First day of Wales trip.

OK so we have pretty much done our first days riding and are sinking beers and getting ready for dinner.

Apart from a shed load of m25 and Bristol traffic the ride to Cwm Carn was pretty sweet.

I will be honest I was very hesitant and the following the climbing (which was a lot of fun) my initial downhill was very hesitant and nervy. However by the time we hit the latter parts of the run all nerves from the South Downs 100 had gone and I was flying along very happily. In fact all my time on the downs and in the gym have paid off quite well. I am controlling the bike well and climbing/descending with strength and skill. What is quite nice is that I seem to be slightly quicker in the descents than Nick now (not really near Geoff) even if he retains the edge on the climbs.

This was the first time we rode Cwm Carn and we hit the Twrch which I will would heartily recommend to anyone as it is challenging but forgiving and quick.

The second ride was when we reached Afan lodge we bumbled along to Blue Skar which was where Geoff came off and massively buckled his wheel the last time he was here.

On the way to the route Geoff and Nick started freewheeling as if they were descending. Nick then decided to steer which his shoulders not his hands. This lead to him cartwheeling through the air like a rag doll and being dumped in the grass verge.

Needless to say we treated this bin with sympathy and laughed until we cried. Nick was fine by the way.

Blue Skar is a very open and almost simple trail. With quite a bit of fire road style climbs. Now I am not the best climber however this was manageable but the open nature if it in the sunshine meant I quickly overheated and had to stop to cool off.

The downhill sections though were brilliant. Almost all of it flowed really swiftly from one curve to another.

All in all day one gave us 24km or riding and almost 700m elevation gain.

The photos below are in no real order due to blogging on my phone. I will also edit this when home with my strava for the rides.

Oh one last thing I should say is I have borrowed Geoff's mates (Mr Bob) Orange P7 bike. Last time I was here I rode an Orange Crush and loved it. So far the P7 is really living up to expectations. It makes a lot of noise but is very poised and really quick. It also feels very safe and sure which fills you with confidence when riding it. My only niggles are the slightly spongy rear break and the dodgey gears. However the bike just needs a service and so far has handled everything I have thrown at it.