Leaving the office behind and thinking about the rest of the doggers working away, put a smile on my face. But the trek to Wales seemed to take an age. The usual British motoring delights of A14 standstills, crawling along on the M42 and getting stuck on the M4 because of that infamous lorry fire, soon turned the smile into a frown.
Finally arriving in Port Talbot, it was time to check into the hotel, grab some tucker and get an early night, ready for Saturday's ride. A short 15-minute drive leaves the bleakness of this industrial town behind and all's forgotten as the natural beauty of the south Wales countryside takes centre stage. We soon arrived at Afan Forest Park and began prepping the bikes.
Due to some people drinking slightly more than others on the previous night, the mammoth 46k skyline trail was ruled out and after some discussion we decided to tackle 'The Wall'.
The Wall seemed to climb, and climb, and climb. After what seemed like an age of going up we finally found some downhill. It was fast flowing, tight, technical and very narrow. Rocks, tree stumps and roots seemed to appear with every turn and a couple of stream crossings were thrown into the mix. Although the downhill seemed short, in comparison it was some of the most technical descent I've ever ridden. All the uphill was soon forgotten as we arrived back at the centre, tired, covered in mud but grinning from ear to ear.
After a relaxing morning and a full English (to put back on all those calories which had been burnt off the previous day) we headed further west to the Gower peninsula. The beaches of Rhossili and Llangennith are long sandy bays, set against the cliffs and look spectacular. Sets of waves were rolling and it wasn't long before the wetsuits and bodyboards came out for a bit of a play in the Atlantic. However, being Wales the weather soon changed, getting windy, rainy and generally unpleasant. So with a sharp exit all we had to think about was getting dry and the lengthy journey back home.
Dan Lincoln - Digital Activity Manager
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