VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 09Platitudes & Altitudes

2017 was an outstanding year for my cycling. In this last issue I'll be highlighting a selection of events outside the obvious that characterised and helped shape this unique year.

I cycled 122 individual days and covered almost 8,000 miles, so it's pretty easy to highlight some of the wonderful rides I made. Yet, little things like writing for a different website, or breaking my camera, and even trying out new tyres had surprising effects on my year and shaped the way I rode.

Some of the contributing factors were planned and some were shockingly unplanned. Sometimes just getting off the bike and walking made the ride unique. So I hope you enjoy reading about these little details which had a big impact on my year in 2017.

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Features

Looking for Manmoel

My Rides - This is the fourth report in my "Bike & Hike" series and because it's so close to home, it's one of my favourites. The weather couldn't have been better too. Fantastic day!

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Monmouth & Chepstow Classic

My Rides - This is my "go to" hundred miler. I just love it. I cycled this route three times in 2017, but unfortunately my photography was rather poor.

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Departments

A Camera for a Cyclist

Gear - Oddly enough, I fell off my bike and broke my camera whilst on my Manmoel ride (shown above). I've outlined the top nine contenders I'm considering as a replacement.

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2017 Yearly Totals

Charts - I didn't reach my goals for 2017, but a close inspection of my numbers yields some interesting and rather surprising results. Now you can sort all the gory details in yet another of my spreadsheets!

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On the Web

Ride Reports

RwGPS - Along with their great mapping software, the latest feature at RwGPS offers some interesting content from cyclists all over the world. Why not sign up and share yours too!

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Cycle Touring The Outer Hebrides

You Tube - Take 20 minutes out of your life to watch this video. I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

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Thanks Wales for being so lovely and thank you, dear reader, for stopping by...
seeya down the road.

Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 08 A Modest Life

Autumn finally hit us with a week of typically British weather - cold and rainy. I can't complain, because overall, the weather has been spectacular this year.

Rain locked.. day seven.

The fact is, many places in the UK have recorded their driest summer ever. So with that said, I should emphasise that I've had a great year of cycling. Now I've got loads of images to process and reports to write.

I'll start this issue with the a third ride in my "Bike & Hike" series. This time we made our most adventurous climb up to the Lonely Shepherd. My second feature humbles me to think of how my buddy suffered, but it was (for me at least) a great day out - and one I hope we can return to soon!

As part of my ongoing project to retrieve lost reports from my archive, I've got two special rides from 2013 for your review. And lastly, Mike Hayes is at it again. His blog just keeps getting better. You must check it out.

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Features

The Lonely Shepherd

My Rides - The latest adventure in my "Bike & Hike" series proves to be the best yet. Check out the Kingfishers ride and climb along the gorgeous landscapes from the Llangattock Escarpment.

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Grywne Fawr Reservoir

MY RIDES - In the end, my buddy's back became too much of an issue to carry on. No worries... It was still a great ride and a fun day out. There is always next time!

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Out From the Archives

Lovely Day For It...

MY RIDES - I hadn't been in Wales but a few years when I discovered Fochriw and it quickly became one of my favourite spots to visit.

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Carreg Tegernacus

MY RIDES - Sometimes ya just get lucky. No one had told me about this place... I just went exploring and found a wonderful discovery!

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On the Web

Sea, Surf, Dirt

Blog - Straight-up I gotta admit that this guy is doing what I am trying to do - and doing it better. His photography is stunning, his writing; brilliant. His everything is just amazing.

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Path Less Pedaled

You Tube - I'm hooked on this guy's videos. He has an engaging personality and is a natural in front of the camera. Plus, he and his partner seem to really enjoy sharing their adventures!

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Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 07 Looking Back...

Whilst sitting out the cold autumn rain, I've been digging through the back issues of Bike Wales. So in this post I'm featuring some of the ride reports from my first year in Wales - 2012.

