Cyclokairos

70 miles, they said. 70 of the finest Anglo-Welsh miles. On a clear day, I assume. Something in the region of 7 today, perhaps 17, was all I could see. The Welsh Marches, largely rolling green farmland, that green coming from the liquid that falls from above, the liquid packaged in clouds. The heatwave had gone, the subsequent thunderstorms too – now the light grey cloud so typical of here. There’s a line in Martin Amis’ Money, where on returning from New York, the main character (or is the novel written in the third person? I forget) describes the colour of England as cloud grey, like some permanent stain in your eyes. 

The sunglasses were on when leaving Bishop’s Castle. They lasted the sum total of the climb out of there. The climb soon woke the legs up, about 150 m gained in a kilometre or so. After that, something gentler, another 150 m gained over 20-odd km to reach the high point close to Cider House. There were some sharp down and back up bits, but mostly just gradual climbing.

I was riding The Kerry Ridgeway, another one of those ancient drover’s routes. One partly absorbed into the road network but mostly off-road bridleway. The first 4 km, as far as Pantglas (Blue Hollow? I’m working on my Welsh), was metalled road but quiet-country-lane-metalled road – I didn’t see a soul. Then it was a gravel track into Ceri Forest. Not the broad-leaved trees of ancient British woodland, rather a conifer plantation, but still a chance to use the Merlin Bird ID app and improve my identification of birds. My dad had an enviable talent for recognising bird’s by their song. A typical day for him during the school summer holidays was leaving the house early and not returning until evening. It being the 1950s, it was a long time before the distractions of the present day – identifying birdsong an inevitable consequence of hours spent wandering the countryside with his mates. I could hear a weet, common redstart the app said. The app listed a number of other birds too – willow warbler, goldfinch, and chaffinch. I had binoculars and just about managed to see the goldfinches among the flitting movement through the trees.

Since climbing Moat Hill out of Bishop’s Castle, the Kerry Ridgeway had traced the England-Wales border. Fall left, England, fall right, Wales. Leaving Ceri Forest the border was crossed and it was Wales the rest of the way to Cider House. A grass track after Block Wood taking me to the highest point of the ride at Two Tumps and then a drop to the end of the route. A feed, a rest, and then a retracing of my steps back to Bishop’s Castle. I tend to eschew out-and-back rides but I wanted to avoid roads. Not just their cars but around here they are often a succession of up and down, and taking the ridgeway back was mostly a descent.

Of course, I questioned my choice of bike. The Red Bike, although my least favourite aesthetically (a Rivendell, a Stooge, a Singular? One day perhaps), ultimately fitted the bill. Draggy on the lanes, with its knobbly 29 x 2.25 tyres, but ideal for the gravel and grass sections. It also has a low gear of 26 x 42 – I can just about haul myself up most inclines with that.