If you’ve made it this far, my appreciation of the landscape, nature and bike rides in Wales should be as clear as the night sky was when Comet NEOWISE slow-danced past Rhigos Mountain in July.

Wales is blessed with having some amazing outside spaces and has three national parks covering over 4,000 sq km. In fact, the Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks account for 20% of Wales, and much of the area in between them is beautiful countryside and rolling hills. The national parks and the 1,400 km of footpath that make up the Wales Coastal Path, means that there is some truly stunning things to see and do in Wales.

What better way to take in those sights and the seemingly never-ending countryside than on two wheels? My choice of two wheels is a road bike, but all cyclists are catered for in Wales.

Above is a selection of photographs taken on bike rides around Wales. Featuring the Brecon Beacons, Eryri, The Tumble, Gospel Pass and the South Wales valleys.

Below are some links to videos taken on bike rides:

Cwmcarn Dreams feat. Fleetwood Mac. I recorded this descending Cwmcarn Forest Drive from Medart when I was lucky enough to have the entire drive to myself. Some of my cornering wasn’t the best, but I was wearing shades and even though it was quite dark, it was still too bright for me…plus the shades protect the eyes from bastard flies! Basically, I couldn’t see that well and there was quite a bit of debris on the road in some sections, so it’s amazing the descent didn’t require another detour to the RGH 😬 If you appreciate nature, or just want to escape from the noise and reduced air quality of built-up areas, Cwmcarn Forest is one of the best places to visit in south-east Wales. Given its closeness to the M4 corridor, 2 cities and the demand for constant urbanisation, Cwmcarn really is the perfect tonic for modern life. Unfortunately, at the time of recording the video, Cwmcarn Forest was in a transitional phase due to the felling of over 150,000 larch trees infected with Phytophthora Ramorum. Whilst the views from Cwmcarn will always be mesmerising, it will take several decades for the forest to recover its former beauty. Don’t let that put you off visiting though, as the diverse wildlife on display is worth the trip alone. Add in walking, hiking, road and off-road biking, stargazing as well as the re-opened 11 km scenic drive with several car parks on route, playing areas for children, picnic and bbq areas, viewing points and if you still don’t want to go, well you’re a fucking twat and don’t bother reading on! Then there’s the dog-friendly lake. Poppy‘s favourite place in the world and I would imagine it is the favourite place for many other dogs who have visited. The way the sun sets behind the lake at different times of the year is reminiscent of the summer and winter solstice effects observed using the Manhattan street grid plan at places such as 42nd street. Cwmcarn tops this by having jaw-dropping sunsets most nights, all year without having thousands of technology-obsessed arseholes close by. If, when you go and if you take the car, pay to go round twice as the people who run Cwmcarn have kept it as accessible as possible to cyclists and walkers in the 6 years the scenic drive was closed for the larch felling. These guys are heroes to nature and mindfulness. It is worth every penny, and more for the reward you’ll get from nature, but please make sure you use the bins provided or take your litter home with you.

Rhigos Mountain Road Descent (Easter Sunday Alpine Special). Rhigos mountain road was my favourite climb and only about 50 km from my doorstep, so it was good for training rides. 50 km of close passes and arguing with (mostly) gammons about their shit driving and lack of visual aids, but the reward is climbing and descending the ‘Welsh Alps’. The close passes continued on the climb itself, but the views from both the north and south side are simply stunning. I cycled up many mountain roads in Wales including Gospel Pass, The Tumble, Llangynidir, Crimea Pass, Black Mountain, Llanberis Pass, The British, Bryn Du, Devil’s Elbow, Bwlch, Maerdy, Pen-y-Pass, Bwlch y Groes, Caerphilly ‘Mountain’ to name a few. Rhigos Mountain Road which ascends Mynydd Beili-Glas in the South Wales valleys was the best and as mountain climbs go, it was pretty easy too. You can also see the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way on a clear night thanks to the lack of light pollution. In the video, look out for a couple of protective bird parents protecting their nest from a buzzard (I think) 😍

Hub cap hero. The term ‘hero’ is banded around way too easily these days. Somehow this cunt* was branded one after surviving a mild case of COVID-19…even though the actions of that particular cunt and other Tory cunts like him have cost the lives of many others less fortunate. Anyway, had this car’s hub cap come off at speed on a motorway, it could have ended in tragedy. I’m no fucking hero, but it’s shocking how many loose hub caps there are attached to vehicles on the road. It’s not quite as bad as using a phone whilst driving though. You’ve got to be a special kind of cunt to do that, and again it’s shocking just how many of those kind of cunts are out there. Put it this way, there’s more cunts in driving seats than there are loose hub caps!

Lorry Heroes. 👍👏🤝😍 I made no secret about my displeasure at sharing the roads with cunts in cars, but despite submitting well over 100 videos to Operation Snap, the closest I got to a prosecution was being threatened with prosecution for public order offence for calling cunts in cars, cunts (as well as several other apt insults). If you haven’t experienced being close-passed by a metal box on wheels that could weigh several tonnes driven by a cunt, you may not be aware of just how dangerous they can be to vulnerable road users. Anyway, in the video, the driver of the Home Hardware lorry became an instant hero for me by stopping in slow moving traffic to create a gap which allowed the driver of the Hanson lorry to pass me safely. At the time, I assumed his gesture was aimed at the other driver as a professional courtesy, but I felt compelled to call the company when I got home to ask that they pass on my appreciation. I even Tweeted about it and it turns out the driver is a cyclist himself. That one act of kindness cost less than 23 seconds of his time and he still got to where he needed to be on time. Both these drivers are heroes in my book!

