Bicycle Race

Cycling on the A40 from Abergaveny to Monmouth isn't the smartest thing I've ever done. When I got off the train at Abergaveny and asked the guy in the café to point me in the right direction the look on his face was another give-away. He advised extreme caution and came close to an old school Horror film "You don't want to go to the castle!" vibe, so yes, I was shitting myself. I switched the GPS on my phone on and inevitably it lost the signal five minutes to setting out, which in this case wasn't a problem as the route was straight forward. So I cycled off wearing my jeans, Pixies hoody and ruck sack. It was pretty hairy and I did see a shit load of road kill on the way. Boy was I happy to see the sign for Monmouth!

Shame on me that I only bought a bike helmet That Monday for the bike ride. It was in the back of my mind that I'd agreed to do it, so I may have been a little under prepared.

"Have you got padded shorts?" my brother asked me. I didn't, so it was a relief when he said he had some spare as I had felt a – errr – tender after my short ride the day before. Having done a few charity events myself I was surprised that this one was a bit shambolic. This is not meant as a criticism as I think most of the riders would agree. Mark was 'The Captain' for the day I was riding and after speeding down a steep hill he thought we'd gone the wrong way and right at the bottom just as we were to turn right there was a sign saying that the Road was closed. As it turned out we could just all squeak through single file.

I quite enjoyed the chaotic aspect of the ride but I was just doing it for the day so I could imagine that wrong turns and unexpected Road Closures would get wearing after a while. I had a bloody lovely time though! The weather wasn't bad and it was nice to be out cycling, it certainly beat my usual Tuesday. Madeline Moon the labour MP for Bridgend was also a 'cameo rider' for the day and seemed a thoroughly decent sort.

We cycled from Monmouth to Hereford and then onto Leominster which is where I left the cyclists to get back to Cardiff on the train. The ride was challenging but not too bad and I found myself wanting to carry on, mind you when I got to the train station and sat down I felt utterly exhausted so God knows how the rest of the riders must be feeling. Godspeed them!