An Unexpected Cycle

I must say this adventure wasn’t planned in the slightest, it started by being bored of my constant effort to improve my assignments for my University degree, the endless hours sitting in the campus library was really getting my mood down and I just didn’t feel like I was myself any more, so the next morning I poured some water into a bottle and went for a gentle bike ride around Carmarthen town, which should only take an hour, but the more adventurous side of me kicked in, it’s a feeling that I get now and again and when this great feeling comes around I just can’t switch it off like a switch, I have to carry on until the battery runs out.

I headed towards the edge of town, following the underpass tunnel that goes under the busy A40 road and out the other side, it wasn’t long untill I was standing next to the road sign that welcomes people

to the Town of Carmarthen, but I didn’t want to stop there, it was still early in the day, so I said to myself “I am sure another few miles wouldn’t hurt”, so I got back on the bike and did another few more pedals when I came to a large round about, I know myself very well that I wasn’t going to turn back around at this stage, so I carried on.

Now the problem with cycling in Wales is that the

country is full of soul draining hills, where you would

use up all your energy trying to cycle over one, but from each hill in Wales offers you an amazing view of the rich countryside Wales has to offer and also a great decent down the other side. I didn’t realise how high the hills were on the edge of Carmarthen, they seemed so small on my motorbike.

It was exciting to explore the Carmarthenshire countryside, the long and windy road was quiet with only a few cars that would pass me now and again, the heat of the scorching sun was beating down and I can feel the sweat roll from my eyebrows and down across my cheeks, this was the most exercise I have done all year and my God my body was feeling it, the student lifestyle that I was living was taking its toll on my body and from there on I knew I needed to have a healthier lifestyle.

I got distracted at a crucial moment on this journey, instead of following the ordinary cycle route signs to the small fishing town of Ferryside, I was now following the Coastal Path walking route, this meant I had to drag my bike into forests and across large farm fields which were on steep boggy hills; sheep would run across the field to avoid me, I must of looked like a sight to them that they have never seen before, I have escaped the farm fields and decided to cycle again following a dirt road when all for a sudden both my wheels come to a halt, which was such a shock as I didn’t even press down on the breaks, instead my wheels were stuck in such boggy mud that I was flung from the handle bars of my bike and into the mud and water below, I was drenched to the bone. Even

though the sun was beating down on this glorious countryside, the night before the heavens opened and made most of the paths no go zone unless you wanted to get completely drenched.

At this stage I carried my bike across the muddy path, there was no point in stopping, my clean clothing were already brown, and the wetness had caused my cycling trousers to stick to my legs which was a nightmare to pull off. The path went through a gate which I opened, there was a wooden sign on the gate advising fellow travellers to close the gate to avoid the life stock escaping the fields, going off the beaten track of the normal cycle route I found an old abandon cottage that was most likely to be the old farm house, next to it was a very ruined fort from the medieval times with the old arrow slit windows only just visible; brambles and weeds have now taken over this forgotten building over time which is such a shame, I was standing there next to the old fort looking across the hills and as far as the sea and thought to myself ‘this is what the soldiers would of seen all those years ago’.

I followed the path once again and crossed the many boggy fields and forests, the hills were really taking the energy out of me and the weight of the bike was starting to feel heavier. I finally made it to the top of the hill where gravel was now placed on the ground, my shoes would squeak to the sound of wet socks and my legs were restricted to how far I could walk due to the wet trousers, as I was on my way to the gate that would take me back to the asphalt road; the sound of “baaa” repeated itself behind me, as I slowly turned around a curious little goat was sticking his head around a corner of an already opened gate, as I said “hello there” with a broad smile across my face, another curious goat swung his head around the corner, for some reason I decided to wave in their direction hoping for some sort of reaction but nothing happened, instead I received a plain look from the goats who were just watching me slowly walk past; as soon as I went to open the second gate, four goats from behind me appeared and starting skipping their way towards me which was actually annoying as I had to get myself and the bike through this gate in time before the goats caught up, but I was unsuccessful, for the next half an hour anyone walking past at that precise moment would of seen my trying to convince the goats to return to their fields by them following closely next my legs,

nearly tripping me over, it was a situation that reminded me of something you would find in a Mr Bean comedy sketch.

I was now back on track, following the road to Ferryside; the road would offer me a long and fast decent into the town, where I must have been going around thirty miles per hour on the bike going around corners which come to think about it now was dangerous as you coulnd’t see what was around the other side, I could of collided into anything, Cows, Sheep or even a tractor. The wind was blowing through my hair and I could feel my cheeks being pulled across my face, the surrounding countryside of different shades of green was skimming past me, and the howl of the wind in my ears was the only sound I could hear, it felt great.

