to let us know she had arrived safely). Joking aside the guys were very helpful and went out of their way to help so John owes them a debit of extreme gratitude. On the way back down to camp they gave Em lots of useful info about the area, think they were worried about her going into shock so just kept on talking to her (sometimes in Welsh). The infamous 6 continued onward - tackling an excellent, but technically and physically demanding downhill section - back to the site. The excitement for the day was not over; with several of the group suffering from falls, and one puncture, but all eventually made it back down in one piece. Back at the campsite the bikes were all jet washed down, the riders put themselves through cold showers (they were supposed to be hot, but the water tanks could not cope with the volume of people needing showers that day…still charged 50p for the privilege)!

In the Touchdown Café the group tucked into some excellent cakes and hot drinks, and collectively decided that we would call it a day and head back to their respective homes. The weather forecast for the following day was as bad, the campsite was looking like a water meadow, plus the promise of warm beds, the thought of a lie in (plus the extra hour in bed due to change to GMT), Sunday papers, Sunday roast, etc etc (you get the idea) all contributed to the decision. Vince was packed up with soggy clothing and tired, cold riders (John, Jon and Em). We set off home, arriving some 3.5 hours later, in time for Jon to get home to order his takeaway curry. Afan park offers an extremely diverse range of trails, all of which clearly have been thought through and are well maintained. The campsite at Glycorrwg offers a good site with, showers, an excellent café open to 10pm and a very good mountain bike shop. Despite the weather and difficulties encountered, John and Em were very happy to be asked along, as the group were all very friendly, helpful, and patient, and despite all there was still an excellent sense of humour present. Ad and Ju’s hospitality was much appreciated on the Friday night so we will hopefully be getting back to Afan at some stage next year, but better prepared next time (including first aid kit and strong painkillers)…and hoping for some good weather (Don't bank on it - it is Wales after all! Ed.)

(Posted by: John)

The Rolling Hills of... Norfolk

Day One: A gentle ride along the national cycle route into King Lynn and back. A total of sixteen miles. Very pleasant route along good signposted, flat, well kept cycle paths through a few pretty villages. We double backed along same route on return journey to base camp.

Day two: After much studying of the local O/S map John picked a ‘great’ route for thee and Mrs John (hereafter refereed to as J and Mrs). J advised it would be a fairly flat route along a Roman road, mostly free of traffic, approx 20 miles round trip. Mrs was still getting used to her feet being cleated to her peddles so was glad of another easy day (typical girl)! J and Mrs had brought their hybrid bikes with them for this trip since mountain bikes would not be needed on these flat roads... or so they thought!

Starting by turning off the main road along Kings Avenue, a beautiful peaceful road lined with trees (we should probably know what kind of trees, but for the purpose of this let's just say they were wooden ones with sticky out bits with green stuff attached). Passing farms and wonderful countryside views of rolling fields in the distance - the sun was shining too - this was going to a perfect and pleasant cycle. Mrs should have realised when they stopped for a photo opportunity in the quiet village of Anmer that all wasn’t what it seemed. J (above, left) posed next to a wooden carving sporting the legend “ESTE PARATI” (“Be prepared”)!

Without taking note of the wording at the time J and Mrs cycled on, soon coming upon the roman road called Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path: It did look slightly overgrown, but maybe just this section wasn’t used so much? Funny things always look different on O/S maps J and Mrs are sure the passing scenery was wonderful, but keeping upright and not heading into yet another pot hole (Ooh! What was that smell?) distracted from any nice views they might otherwise have been admired. Mile after mile and the track didn’t improve - J by this time way ahead of Mrs - so on Mrs struggled to try and keep up while stopping to collect the O/S map that J hadn’t realised he’d dropped. Eventually J waited for Mrs to catch up; not just to see whether she’d picked up the O/S map of course, but also to check the level of her sense of humour. J could see that it was fading rapidly so suggested they head along to the east via the village of Sedgeford along the country roads rather than to try and keep pushing up this so called 'cycle route'.

I don't think we're in Kansas Anymore Toto...

In agreement J and Mrs turned off towards the west, picking up speed now they were back on the flat and level tarmac road, soon arriving in a pretty village and civilisation once more. Heading down the hill out of the village, head down and peddling as fast as possible, Mrs noticed that she was up to 32 mph. The road was a max of 30 mph here and they’d both just passed a Policeman with his ‘safety’ camera in hand. Shame he was pointing it in the opposite direction really! Just outside of Ringstead J and Mrs came to a curious sign (above). One mile of this - but worth it at the end as there was a wonderful barn conversion at Choseley Farm. Here J checks the O/S map and his new GPS gadget (above, right) to confirm that we were indeed…heading in the wrong direction.