Walking along the Roman Road toward Talibont Reservoir. (photo credit: Will Rossouw)

In this issue I've got some flashbacks from 2012; a special year for not only did I begin exploring Wales in earnest, but I met some lovely people with whom to cycle. 2012 was also the year I first joined the Kingfishers and began riding every Tuesday on crazy, wonderful adventures.

Then I've got a second "Bike & Hike" ride; The Punchbowl. My last feature is from a group ride where we changed plans at the last minute from climbing the Gospel Pass to become a long meander above Abergavenny.

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Out from the Archives

Looking for Clydach Gorge...

My Rides - This first failed attempt to meet the Sustrans Volunteers was quite a surprising adventure and became a life changing day.

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Talybont Adventure

My Rides - In 2012, I met this wacky South African guy earlier in the year and we immediately hit it off. Read about our wonderful day wandering the moors above Trefil.

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Maybe Maerdy,
Maybe Not...

My Rides - Look back with me at one of my first group rides in Wales with these lovely folks as we climbed over the mountain at Maerdy.

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Land of Discovery... Llandovery

My Rides - My first overnight adventure with the Kingfishers became an adventure of a lifetime. It was three days of miles and smiles.

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Features

The Punchbowl

MY RIDES - It's a heck of a climb and then a bit of a hike down through the woods to finally reach this mysterious place, but what a gem! The fog and mist really added to the allure.

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Grosmont & Garway Ramble

MY RIDES - The rain poured down so we changed plans and did not climb the Gospel Pass. However, we did have an interesting ride through Grosmont and onto St. Michael's Church.

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Last Word

As you might have gathered over the past few issues, I'm still working on the layout and content. I'll be continuing my work in the archive over the next few months, so this might provide a continuing element for my posts. Plus, I've got more links to other blogs I might start including. There's lots to think about and plan - so be sure to check back!.

Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 06 Watch, Listen, Record

When not on my bike, chances are that you'll find me sitting here in front of this computer. So to get you in the spirit of both my cycling and my blogging; I'm going to mix things up a bit!

A lovely autumn day with Raglan Castle in the distance.

I feature two very different rides in this issue; first I head north into the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains in one of my favourite epic rides. Then I've got a lovely little adventure up to Pontypoll Folly. It's the start of a new type of adventure I'm calling "Bike & Hike". My last feature is a collection of images not associated with any one particular ride. I just pulled them together for a standalone my gallery.

I spend an enourmous amount of my non-cycling time working on photos on my computer. Then I'm writing and fiddling with HTML and CSS, to pull it all together for this blog. And most often too, during the whole process, I'm rocking out the tunes. I use Spotify to create playlists and it's essentially, my laptop jukebox.

So I'm going to offer up three musicians I've had playing in the background for the past couple of weeks. The first group; Wolf Alice is fairly new with just having released their second album. Next is St. Vincent, who has been around for a few years; however, I only discovered her just last month. Then the third group; Brian Jonestown Massacre, I've been listening to for nearly twenty years because I'm a bit of a shoe-gazer and I just dig their sound.

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Features

Llangynidr Commons & Sugarloaf Classic

My Rides - This route climbs the ridge high above Abergavenny, then snakes around Sugarloaf Mountain. The scenery is incredible and the ride just feels epic.

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Pontypool Folly
& Roman Road

My Rides - The Kingfishers had pointed out this folly high on a hill many times, but combined with hunting down a Roman road nearby... the adventure was on!

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14 Locks, Newport,
& Sirhowy Parc

Gallery - I put a few new images up in my this week. But, I have loads to yet to process - going all the way back to 2009. YIKES! Well, this is a start...

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Sounds

Wolf Alice

YouTube - These kids are fresh and young and fabulous. This short set is from their fantastic show in Paris a couple of years ago. The filming and recording is excellent as well.

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St. Vincent

YouTube - This girl rocks. Her songwriting is rich and complex whilst her performances are mesmerizing. Pour yourself a vodka and put on yer headphones.

