Fork in road
Wales without rain would be incomplete, and as I left Aberdovey and headed north, I was not to be disappointed. However, I fared somewhat better than the village of Dolgarrog, a brief stop on my route from Betws-y-Coed to the coast at Conwy, and a chance to chat with Emma in the village shop. I was curious about the large amounts of mud and silt all over the road, learning that this was the result of a hydroelectric power station pipe bursting the previous day.
Ploughing along the A470 up through mid-Wales, popular with log-laden lorries, may not appear the most obvious route choice for cycling. However, whilst you certainly need your wits about you, there are ample compensations. Roadside cafes. Or put another way, bacon and egg baps, and streaming mugs of tea. Frequently. And the lorry drivers. Admittedly a rather unscientific survey, but whilst pedalling hard towards The Outward Bound Trust’s Wales centre at Aberdovey I rate them as the most considerate of road users, and by a good margin. Seriously. And I should really mention Jean’s cafe a few miles south of Llangurig, so when she reads this she realises I really am off to cycle around the world…
Sunday 26 April. Some chose to tackle the London marathon. I opt for hauling my expedition bike, laden with almost all the kit I will carry for the next four years, on the start of a month long tour visiting The Outward Bound Trust centres at Aberdovey, Ullswater and Loch Eil. The aims are two-fold. Firstly, to see how things have changed since my own experiences with the Trust 24 years previously. Secondly, putting the bike and rider through a challenging programme to help refine the kit and help raise cycle fitness. Oh, and breaking in a leather saddle which I am assured, just like a stout pair of boots, will be well worth the effort….
You’d be forgiven for thinking that every spare moment is now spent solely preparing for the expedition, refining the route, checking visas, equipment and such like.
However, just the sheer time away from home adds an extra dimension of complexity. There’s the need to set up Power of Attorney for management of my affairs whilst I’m on the road. And, perhaps more pertinent for a Bank Holiday, there’s a good deal I’m doing to my 200 year old cottage to get it ready for my absence. All this is stuff no-one, quite understandly, talks about when long-term planning expeditions, but is very real. And, as the photo suggests, I don’t just mean a lick of paint…..
Late April sees the start of 4 week tour from Somerset up to Scotland, returning via Northern Ireland, Eire and South Wales. Idea is two-fold – firstly, to visit most of The Outward Bound Trust’s UK centres – Aberdovey, Ullswater and Loch Eil – to understand how things have changed since I did my course with The Trust in 1985. Secondly, and just as importantly, to refine the bike and all the expedition kit – work out what works, and what doesn’t, before I head off to France in September. Watch this space for blogs en-route!
Fair to say that there are few sights more scary than yours truly with tools – and they needn’t be the powered variety. Turns out that spanner I had was actually a screwdriver, and I never did get to meet the Welsh chap it belonged to… (Philips). So, achieving my City & Guilds Cycle Maintenance qualification earlier today is something I feel rather more proud of than I’d ever have imagined I would. It’s also a pretty big testament to the teaching skills – and immense patience and understanding – of Dewi, my instructor at Cyclewales.net. Handy really, as we had to resort to using a hacksaw to free one of his specialist tools from my expedition cycle…
This last week up in North Wales has been really satisfying, not just for the cycle technical skills gleaned, but being on course with other touring cyclists. Lots of hints and tips exchanged by all – many from one of my fellow students, Stephen Lord, author of the ‘Adventure Cycle-touring Handbook’ (published by Trailblazer), a genuine must-read for tourers. There’s also been a good deal of friendly banter and humour – always appreciated when building wheels – very satisfying when you finish one, but it can be just a teeny weeny bit frustrating at times.
However, most impressive of all this week has been fellow City & Guilds candidate Colin from Eire – it’s one thing to build yourself a bike from scratch whilst on course, but quite another to road test it by…. errr…. riding it home from North Wales all the way to Southern Ireland – gutsy stuff!
In the workshop (Photo C Cahill)
Six months to departure and what better way to mark it by taking a perfectly serviceable expedition bike – and pulling it apart… Irrational? Actually no, better to really understand exactly how it all fits together, and to do this in the relative comfort of CycleWales’ workshop in North Wales rather than attempting it for the first time in a tent in Kazakhstan… That’s the theory at least.
I have to admit that pulling a brand new custom built cycle apart with some pretty serious looking tools – like the one in the photo – does make me feel a little nervous, especially when the bike is worth rather more than my car. To be fair, that’s probably more a reflection on the sort of cars I’ve driven over the years…
