Lovely day out with top quality company. Set out from Llanishen to meet up with the rest of the gang in Caerphilly at 7.45. Unexpected, and slightly panicky, tour of suburbs on the way.
Off we went after formal introductions, Daff and his friend Quentin, Toby and Yan (Cyclone). Beautiful start to the ride down towards Newport on roads unknown to me. Nice climb up and out of Newport, with Toby stopping to piss through the railings into a communal public garden, much to my disgust.
Daff soon assumed the responsibility that comes with being a giant, by breaking the wind for the rest of us (Quentin followed a similar, but less pleasant, role about half an hour after his breakfast). Fried breakfasts hoovered up by all at Chepstow garden centre, where the first of the day's cafe waitresses caught Quentin's eye.
Much excitement from Quentin as we cycled across the Severn Bridge, a first for him, followed 4 hours later by a second.
As prophecised by Daff, we came across the Beaufort hunt on the back roads near Malmesbury. Quentin noticed the abudance of fit and healthy young ladies amongst the riders. Age did not seem to be an issue. The subsequent few miles were taken up with a discussion of hunting during which Quentin revealed himself to be a monarchist and admirer of Camilla. I proposed to Toby that the fox enjoys the thrill of the chase, despite the messy end. Toby's conclusion was that the human equivalent would be an Alton Towers water slide, with a giant mincer at the bottom.
Lovely cafe stop in Malmesbury, Amanda's cafe. Quentin more than happy with the quality of service.
A sedate start of the next leg with a constant slight upward gradient and annoying headwind. Toby noticed the reduction of effort entailed by sheltering behind a large object (Daff) and concluded that a similar benefit could be gained by attaching a large windbreak to the front of his bike. My only contribution was to suggest that a transparent material would probably be most suitable.
Toby set the first of a series of blistering paces that soon saw us back in the bosum of the Green cafe in Chepstow, engorged by the leather sofas. Cake and tea, and then off we went, Daff's cold starting to take its toll.
The Toby train saw us fly down the levels past the steelworks and in and out of Newport, reaching the outskirts of Cardiff at around 6.30pm. We went our seperate ways, with Daff and Quentin looking forward to another 12 miles or so, and toby and I heading north-west to llanishen.
Top day out
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