A group of 10 enjoyed some slightly warmer weather on Sunday. A pleasant change from the arctic conditions of the previous weekend. On that icy morning the riders were started on the 50 mile Reliability Ride by Eddie Blayney, picking up others on their way through Pontypridd. Simon and Andy chased hard after a late start, catching the group just at the bottom of Nantgarw hill ! Everyone stayed together to Newport and back across the Flats to encounter a multitude of red traffic lights in Cardiff which broke up the rhythm. Simon punctured soon after so Des and Steve waited for him. Due to a misunderstanding the remainder of the group set off believing he was back in the saddle leaving the three of them to chase an accellerating bunch. It was eyeballs out for the finish with Dean just pipping Hywel, Tavis and Ian in a time of 3 hours 12 minutes. Edwyn, Chris and Tony arrived within a minute with Steve, Des and Simon close behind followed by Andy on his first club ride of the year. Eiron was part of the group but time constraints made him turn for home at Radyr. All were pleased to be joined by Carl for a short while. Hopefully he will be back on form for the coming season.
John Hughes is busy planning his season and everyone seems to be looking forward to a bit of competition. Not least of these is Fiona whose efforts in winning her age group in a Duathlon series gave her entry into a draw for a top class frameset. Class always tells so she won that as well and is now planning to be the smartest looking rider in the 5 mile series !
It was good to see Kevin Bartlemore and Steve Bennett out with the group on Sunday. Both were riding well and are looking forward to racing again this year. A new face, Ben, from Cumbria via Glamorgan University, came along for the ride. After a mid-ride circuit of the course for the Betty Pharoah road race he completed quite a distance, accompanied by Chris G. out for the second time. Luckily the weather was kind for the second week in a row but those of us that headed through the lanes needed a sponge and hosepipe to clean the bikes afterwards.
At last the snow has disappeared and a cheerful group met for a long awaited clubrun yesterday. We stuck to the main roads to avoid any pools of filthy water but inevitably encountered rain as we re-entered the Rhondda. After a steady ride to Waterton and then to Cowbridge we enjoyed our cups of tea while waiting for Kerry to repair his broken chain. He definitely needs to lose weight !