The town was getting closer and the road was getting flatter which meant that the bike was now becoming slower and the fun decent which got me to town was now coming to an end, it was a slow pedal from here. WP_20140409_006Eventually I saw the sign that welcomes people to Ferryside, there isn’t much in the town apart from a pub, a few little shops and a magnificent beach; I decided to stop for lunch by purchasing a few snacks in the local shop, I sat there close to the train station thinking about catching the train back to Carmarthen but the adventurous side of me wasn’t done yet, I still wanted to carry on for just a bit longer and see what was over the next hill in the distance. I have already convinced myself, after lunch I started cycling again heading Eastwards out of town, following the cycle path it lead me up another steep hill, my heart sank when I stood at the bottom gazing up hill looking at the challenge of what is yet to come; I looked up and saw the road that might as well have been vertical as that what it felt like to me.

I have never really been good at cycling uphill, since this trip I have gotten better at doing so but I still struggle today. By the time I got to the top of the hill I was now drenched in sweat, I sat there under a shade of a small tree thinking about how far I have come already without even planning such a trip, I glanced over the top of the hedges and saw the blue waters of Carmarthenshire Bay with the coastline that followed across the other side of the water, it was a beautiful sight to witness after such a horrid climb to the top of the hill. I carried on cycling with a cool coastal breeze against the side of my face, in the distance you can see thelong stretch of road go on for miles with the distant town of Kidwelly just sitting neatly on the horizon.

After a long cycle I had eventually arrived at the medieval town of Kidwelly which holds one of the most popular castles to visit in South Wales, ‘Kidwelly Castle’. The layout of the town has always interested me, the roads are so old you could just stand there with images of the horse and carts going along the once bustling streets of this town, the buildings provided the town with medieval style windows, brickwork and doors.

I stood at the passage way of the castle and saw it in the far distance, I didn’t go the whole way as I didn’t really have time as it was already coming towards late afternoon, leaving the town and back into the countryside I had a call of one of my dear friends who were trying to find out where I have been all day considering I told them I am only going for a quick cycle around town; I will never forget the shocked reaction of my friend voice down the phone when I told him I was in Kidwelly, “what the hell are you doing there” he replied with a slight laughter in his voice”, “I couldn’t stop cycling I just had to carry on” I explained back to him also laughing.

The cycle route eventually takes you far out of Kidwelly and down a grass & mud path, along the side of the path were bramble bushes which sprawled its vines across the path which was quite worrying as bramble spikes have been known to puncture tyres, I passed under a few bricked tunnels which would hold a small little river underneath, the bridges were obviously over a hundred years old and have most probably witnessed the change over time from the once industrial country of Wales to the now slightly quieter and tourist country which we see today. There seemed to be a drag in my cycling and when I made it back onto concrete I noticed the sound of a flat tyre, so I got of the bike and investigated the back wheel, yes it was a puncture. I stood there and I tried to

figure out what to do next, I have never had a puncture before and I forgot to bring the pump with me, a few passer by cyclist and walkers told be to carry on down the path, I would eventually find myself in the town of Burry Port where I would find a bike shop near the train station, one person said to me “you can’t miss it, the building is an ugly colour of purple that stands out from the rest”, and he was right, walking into the town of Burry Port you would be met by a large grassy area with paths, and you could see the town centre in the far distance, the purple bike shop did stand out like a saw thumb but the folks who were running the place really did help me get out of a sticky situation.

I sat there for half an hour whilst they were fixing the back wheel, once it was done I had decided to cycle all the way back to my Mother’s home in Swansea and give her a good surprise, the owner of the shop took me to the back room to show me a large map of the coastal cycle path all the way to Swansea, I have walked the long distanced path before but I felt rude not to stand there and listen.

I was back on the bike again making my way down the coastal path out of Burry Port, this section of the path is known as the Millennium coastal path and takes you all the way to the once industrial town of Llanelli, the path would take me past many small lakes, long stretch of beaches and small communities; other cyclist would give a cheery hello with the wave of a hand, but my mind was concentrating on reaching Swansea before sun down, the beach at sunset was so beautiful, I had to stop to take a picture, you could see North Gower in the far distance across the choppy waves

which caused me to have a happy emotion of actually managing to cycle all that way for no reason to see such an amazing view in front of me. I carried on around the town of Llanelli and over towards the bridge at Loughor which separates the two counties of Carmarthenshire and Swansea.

I crossed the busy traffic congested bridge until I saw the welcome sign to the city and county of Swansea, I took a big gasp of air and couldn’t hide the fact that I had one of the biggest smiles across my face, I cycled back to my mother’s home following the large main road toward Fforestfach where I was sharing the road with busy commuters, other cyclist and large lorries that would overtake me, each time frightening the life out of me as I could feel the pull the trucks caused from the suction of their wheels, eventually I turned my bike into my mums road where I opened up the gate and placed the bike down the side of the house, I then walked through the front door in all my muddy and wet cycling gear to find my family sitting there eating their meal; the expression on their faces was priceless, they were not expecting to see me home.

Mother was so shocked that the only thing she could say to me during my entry was “so I suppose you would like tea as well”. I just stood their with a smile and replied “that would be perfect”.