| The 24 hour weather
forecast for today (BBC
weather site) promised heavy rain between 10.00am and
1.00pm then light showers from then until 4.00pm and as that
really covers the window of our ride a pessimist would almost
certainly have stayed in bed. But we are an optimistic bunch
and made of sterner stuff (as I think I have mentioned before)
so the ride is on! For my part I really needed a ride after
having spent a few days of luxury at Portmeirion celebrating
my mother's 88th birthday.
I reached Killay to find Walter already waiting
and soon David and Des arrived but before I tell you about
our ride let me tell you this story. We were standing there
chatting when a car stopped in the car park and a lady, whose
name was Elaine, got out and walked towards us. She had some
posters in her hand which offered a reward of £100 for
the return of her son's bike which had been stolen on the
previous Monday. This was a very expensive bike and not one
she and her husband could afford to replace, their insurance
would only cover a fraction of the value.
At first I had assumed that the bike had been
stolen from a garage or shed but no, the reality was rather
more chilling. Elaine's son and his friends had built some
jumps at the side of the cycle track and on Monday he was
standing watching his friends riding the jumps. A tall, skinny
lad comes up and asks to borrow the bike and have a go himself.
The request was sensibly refused. The skinny lad stayed for
a while watching then suddenly pushes the lad over, grabs
his bike and rides away on it towards Gowerton.
His parents contacted the police who recorded
the event but could not do anything else because, you see
such a lot of this goes on. Incensed and charged with determination
the parents set about to trace this lad and recover the bike,
they learn that he is likely to be living in Gorseinon as
he has been showing off his newly purloined bike in the car
park of the local Summerfield. David Naylor and myself offered
publicity on our websites and Elaine proceeded to pepper the
cycle track with posters.
Jumping forward in time it is now evening and
I am sitting down reading the paper. My phone rings and it
is Elaine, she and her husband have had a very busy day and
a pleasingly successful day at that. The posters bore fruit
and they had had a message from someone to say where the bike
was. The bike is recovered, the skinny lad is identified,
the police are called. The lad is well known to the police.
The police can do nothing but explain that were they to take
the matter further and institute proceedings then the Crown
Prosecution Service would not proceed.
There are some worrying aspects to this story.
1) Apparently bike-snatching is not uncommon
2) The youth who stole the bike will be tomorrow's
adult, a parent perhaps. His children will have as little
regard for the law and other people's property as has his
father.
3) There are many other youths just like him.
4) Through our rates and taxes we pay for a
police force to keep us safe and provide us with an environment
that we can peacefully enjoy. We are being let down.
So, three cheers for Elaine and her husband
who through the constructive use of their anger got the better
of yob culture!
After all that excitement it seems an anti-climax
to write about the ride but write about it I must for those
of you who were not riding want to know what we did whilst
those of you who rode are eager to find out just how much
fiction I can throw in.
The four of us set off for Pont-y-Cob Road where
we meet another six riders including (bring on the fanfare!)
the dapper and ever-youthful, Bob Smith. Bob has been suffering
from an injured knee and has only made brief, guest appearances
over the last twelve months. Due to the promised adverse weather
and in sympathy with Bob's knee (if not with the rest of him)
we decide to use the coastal path to Pembrey then do a loop
from The Butchers Arms to the Trimsaran road to reach Kidwelly.
Henceforth this will be known as Colin's Loop. Come to think
of it the intended route would have been the 'Brewer's
Droop Loop' We reach the cycle track at Penclacwydd and
the rain is bucketing down. The path surface here is fine
packed gravel/dust, great when its dry but rather soft and
puddly when its wet. It wasn't long before my shoes were full
of water and my gleaming white socks assumed a rather sad
beige look. The bikes were making a worryingly grating and
rubbing noise but on we went towards a small patch of blue
sky. By the time we reached Llanelli the rain had stopped
and the patch had become larger. Walter stops at the kiosk
to check what ice cream will be available on the homeward
run.
The coastal path to Burry Port is always a pleasure,
the surface is good, there are (in Big Trev speak) 'nice underlations'
and it's easy to pick up a bit of speed. At Burry Port I decide
to visit my sister-in-law as I would be within about 100 yards
of where she lives and works. Being a non-important sort of
person myself I just have to mention this because how else
can I tell you all that Shirley is the local mayor. I sit
in her office and dry out in the warm glow of her importance.
I can't stay long because I must get to the cafe in Kidwelly
before the others consume all the food so, after twenty minutes,
I have to bid farewell.
I reach The Butchers Arms and there is no way
that I can catch up with the others so I go past Colin's Loop
and strike out up the main road. I reach the cafe and am the
first to arrive but only just because within five minutes
the rest arrive. Tables are moved so that we can all sit together,
menus are pored over and plans are made as regards desserts.
Usually the favourite is the carrot cake but today that has
been kicked to one side and replaced by a rather tempting
blueberry pie. Incidentally I have to say here that I was
not tempted and showed my usual self-restraint. That same
self-restraint proved useless when I spotted the king breakfast,
this proved to be massive and Colin, who was sitting opposite
me, tried very hard to hide his jealousy.
After that I could not have eaten a dessert
but Big Trev, who has an undisguised weakness for such things
certainly could. Cecilia comes to take our orders and when
BT asks her whether he could have cream or ice cream with
the blueberry pie her mouth drops open and her eyes are wide
with amazement. "But," she says "the pie is
mostly made up of cream!" I don't think BT thought the
idea of a helping of cream with an additional side cream order
as anything strange but nevertheless graciously backed down.
Bob Smith, still dapper, also opted for the blueberry pie
on the grounds that it would be good for his knee. I'm sure
he was right.
Very soon we have to leave and we mount our
sand covered bikes and head home. Walter goes on ahead at
Pembrey because tonight he is in a doubles match and his wife
is on the opposing side. He needs the time beforehand to phsyche
himself up!
Even though we have eaten well not much more
than an hour earlier the consensus seems to be that we must
call in at the cafe at Llanelli and if we must, we must. So
we do. I indulge in a healthy orange juice. Thankfully the
track to Llanelli has dried up in the afternoon sun and the
wind was behind us so we sailed along.
The first thig I did when I reached home was
wash all the sand off the bike before a good hot shower and
a relax in the armchair.
Who would have thought that such an unpromising
day could have turned out to be so pleasant.
Just shows how important optimism is!
Happy pedalling
Lew Spokes
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A Picture of Weakness |
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Its going straight to my knee lads! |
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| Colin's amazing triangular
monacle |
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The Dapper Bob Smith
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