Sorry, folks, stuff you know.

I've been a busy little bunny since midweek which is partly the cause of this late in the day post.

Lets start with Thursday. After a couple of damp days, Thursday looked to be dry and not too windy so i thought i'd visit the seaside, Weston super Mare to be exact, a destination that i've rarely visited in 2025. I attacked the ride with gusto, the weather was pleasant and i made good time to my destination. I say destination, lunch was still down for a Clevedon burger stop. A brief visit to the seafront then it was along the corniche to Sand Bay before heading across the levels to my stop, 82km in, i was ready to eat, i can tell you!

The return leg was always going to be pretty direct, what wind there was was behind me and i was soon back at base, 112km covered at a nice 22kph average. Okay that doesn't sound much but for an old git riding solo its not bad.

Friday was a writing day, i had a chapter to finish but not before i got in a strong 8km walk taking in a River Frome in spate - nothing like folks have had further north but well over a metre above seasonal norm. Next up was preparing the Cottage Pie (beef mince does not make a Shepherds pie!) then it was on with the writing, the chapter completed and posted to Patreon before dinner. And very nice the dinner was too, it will be reprised tomorrow i think.

The original plan for Saturday was another good ride but Aunty Bev came up with a plan for Sunday, today, so i turned things around a bit. So it was a six km walk in the morning before i cracked on with another new chapter. I must've been flowing well, i finished and posted another chapter at tea time so i'm on schedule, well perhaps even a little ahead.

And so to today. Aunty Bev wanted to visit family out Swansea way so i caught a lift as far as Port Talbot, getting dropped off at 11.00am, giving me a solid 6 hours riding time before getting picked up again. I had a plan, the day was dry if a little cooler than Thursday and i set off into the hills. Maesteg, Ogwen valley, lower Rhondda to Llantrisant where i reversed direction towards my lunch stop at Coity Castle. This return leg, whilst not flat was certainly less hilly and i made decent time and even had some sunshine.

It was a fairly short stop at the castle, long enough to eat my sandwiches and to take a cursory look around the rather bijou property in the heart of the village. It was 14.30 by the time i departed for the last leg, however things didn't quite follow the plan. The idea was to take a short diversion through Margam Park but my chosen entry point was closed and so my diversion added more up and km to the ride before i arrived at the House. I fancied a cuppa, the cafe was open so a stop was made, tea and cake purchased and just in time as they closed at 16.00! The good news was i had less than 10km back to the rendezvous point, so, with failing light putting the lights into service i set off once more into the gathering gloom.

I had a full 30 minutes in hand at the pick up point, glad to find Aunty B waiting so no waiting in the cold today! it was a 'mere' 82km but i'd squeezed in 1200m of climbing and several km of not road too. With the castle stop it was an excellent day's riding even if the double digit climbs across a dozen inclines cost me hard on the day's average speed, not that i was ever in trouble, just moving slowly! Oh and 81km of the total was on new to me roads so a win all around.

The next Gaby chapter, Twenty Two is now up, hope you enjoy it.

So that's it for today, more from me midweek,
Tak,
Madeline Anafrid