Blog
The Graig
Well that’s that out of the way for another summer. Every year I ride up this hill at least once. I reckon it’s about 1.5km from bottom to top and about 120m up. This is the view back down from very near the top. Round the corner down the hill is the nasty steep bit , where I didn’t want to stop and take a picture in case I couldn’t get going again! This is on the road on the way down. A nice fast reward for all the previous work. Average Speed 20.95 km/h Trip 52:08 Distance 18.20 km
Llantrisant Ride
Discovered a nice climb around the back of Talbot Green, which winds up into the forest. Although the road is narrow the surface is very good, as you can see from the next picture. On the way down now, the road widens and sweeps nicely down for a mile or two until you emerge on the busy road to Tonyrefail After having cycled up a little way from Tonyrefail you’re rewarded with a pleasant ride through the country lanes, and when you can see above the hedge you can see for miles The Stats: Distance 35.79 km Average Speed 23.94km/h Ride Time 1:29:49 Max 74 km/h (think this is an error on the Bike Computer!) Could be right though.
Merthyr Common
Part of this mornings epic ride. Began at 5.30am. Rode for 1hr 39m Average speed - a slow 20km/h Max Speed - a fast 60 km/h Total Distance 34km On the top of the mountain. To the right is Merthyr and the Brecon Beacons, to the left is the down the valley to Pontypridd. The direction I came from. The orange tinge is real, as the sun is rising to the right Looking back, having just come round that big hump Just about to begin the descent into Merthyr on some pretty bad roads If you get the larger version of this you can make out Pen y Fan in the distance
Bike Ride
Passed 1000 km mark on road bike. Max Speed 54km/h Trip Distance 24.36 km Average Speed 25.17 km/h Time 58:07
Aberdare
The hard ridden for view from Aberdare. The climb was about 3km up, and the hardest bit was at the start. By the time I’d got to where I took the pics I was pretty tired, but what always surprises me about riding is how quickly you forget the pain. No doubt the pros would sprint up that climb with barely a bead of sweat. The descent down the other side was great fun, reaching 57 kmh (about 35mph). Even for someone as nervous as me on the descent. The Numbers: Ride time : 1:44:09 Average HR 165 Max 188 Kcals burned 1875 Max speed 57 km/h Trip Distance 38.79km Average Speed 22.88 km/h