This was the weekend for training
ride numero 4. Chepstow to Swansea via Newport, Cardiff and Bridgend. It was
more of a route-finding mission rather than purely physical preparation as the
second day of the CCSCC will follow the same route. The benefit of riding this
section of the route in advance became obvious as soon as I reached Newport;
having winded through the various cycle paths and side streets after departing
the A48 I came to what was supposed to be the stretch where the road ahead
opened up and I could crunch those miles. Surprise, surprise, a “Road Closed”
sign met me at this juncture – Brilliant!
I then veered north again to
rejoin the A48 and continue en route to Cardiff (thank god for the google maps
app). Getting through Cardiff was relatively straightforward until I missed a
right turn and ended up at Cardiff City FC’s stadium...being an Arsenal fan I
hastily turned around and made way in the right direction towards
Cowbridge/Bridgend. This was by far the best part of the route with rolling
hills, blue sky and sunshine (and inevitably sun burn for a ginger such as
myself).
From Bridgend I headed to Swansea
via Neath, and after a few more wrong turns but lessons learned I ended up at
Tredz Bike Shop – my destination - to purchase + fit a new LH gear shifter (the
current shifter packed up last week on training ride 3 and the service team at
Giant, Bristol advised replacing it). Due to a 0930 photo-shoot with South
Wales Argus and the time it took to purchase + fit the shifter by the time I
left Tredz the daylight was failing and Swansea itself was gridlocked after the
Swans beat the Magpies at the Liberty Stadium. At this point I called a halt to
the ride having done near enough 80 miles – not quite as far as I had wanted, but
on the actual ride there won’t be bike shops and photo-shoots to delay the start/end
points.
In other news, I would like to personally
thank Portia, Ash and my big sister Annelie for their sponsorship contributions
at www.virginmoneygiving.com/CCSCC
- I now have enough to take a nice holiday in Majorca, so see you in a
fortnight! (Joking)
Stena Line have also supported
the cause by giving me 87.5% off the standard tariff for my ferry crossings
(Fishguard-Rosslare + Belfast-Cairnryan) and CloverLawn B&B in Rosslare
have provided a 20% reduction for my overnight stay with them – Excellent news!
In so far as the kit preparations
are going, I have been stocking up on a number of ‘bits and bobs’ including an
aero-saddlebag, spare inners, overshoes (essential), electrolyte pouches, a new
bike computer, thermal socks and high-wicking tops in addition to the bike
service, new brake/gear cables, shifters, chain and rear cassette – so it has
been an expensive week.
This is the last bit I promise. As some of
you may have noticed, I now have a slideshow operating at the top left-hand corner
of this blog for those of you interested. I’ll try to keep it updated as much
as possible without making it a slideshow of portraits.
Thanks for reading and for those that
haven’t already...get involved at www.virginmoneygiving.com/CCSCC.
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