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8am sounds good

9am for me too please

6 brave souls started the ride this morning where the aim was to climb the Bwlch have a coffee, ride down to the coast, have a coffee, and ride home. Things started well with Nige, Paul, Lee, Vaughan, my pal Mark and myself heading off from Brackla through Coity and on towards the Bwlch.  1st problem arose when Nige explained to me that the road I plotted to coity(and have used regularly for the last 4 years) was the deadliest Road around and did I know how many people had died here? Luckily there were no additions to the death toll today, although a dad and child in a pushchair nearly paid a price when we hopped up on the kerb into Coity.  All went well from there to the Bwlch where Paul did his usual sprint away, slow down so we could smell him and then showed us a clean pair of heels again after the hairpin. I would have asked for a urine test but amazingly Paul did not pass water for 3hrs today which as we all know is a rare occurrence. We then descended with Lee and I taking it a sensible pace while the other 4 decided to descend as if they all had 24 hrs left to live. We then planned to stop at the salubrious establishment that is the Kozy café,  sadly it was closed but perhaps a bullet dodged. We ploughed on and eventually(after the route took us up a hill on the aptly named Mountain road)  Lee decided, wisely, to break off and head towards Llantrisant. It was at this point the fun and games started. There I was coasting along and preparing myself for an upcoming left turn where I gently and progressively feathered my brakes(other descriptions of my braking may be true) next thing I was giving Paul a piggy back and through both his and my miraculous bike handling we both stayed upright. Naturally,  being the upstanding kind of guy I am, I took full responsibility and apologised profusely. We ploughed on through Beddau which Paul astutely identified (and I confirmed) was creigiau. For those not knowing the area these villages are worlds apart. Into St Fagans and then onto CHX where someone (it was Mark but he needs no praise to boost his ego) suggested Greggs as a stop. This was a good idea. Whereas on most rides I have to contemplate cake and coffee or to heat my jouse for a month this time I had money for both and a free bottle refill. Another highlight of Greggs was watching Paul attempt to eat a stake bake that seemed to contain approx. 2 cows worth of beef and a gallon of gravy. Onwards we rode and a big turn from yours truly. Then at the lights in Barry, I pulled away sedately only to hear a crash, bang and indeed wallop. I looked behind to see Nigel doing an impression of a woodlouse on his back only to further find out that this was my fault, again. I'm pretty sure I could rely in my friend, Mark, to defend my honour whose defence of me went like this "it was completely your fault". I decided to repent by extending my turn on the front for another 8minutes (something I regretted when going up crack Hill at the end) The rest of the ride went smoothly and Vaughan broke off at St. Brides (I think because he was fed of his hr averaging 182 for the 4hrs so far) Then the 2 crashers.. I mean victims of my inability broke off at crack hill and left me and Mark to it. A good day. We climbed the Bwlch we had a coffee we road to the beach. Misson accomplished the rest was a bonus.

Thanks for the support gents. First time under 25mins to.

I will try and get there for the 9am start.

I'm leaving from Cowbridge if anyone needs a lift