What an unusually sunny cycling day! And what's more it promises to stay like that - all the way to Ammanford.

Now just as there is more than one way to skin a rabbit there is also more than one way to get to Ammanford and I was turning over in my mind all the different routes - should we do the real toughy and go over the mountain? No, we did enough in the way of hills last week so perhaps it will have to be an easy ride.

Yes, lets have an easy ride!

Walter is just leaving his house as I ride past so we cycle up the track together and he tells me all about his break near Lake Garda. No exciting bear stories today so a disappointment to you all I am sure. We are the first to arrive at the start but after a few minutes others arrive and seven of us set off for Gowerton to meet the others.

But before we do that we meet today's guest rider - Carol from Brighton, a Brighton Belle no less, who had met some of our riders at the cycle do at Llandovery but in spite of that still wanted to ride with us. She tells me that every time she comes to Wales people tell her she really must see Gower. Quite right too and what better way to see Gower than on a bike.

Just a shame really that we are going to Ammanford!

However a quick discussion with Big Trev and we decide that it would be a nice thing to alter the destination and do a Gower ride instead. We are so easy going it is just unbelievable!! We decide to go to Llangennith but can't make up our minds how to get there. We could have stayed there all day except that this rather smartly dressed Irishman swaggers by.

"Excuse me. If you were going to Llangennith" I asked, "which way would you go?"

"If I were going to Llangennith" he said, "which, incidentally I am not, I wouldn't start from here."

At that he swaggers on pleased that he had been able to throw one of our jokes back in our faces.

"Boom, Boom!!" we shout after him just to show that we took it in good humour.

He was right of course, because we were in the most ridiculous place to start a trip to Llangennith, the road from there to Crofty is busy with not much of a cycle track beyond Pont y Cob Road. However we ride sensibly in single file and turn off onto Marsh Road and relative peace. Andrew had slipped his leash somewhere in Penclawdd and had reached the turning several minutes before us.

We all, in turn, give him a good ticking off before taking a leisurely ride along Marsh Road and a chance to chat in safety before a short but rather severe hill out of Llanrhidian. We reach the top in short pants.

After a right turn by The Greyhound we head towards Cheriton and here it must be said that other car drivers were most polite and pleasant even though the road was too narrow to give passing space for quite long stretches. We reach The Britannia Inn and regroup gazing wistfully at the open door but we have a few miles to go yet.

And a hill! The hill that rises from the Britannia starts off steep and then gets steeper and the best way is to stick the bike in a low gear, think of Wales and plod on up, the more often you do it the easier it becomes. After last week this was a doddle or, to put it in Big Trev's language "a relative doddle". We gather at the top and let the others catch up. Andrew cycles back towards us - off the leash again. So that's another ticking off for him!

Just one more longish hill now and it will be a downward stretch all the way to the lunch stop. There we are at the top and we watch Andrew cycling back up the hill we were about to descend. Frankly we were tired of ticking him off so we gave him a good wigging instead. We just hope it does the trick.

Des had been worrying that the cafe would be busy at this time of year but it was not so. We had a huge area outside all to ourselves, the service was amazingly quick - I had ordered lasagne and a bottle of Thomas Watkin, the bottle and the glass arrived at the table before I did , excellent! It was so pleasant there that it was a strain to tear ourselves away but it was soon time for the return. Big climb out but that was just a practice for Cefn Bryn which was looming in the distance. Thoughts of Wales filled our minds once again. Now young Tom, Des' grandson, was probably thinking of something else for when he got to the top he and his bike collapsed and he lay spreadeagled on the ground exhausted. "That was really some hill!" he said. Someone should have told him to think of Wales - it works every time! Ah well, the young have so much to learn!!

It was good to have him with us, it helped to reduce the worryingly high average age.

The ride down from Cefn Bryn is Colin Country but today he was not with us to lead the race down. He unfortunately suffered an accident at The Welsh Festival of Cycling at Llandovery. He escaped with bruises and the loss of a tooth so it can now truly be said that his bark is worse than his bite!

We opt for the quieter route back through Welsh Moor where we bump into my sister Rhian. She's much older than me of course. It wasn't actually a bump - we just met her and stopped to talk. It wasn't long before we were back on the cycle track at Dunvant, by this time there were only four of us left, the others having aimed for home at various points. Walter and Jeff headed towards Black Pill while I took Carol back to her car at Gowerton where she very kindly offered to take me and my bike back home.

I gallantly accepted.

We are all grateful to Carol for joining us because Llangennith was a far better choice than Ammanford on such a beautiful day.

And remember, if you are a CTC member and would like to join us and meet some of the wacky characters that ride out of Swansea every Wednesday then check our programme, get in touch or just turn up at the start point, you will be most welcome.

Oh and I almost forgot. I know this sounds like gossip and after all everybody is entitled to do whatever they want these days but you know I have been telling you that Big Trev is semi bionic, well he's only gone and had a titanium frame fitted. Outwardly he looks just the same, we still get this beeping noise emanating from somewhere when he gets excited but he gets up hills much faster. I heard him say to someone that it was still under test and there will be some adjustments made but he said it was all very exciting. We knew he meant it because the beeping got completely out of control!

Thanks to everyone for coming on the ride today. An Away Day in the Lawrenny area next week and, dare I say it, but it really is a total of 25 miles, mostly on quiet roads, not too many hills, honest!!

Happy pedalling

Lew Spokes

Bike for sale click here for details

The group before lunch		The group after lunch
What a Hill!		Sleeping Tom
Non-Titanium Trev (See lack of support)		Titanium Trev (See the improvement - he even wears the yellow jersey)