The barn conversion was wonderful… but not that good, so back we went along the mile of Norfolk in hills and picked up the correct route towards Old Hunstanton. Here J and Mrs got lovely views out to sea, with the undulating sandunes in the foreground. Along the coast for about half a mile and yes a café selling cream teas (below), Perfect! Very civilised and well needed. A quick stop for the evening's BBQ supplies and then J and Mrs popped in to Fat Birds Don’t Fly cycle shop; here they were given a recommended route through some good tracks.

Who ate all the pies?

With bellies full of cream teas and the prospect of an easier route back to camp J and Mrs’s sprits’ were high. A quick short-cut took them off the main road to the disused quarry. J and Mrs commented that this wasn’t quite what they were expecting, with having had so much rain in previous weeks the grass had had a growth spurt, as had the overhanging trees, shrubs and bushes. After much negotiating J was soon speeding off, Mrs was struggling to keep up with the pace. Suddenly the path split - which way had J taken? - Mrs wasn’t sure, by the time she took the fork to the left the overhanging tree caught her off guard, the bramble bush jumped out and pulled her down to the ground, feet still cleated to the peddles! Though J was a fair distance ahead he still heard the commotion and cries of ‘help get me out please!’. Back to the rescue to find Mrs sprawled, bike on top of her, in the only bramble bush they’d passed that day. Scratches and scrapes, J hesitated; should he take a photo now or wait until she’s free of the thorns? Sense prevailed and he carefully pulled first the bike, then the ‘bleeding’ Mrs out of the brambles. Not until much later would the two them note that this place was aptly called ‘Lousy Bush Wood’.

The rest of the journey back to the campsite was fairly uneventful and gave them both time to take in the views out to sea, through idyllically English villages and the fields of poppies they passed along the way. Back at base camp… in need of a shower and pair of tweezers to remove the remaining thorns and wash away pain of the stinging legs! With the BBQ fired up both J and Mrs had a well deserved beverage of the alcoholic kind and sat chatting about the day’s events: Distance: 36 miles; Max speed 30.2 mph; Gradient flat... and yes, hills in parts!

(Posted by: Em)

Recruitment Drive

Present: Al, Tee, John, Em

"The more the merrier", eh? So with that in mind Tee and Al arranged to meet their pals, John and Em half way between their respective homes (Hambledon and Fareham) to see if they could drum up some TCA subscriptions. John and Em had taken the route much familar to the Founding Fathers, up Mayles Lane from Funtley to Wickham, arriving a little before the tandem team. In true TCA-fashion we went straight to the first pub we could find, The King's Head, for our first pint (above, right).

Leaving Wickham to the north after our beer we headed up-hill following Mill Lane and Frith Lane before the gentle decent down Newman's Hill towards Mislingford. Turning right at the cross roads we then crossed the main A32 before descending the embankment at Upperford Copse to introduce our new recruits to the old faithful railway line (above, left). This was the first time 'off-road' for the tandem too but it coped pretty well on the hard-packed ground, picking up quite a speed; Al taking the brunt of the overhanging foilage impact!

After some pondering about which bridge marked the turn-off for Soberton and the White Lion we eventually located our exit and stopped for another pint in yet another beer garden (above, right). The weather was a little chillier than it had been of late which kept most folk confined to the inside bars so we felt we had the place to ourslves. We decided to head home after our second beer of the afternoon, opting for the more gentle climb up Hambledon Lane from the west rather than endure the drirect northerly approach using the Chalk Hill climb. Thus we pottered back to Hambledon for a barbeque and a few glasses of wine at Al & Tee's gaff.

After staying the night John and Em headed home in the pouring rain [almost converted?], using the railway line again. However, they explained later that (contrary to Al's advice) they had continued down the line past the usual turn-off at Wickham. Eventually the path reaches a dead-end as it meets the still-used main line between Fareham and Winchester. This then requires a u-turn and retracing of steps for a couple of miles, back to Wickham, before joining Mayles Lane again; a mistake Al and Paul had made to their cost years earlier. According the Al's advice the couple then stopped at our regular bike doctors "Cycle Paths" (nee "Action Bikes") in Fareham for a chat about an upgrade to Em's bike. Needless to say it turned out to be an expensive weekend as they walked out of the shop with a brand new GIANT hybrid!

(Posted by: Al)