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Brian Jonestown Massacre

YouTube - These guys have been around for 20 years. I really dig 'em. This is from their 2016 show.

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Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 05 Read, Write, Remember

Fall has arrived and along with it - rain. I had planned a long ride for today, but not wanting to fight the weather, I have called it off. I'll save it for another day.

Cycling home thropugh the first fall colour.

Postponing rides always leaves me sort of down. Sure, there is plenty for me to do... (things I need to do). So I guess I should document this day as I would a cycling trip... just different type of journey.

It's 7:00 am. I've come downstairs, made a cup of coffee, turned the computer on and here I sit. Melanie is sleeping soundly upstairs and all is quiet on a cold and rainy Saturday morning in this little part of little Wales.

Before I know it, I'm reading about other people's adventures on the website "Crazy Guy on a Bike" (CGOAB). I am longing to be on the road. I'm frustrated to be sat inside. I'm envious.

I spent the remainder of the day reading the journal entries I've listed below. And I'm dedicating this issue of my blog to the many folks out there cycling the world, regardless of the weather - making their life an adventure.

Cheers to all the world-traveling cyclists! May your journeys be safe and your adventures rewarding. Thank you for sharing your stories. I'm watching.

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Reading About Riding

CGOAB is a very straight-forward website for people to keep a journal of their cycling adventures... and it's massive. First of all; the number of entries across the world is daunting, and secondly, the length of some of the trips are phenomenal. I'm talking "sell your house and everything you own and travel around the world for years" types of cycling trips. I find it hugely addictive reading and dangerously compelling. I hope you enjoy.

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Life is like a box of chocolates

CGOAB - A family takes a year-long cycle tour and writes about it. I was instantly hooked. Though it ended a few years ago, their journey is fascinating and wonderful.

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Death, Life & the Rural American Gas Station

CycleBlaze - The writing and photography is some of the best. I love their zaniness. It's laugh out loud fun. A must read.

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America By Cycle

On the Web - These kids had some great ideas and a super brand for cycle touring. Unfortunately, I don't know what happened to them. Be sure to watch the videos.

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ABC: Anchorage to Baja California

CGOAB - I have never met these folks, but I was instantly drawn into their lives. I've been reading about their adventures for over a year now (and I love the photography).

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Racpat RTW

CGOAB - Reading about one cycle tour often leads to another. I found this couple through Curtis & Jenny (above) who met them while on the road in Central America. This one is a doozy! They're two and a half years into a trip around the world.

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Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 04 Getting to the Core

2017 has been a great year of cycling. The downside is that I haven't written much about it and now I've a huge amount of material to publish.

So to start off this issue, I've got two BIG rides; the first is a from a group ride I lead across the Vale of Galmorgan ending all the way out at Ogmore-by-the-Sea. My second feature is a massive 135 mile ride I made up to Hereford and back - my longest single-day-ride yet to date!

I've then stuck a short bit about a slight remake/remodel of my wife's old Raleigh mountain bike.

And I end this issue with three external links to websites I find of particular interest. They just seem to fit.

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Parkinson's Uk
& The NGS Tour

My Rides - These two organisations asked me to lead a group tour to promote awareness during the Spring gardening season. Take a look at some of the spectacular places we visited and smiling faces we met!

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Hay-on-Wye &
Hereford Epic

MY RIDES - At 135 miles, this is my longest ride for a single day. It had been a huge goal of mine for a while. Yes, I was walkin' funny afterwards.

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Lady Purple

Gear - Melanie's 30 year old mountain bike had sat around disassembled, tyres deflated, and un-loved for nearly a year. But, I started fiddling with her last week and I must say she's now riding better than ever.

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Mike's Imagination

On the Web - I try to support other bloggers as much as I can. (it's what we do, right?) This is one of my favourites. Mike's lifestyle is enviable, his writing is relaxed and easy gping. His photography is simply brilliant.

