Posts that Didn't Happen - June 2022

 And we're into June (only six months behindhand!).

Started the month with more garden work, including the first full trim of the hedges, and clearing out some old raised beds, which 14 years on were finally rotting away (and infested with ground elder).

Early June also saw the return of CycleFest to Aberystwyth - and we had a wander along the prom taking in the sights, which included the Welsh Circuit Race Championship. 

On to a birthday trip to visit family via Ironbridge and Blists Hill Victorian Town - had a good wander round the recreated Victorian town (all really interesting), enjoyed a cream tea in the sunshine, before moving on to Ironbridge for the night.  

Another really scenic spot, a cider or two, rounding it all off with a curry :)

Back home after the family visit, and a relatively quiet rest of the month - keeping on top of the garden, sitting in the sun reading, etc. 

We also harvested the first cherry from that cherry tree we had planted out of its pot and into the front garden last year.  Hopefully there will be more to come (if we get to them before the birds!).

Finally, decided it was probably time to go back to some sort of work (hopefully part-time), so the job search has begun - something to help pay the winter oil bill!

Sun, Sea, Sand, Swallows and Cycling

So, it's September and holiday time, with the sun still shining and beautifully hot - although the swallows are starting to gather for the long flight south.

In between hedge cutting, there's been time to hit the beach, with a trip to Ynyslas - an actual 'swim', and some beachcombing for shells, which aren't already occupied  . . . not sure who is trying to oust who here!

Nice walk also through the woods to Bow Street to watch the Tour of Britain fly past in the sunshine.

So that's the first few days of the holidays - next, an actual 'trip' away!

Out and About

A family visit saw us out and about over the bank holiday weekend . . .

Checking out the Aber Cyclefest races in town.










Up to Nant-yr-Arian for a photo shoot with the Kites.



And the now traditional visit to Llanerchaeron - sun shone beautifully, toured the gardens, saw some pigs, ate some cake.

The highlight was probably watching one of the chickens trying to escape the others with his purloined slice of ham . . . a joy to behold!



All in all, it would have been a great weekend - except for the cold from hell which descended on me on the Sunday, and took some shaking.

What We Did on Our Bank Holiday . . .

A lot of gardening . . . at various points over the weekend.

Martin dug and rotavated the veg plots, and we got the courgettes and potatoes planted out, as well as the main greenhouse.

The rest of the garden is looking very colourful too at the moment, with the clematis, rhododendrons and azaleas out:






A sunny Saturday afternoon on the prom watching the Cyclefest events - including the Women's Tour Series:

And on the bank holiday Monday itself a slightly too hot walk round the Hafod grounds . . .

A nice extended weekend - and a sunny one at that!

On My Bike . . .

Finally took the plunge and ordered myself an electric bike the other day - had been thinking about it for a while - the idea being that it would give me sufficient extra oomph to halfway keep up with Martin on the hills.

My new 'Batribike Diamond' turned up in a box (some assembly required - luckily Martin knows his bikes).  Took it on a test ride and it certainly helped me keep going up the hills (still have to keep pedalling).



Couple of minor issues - the rim tape on the inside of the wheels wasn't up to the job, and the first few times I went out kept getting spoke punctures on the back wheel (which is a real pain on an electric bike - not easy to remove the wheel to change the inner tube).


A reel of electricians tape later and the problem appears to have been solved - which means I'll have to get on my bike from now on . . .

On the Boardwalk

Sunny August afternoon and Martin took himself out to Ynys-hir (via the back roads) on his bike, while I followed in the car (with bike rack) a little later. Met him in the car park as planned (despite some dodgy tracks, and a close encounter with a farm dog), and we headed out for a walk round the 'boardwalk' trail.




Lovely walk, with some interesting sculptures dotted around the landscape, including the dragonfly above, and this larger than life snake in the grass . . .  much more to see, but time was getting on.  Want to come back soon to get out to the more remote hides.

Coed y Brenin Enduro

Having completed his first Enduro in May (and muttering about 'not doing that again'), late September saw Martin back for Enduro #2 in the woods of Coed y Brenin.

At least this time he'd done some training, and was generally much fitter - although it was a slightly longer and supposedly more challenging event.

As it turned out, 'challenging' was a bit of an understatement - the course soon became something of a mud-bath - and it all took a lot longer that anticipated.  In fact, some 7 hours 13 minutes and 33 seconds - a real endurance experience!

He placed 231st out of 270 who finished the 60km route (another 115 completed a shorter 30km route) - given that over 500 people had registered, some 100 + people presumably couldn't stay the course!

Map of total route

Distance:
62.44 km
(38.8 miles)

Elevation:
1848 m







As he finished the words 'never again' might have been mentioned - but somehow I think I'll be reporting on Enduro #3 next year . . .

Dyfi Enduro

This weekend saw Martin take part in his first mountain bike endurance challenge - the Dyfi Enduro - 55km (34 miles)-ish of the "Dyfi forests best hidden trails" starting / finishing in Machynlleth.



Must admit I found the whole thing a little worrying:

(a) It's a looong way, and he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to do much in the way of training;

(b) The day before he was muttering about a dodgy knee;

(c) The FAQs offered this encouraging statement:
What if I fall off? - There will be at least one ambulance in the forest while the event is in progress, and one mobile medic on a quad bike, there will also be first aid staff at the event HQ. Local Hospitals are Machynlleth and Aberystwyth. If you see an injured rider, once you have stolen his food & tubes,  please inform the next event marshal you see.

It seems I was fussing unnecessarily however, as he made it back - 5 hours 13 minutes and 29 seconds later - in one piece, if a little muddy.

Although,the leaders (super-fit nutters pros) were coming in after only 2 hours 30 minutes!


His first reaction was 'not doing that again' - tales of hair-raising descents with deep ruts and huge puddles - plus the fact that one of the four people he'd set off with had taken a nasty tumble (dislocating a shoulder, breaking a finger, and cracking some ribs).

In retrospect of course he's now thinking about the next event, the 'room for improvement' on his 352nd place out of the 508 people who finished his route (the first 250 or so were sent round a slightly longer and even more arduous course) and the free flapjack (best ever apparently)!

Get On Your Bike!

Took the bikes up to the Elan Valley on Sunday afternoon to follow the trail from Rhayader to the Craig Goch Reservoir.  It's 9 miles each way, but the trail is relatively level (no major ups and downs - which is good for me as I'm not the fittest of cyclists!).

Took us about 1.5 hours to get to Craig Goch - Martin could have done it much faster (he's gotten into mountain-biking of late).  I speeded up a bit on the way back, despite being a little saddle-sore (probably because it's got more downhill and gravity was on my side!).

Stopped at the Elan Valley Visitor Centre for a cake before the final stretch back to Rhayader.

All in all a very pleasant afternoon - a tad overcast in comparison with Aberystwyth, but otherwise I guess it might have been a bit hot - could have done without the horse-fly bite mind you.