Nine of us regulars gathered at the Canal Basin car park at Brecon for Colin and Big Trev’s ‘Tour de Aberhonddu’. We were a trifle surprised when a rather military man got out of his car and limped towards us.

“Ah, you men,” he barked in a clipped manner, “heard about your ride and fancied coming along, don’t you know. One little snag, had a slight accident on Monday and had to spend yesterday having a bullet removed from my foot. Sorry can’t be with you. Must dash, have to pop down to see matron to get the dressing changed. Toodle pip!!

And off he went. We were never introduced, there was no time, but we decided he was a colonel and quickly reasoned that, for all we know, he could be called Bernard Limp.

Hmm…. Colonel B. Limp? Name rings a bell somehow!

For those of you reading this from far away I should explain that Brecon is a military town, it also hosts a very successful jazz festival, has a small, homely theatre which is situated alongside the canal basin. In preparation for our ride we took advantage of the toilet facilities of this lovely theatre (I was sure you would wish to know that).

The first 12 kilometres was along the canal towpath, a lovely, quiet and peaceful ride to the small village of Talybont. Negotiating the path under the bridges was a bit tricky but safe enough so long as you remembered to duck down low. Mist was hiding the sun when we left and it was a bit chilly but every now and then it broke through casting lovely reflections on the water. There was a surprising number of boats going up and down, their crews very laid back and relaxed. This is a different world and we all thought that it would be something we would like to do someday, all except Big Trev that is. He, you see, has already arranged with Pat to have a holiday on the canal next year. What is more he is rather keen on the idea of having us all to join them for a night so that we can enjoy a floating barbecue.

I think that is a really generous gesture Trev and I don’t think many will turn down your invitation.

Talybont provided us with a further toilet stop, somehow there seems to be a necessity to take advantage of every convenience that comes to view. I say this for the benefit of any cyclists who have thought of joining our rides but decided against doing so for fear that they may not be able to keep up the pace. Let me reassure you that even if you cannot maintain our leisurely pace then, providing you are reasonably continent, you will always catch up with us somewhere!

After Talybont we joined the A40 for about a mile, not too busy today, then turned left on the outskirts of Bwlch. It was from here onwards that we seemed to be plagued with an outbreak of ankle-height dogs. The first was a group of, I think, three (or it could have been two running around very quickly?). They appeared, very noisily, and were immediately encircling my bike. At the time I seem to remember that I had had no real intention of accelerating and yet I found myself suddenly climbing the hill at a surprisingly respectable pace. The dogs then kindly gave their attention to each other member of the group in turn. They were nothing if not fair!

As if that wasn’t enough we were then chased by a dustbin lorry but at least the driver was jovial. We managed to give him the slip by availing ourselves of the hospitality at The Black Cock Inn at Llanfihangel-Tal-y-Llyn. They were expecting us and had kept a couple of tables clear for us in the corner, they had a good range of food on offer and an excellent Black Sheep bitter on draught which several of us sampled. We spent our non-eating moments discussing the challenges ahead with the reorganisation of our District Association which comes into effect on the 1st of January along with the events of the last few days. None of us really intended to have dessert although there was a very tempting board on display, however it only takes one person to succumb to temptation and floodgates are opened. The culprit was our very tallest member (whose name I forget, but you may probably know who he is, Pat!). Suffice it to say that the till was very soon ringing happily and the landlord assumed a healthy smile.

Now somewhere we were again pursued by dogs but I can’t for the life of me remember where. It was probably before lunch as I’m sure I would have remembered struggling to flee their teeth after having had such a satisfying meal.

We were now heading for the bomb and a very steep hill. Yes, I did say the bomb! There it was by the side of the road near Llanfilo, neither Big Trev or Colin could tell us where it was found or how it got there and a search of the internet reveals no information at all. So that was the bomb, and now comes the steep hill. Big Trev would like to ride all the way up this one so we all engaged a low gear and set off. I was feeling quite pleased with myself but my front wheel started lifting and the back started slipping and that was my effort over. The two Johns, Cardy and Bastion, were way up in front, Chris came past me and gradually disappeared as did Mike Brewer and Colin. Just before the top I remounted and rode the last stretch hoping that those already there would be persuaded that I too, had ridden up. Howls of laughter greeted my claim! How very unfair.

Soon we were all together and, with the worst over, prepared to enjoy the rest of the ride. We seemed to be at the highest point so, as they say, it should be all downhill from here. John Bastion was somewhere in front and John Cardy about twenty yards behind me, the lane was reasonably surfaced and flat, I was maintaining a steady pace. I heard some noises from the field to my right, I turned my head to see this little brown and white dog streaking along through the field heading towards the fence. No problem, I thought, there can be nothing safer than a dog behind a fence. It was getting closer and closer to the fence, its pace showed no sign of slowing. I started worrying about it because I really didn’t want it to come to any harm by crashing into the fence. Still it came. It reached the part of the fence alongside me and I prepared myself to see it crash, but it had done this before and to my horror it appeared round my legs after having dexterously run, without slowing, under the fence. I shouted at it and thankfully it transferred its attention to John. It then caught sight of the rest of the group and got very excited with this greater challenge. We all came out unscathed and the dog lived to terrorise someone else.

Not much further to go now but the hedges had been recently cut and the next thing was that I picked up a thorn in my back wheel but Colin took over and I was soon on my way. A good chap to have with you is Colin!

We catch up with the others at Groesffordd and decide to head back along the canal to avoid the afternoon traffic at Brecon. It had been a truly superb trip and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it, just a group of friends gathering together to enjoy cycling and each others' company with a liberal dosing of good humour thrown in. Surely that really is what its all about.

And now I must say something in defence of our Away Days. I have been criticised unjustly, particularly for the last one when we did a circular tour of the Preseli mountains. It appears that it is a sin to do a round trip of 100 miles in a car in order to cycle 21 miles, furthermore it is claimed that this is against CTC policy. This is, of course, absolute nonsense. Why should it be that a group of friends cannot meet together to enjoy cycling in pleasant countryside without being criticised. On a Sunday afternoon our roads are full of drivers who enjoy our highways and byeways, daily our airports are full of people flying away to holiday in foreign parts – we have not yet got to the point where their action is deemed to be a sin. We all have our different ways of behaving responsibly concerning the problem of global warming, some people are more strict with themselves than the rest of us, that is their affair.

I suspect that the criticism is more to do with the fact that we have successfully managed to provide an Away Day each month and have enjoyed them despite the fact that this was said to be impossible.

So, lets hear no more.

Next week Kidwelly.

Happy pedalling

Lew Spokes

Ready to Go!		Peacefulness
Going Down		Crossing the River
Toilet Stop		Mr Cardy explains the future of TV
Mr Cardy and his Just Desserts		No, I didn't fall. Honest!
So how did this get here, Colin?		Mr Justice Helmet
Wine Gums for all