In the Pacers group today was Dave, Paul, Reece, Nigel and I. Denise joined us for the climb of the Bwlch from Nantymoel and looked comfortable before she turned off to Port Talbot. Then we went over the Rhigos and Dave showed us a short cut beyond Penderyn which appeared to have not been used since Roman times! We then headed north through some spectacular countryside and up the Devil's Elbow, a first for me. Dave had warned us the Cafe was at 50 miles so we continued north and I was convinced a 'Welcome to Scotland' sign would appear at any moment. We stopped at the Welsh Rabbit/Rarebit centre where we saw Harpo and Keith who had used a combination of car and gravel bike to beat us to the cafe.
Needing the calories, I had a rarebit, carrot cake and coffee, in the hope that we had done the majority of the climbing. This was largely true as the next 20 miles appeared to be all downhill, with us touching 50mph at one point! We got abused by some blokes in a car and just before I was going to tell them where to get off- I realised it was Harpo! A second cafe stop at Neath and some wind assistance to get home.
Longest ride, most climbing, fastest max of the year for me and an average over 17mph. Thanks to the guys and to Dave for a great day out!
