We ended up with a mixed pacers chasers ride this morning. There were 10 of us out in total, me, Rich L, Karl, Denise, Lee, Paul, Nigel, Angelo and Steve C. We set off in bright sunshine, it had been quite fresh first thing, but it was lovely and warm for the first part of the ride. It was a tough day on the bike for me with lots of climbing in today's ride, 3,940ft of climbing in 53 miles. We took in the climbs of Llangeinor, the Bwlch and Penrhys all in the first part of the ride and prior to the coffee stop in Pontypridd. Penrhys came as quite a surprise, and not a pleasant one, for those who had not done it before. But from experience an easier climb from the Treorchy side than from the Porth side. Today's king of the mountains was Angelo, who I believe was first over all of the climbs, not that I saw this from my position further back down the climbs. After the climbing we headed down the Valley through Porth to Pontypridd and onto the coffee stop in Bradleys on the main street, thanks to others for the the directions. Bradleys in Ponty as good as Bradleys in Aberdare with good coffee and a good selection of cake. And then the ride for home. The weather had changed significantly while we had been enjoying the coffee stop and when we set off again it was overcast and chilly and the wind had picked up. I'd generally been off the pace this morning so largely hung on until Pontyclun where I sat up and let the rest of the group to press for home. I then followed the planned route home through busy Cowbridge (there was a vintage car rally in town) and over the ridgeway.
See you all next week.
Richard
