Could barely sleep last night with excitement at my first Pacers ride for ages! We met at Brackla and split into two groups, one doing the Aberdare circuit clockwise and the other anti- clockwise. In our group we had Dave & Keith, Paul, Nigel, Reece, Rob, Steve C and I. When we set off, it felt like being in the Tour de France as I'd not ridden in a group for months! We kept up a good pace through Pontypridd and up to Aberdare where Bradley's was the choice of stop, due to i) having tables outside in the sun and ii) Baguette Express being closed! Coffee and cake was the order of the day, unless your name is Keith, in which case it was a Cornetto!
Out of Aberdare where we saw the Amblers coming down into the town. I then made the suggestion to go down the dual instead of the back road as the road surface is bad at the moment. I then suggested to Dave that he could get 50mph out of the tandem down the hill which meant us freewheeling at 40mph + ! Down the back road and then Harbour Way and then a few of us decided that a second coffee stop was in order. Rob and Steve left us at Margam.
Now I have spent the last few months shivering on Porthcawl seafront and being the only person having a coffee, but not today! It was great to see all the tables full and people enjoying themselves. We then took a loop around Ogmore by Sea and back via Llandow to make sure we go over 90 miles in.
It was great to see everybody again and long may this continue!