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The Radavist

On the Web - This website captures the spirit of West Coast cycling perfectly. They've great content including wacky travel stories and unique product reviews. I totally dig their laid-back mental grove.

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Without Bounds

You Tube - Lastly, I've thrown in a video with some fairly radical outsider stuff that speaks to the gypsy in me deeply. Were I not married and living comfortably in Wales... this is where you might find me.

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Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 03 Time Management

What happened to the summer of 2017? It's the middle of September and the shops are starting to put things out for Christmas. Urgh.

If you've wondered why I haven't posted lately, well.. I've been struggling a bit with writing. However, I haven't been completely remiss; I finally made a post from a ride I had back in February. I've then included several links to reports I wrote for Ride with GPS. These three external links showcase their newest "Ride Report" feature along with my photos and rambling diatribe.

Next you'll find a link to another blogger that also reviews gear and such. He's a pretty interesting fella - so be sure to poke around his website. And lastly, I've included a link to one of the Portlandia series; something fun to watch.

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Daffodils & Disasters

MY RIDES - It is a modest ride for a modest country. It's a short peek into what makes this part of the world so special. I love living here. I love cycling here. I hope this short piece gives you a sense of why.

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The Winding House

My Rides - From the smiles on everyone's faces, it's clear to see that this group of friends all had a great time on this short but sweet little adventure. Seeing that big machine run was awesome!

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Legendary Neath Explore

My Rides - Tim John and I had a wonderful day out riding along the Neath River. Discovering the history of Wales never disappoints.

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Ride to the Sun

My Rides - Dean Piper organized this amazing ride and we were joined by Vimal and Gwyn, the four of us left Pontypool at 3 am for a surprisingly quiet and beautiful equinox.

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Tom's Bike Trip

On the Web - I began reading this guys blog a few years ago and I still think it's one of the best. His review of the top touring bikes is of special interest and quite thorough.

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Not cutting it...

You Tube - If you haven't seen any of the wickedly funny Portlandia videos; I suggest you do. I cannot get enough of them. They are so on target it makes my head spin.

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Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm

VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 02 Content Mangement

I've been pretty busy for the past couple of months. I've kicked up my longer rides trying to go a bit further north and west. Then surprisingly enough, I got a call from Parkinson's UK to venture out the Vale of Glamorgan. Woohoo!

You can see the results of that trip to Ogmore by the Sea as well as my last Sustrans ride below. I've rounded up some of the details from several other recent adventures along with my take on "humble-bragging" in my 100 Mile Club. Finally, I've thrown in a link to a retro bike from Pashley I quite fancy.

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Mad Explore
& Discovery

MY RIDES - This ride completely surprised me and turned into one of my most interesting (if not most difficult) adventures to date. Take a look at some of the cool hidden places I discovered!

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Cordell Country Heritage Ride

Gallery - I've moved on from volunteering for Sustrans, but you can read about my last lead ride from May of this year. See the gang and fabulous weather we shared in this Welsh Heritage Special Event.

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Fochriw Highlands
& Taf Valley

Ride with GPS - I've been using their mapping website for a few years, but now I've started writing for their blog of sorts. Take a look at my latest report at Ride with GPS in their "Stories" section.

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2017 100 Mile Club

Charts - Many may laugh at the extent of which I track my cycling... but cycling is what I do and I do enjoy a good spreadsheet. Check out the details of one chartof which I am particularly proud.

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Ride With GPS

On the Web - If you know me; you know I love RwGPS. Now they've introduced a new feature that I'm absolutely hooked on. Check out some of the latest reports from like-minded cyclists - cycling all over the world. Do it now.

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Pashley Retro Racer

On the Web - I've been "eye-ballin'" this beauty for a while. She's a very cool retro bike. Meanwhile, I thought I'd share the love.

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Thanks for stopping by... seeya down the road. Cheers! ~ cm