A472 Descent into Newbridge. In memory of my brother, Peter. I went on this ride a few hours after I found out he passed away in February 2021. Cycling and other regular high-intensity physical exercises do not only improve cardiovascular performance, strength and conditioning, but such activities have been proven to play a key role in activating neurobiological pathways associated with increased self-esteem, improved mood and overall health…as well as being beneficial to one’s own stress response. Not gonna provide a reference or citation for that, as it really should be common knowledge in 2022.

Mummy and her baby. You’re never far away from nature in Wales!

I saw this beautiful buzzard effortlessly hovering from a ‘road’ between Maesycwmmer and Machen. The inverted commas are to highlight that road is not the best descriptor for the surface. It was without doubt the worst surface I have ever ridden a road bike on. The lack of suspension made controlling my bike a huge effort even at slow speeds, hence my breathlessness in the video. Still, it was worth every second of effort and fucking my then tyres and wheels up 😁

This stunning Red Kite was feeding on dead lamb by the side of the road near Ystradfellte when I passed on my bike. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to film her feed, so I jumped off the bike, got down low and was there for around 5 minutes watching her whilst she was watching me. It was fucking epic. This was during a fairly strict COVID-19 lockdown and whilst I was down on the floor filming a car went past and the driver turned around to ask if I was ok (nice touch). When I thanked him for his concern and explained what I was doing in my Essex/Surrey accent, his mood instantly changed and he enquired what I was doing out here. I replied, “Dw i’n dod o Lloegr yn wreiddiol, ond dw i’n byw ger Casnewydd nawr. Beth amdanoch chi?”. He drove off. Nice fella. I wasn’t as proficient in Welsh back then as I am now and I still can’t roll my fucking Rs 😉, but I knew those sentences from a couple of Duolingo lessons I was learning at the time. Turned out I was more Welsh than he was…or perhaps he was just slightly intolerant of people based on their accent? 😁

Squirrel! Blink and you’ll miss him/her.

I was unable to report this prick to Operation Snap as the registration plate wasn’t clear enough. Not that submitting it to the lazy wankers would have made any difference. Operation Snap was set up as the police response to protect vulnerable road users from dangerous and reckless driving. No doubt it was set up with the best intentions, but I’ve got no idea why they then tasked the running of the entire Welsh operation to what can only be described the most useless British police officer who has ever existed. Anyway, if the impatient driver who was unable to wait a few seconds for me pass was even remotely competent at lip-reading, or if his vision was adequate enough to drive, he would’ve been able to see me flipping him off and mouthing the word ‘cunt’ at him.

Cheating death 1.

Cheating death 2.

* – I appreciate some people have a real issue with the word ‘cunt’. I don’t like the obvious misogynistic association, but I think it is a perfectly acceptable noun to describe many people. The real shame is that some people are more offended by the word ‘cunt’ than they are about racism and other issues that matter a whole lot more than the effect of a word.

** – This is Darren. A band 6 CPN I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of months ago. Darren told me that he believes all life is precious (we’ll get back to that). In an attempt to connect with me and show off his recently learned ‘knowledge’ in mental health and psychology, Darren thought it would be a good idea to share some of his life with me. Darren told me he used to be a bodybuilder. Darren also told me that he used to get in a lot of fights in Blaina because ‘there was nothing else to do’. Darren also told me of his struggles on his mental health degree course due to his dyslexia. Darren also told me he got his job through nepotism.

First off, bodybuilding is not a sport. It’s all about vanity. Darren told me about bodybuilding in an attempt to bond with me when I was telling him about cycling. I probably would have more respect for Darren if he told me he used to be a competitive masturbator 😁 My first thought was ‘narcissist’ and this has not changed. I asked Darren if took steroids whilst bodybuilding, he denied this. His abrupt response and other visual cues suggest he may have been dishonest. I’ve no idea why he boasted about bodybuilding as it’s clear Darren no longer looks after himself. He is several years younger than me and looks like he’d probably get out of breath taking a dump.

Justifying violence against others as a means to pass the time is not something that impressed me about Darren. I have lived in deprived areas affected by socio-economic factors and have never felt the need to physically hurt someone else for entertainment.

Tbh, I was impressed that Darren had completed a degree course with dyslexia. I’ve always set myself high academic targets and generally met them, but words and numbers have never been a problem for me. I’ve known many people who struggle with something that I probably took for granted until my head injury, but I’ve always had empathy as the effects of such disabilities can devastating as well as life long. So, far play Daz. That said your understanding of conditioning and several other basic psychology techniques is shockingly shit!

Nepotism has been a bit of an issue for me. I grew up in care, had very little support and was born with a visual disability that was not corrected until I was 28. Despite my intelligence, excellent communication skills, high self-esteem, confidence, ambition, drive and ability to make anyone laugh, nepotism didn’t give me a single opportunity. That said, I would do anything I can to give my children an opportunity in life. Darren has not only been given an opportunity that few others get, but that opportunity has prevented someone better qualified from working with vulnerable people.

Darren was also visibly ill on our second 1-2-1 meeting. He made a point of telling me that he stayed off work in the morning as he felt so rough, but came in for his afternoon appointments. He also did not wear a facemask. During our conversation, he infected me with a cold. At the time Darren did not know that I have studied infectious diseases (as well as genetics, cell biology, neurobiology, psychology, chemistry…) as part of my degree course. Neither did Darren know or care that I have a particular susceptibility to rhinovirus, the pathogen responsible for the common cold. It’s the very reason I avoid contact with people who are ill because when I get a cold, I generally get a chest infection for 2-4 weeks. Today (17/05/2022) is 7 weeks to the day since Darren infected me whilst not wearing a mask and I still have a chest infection. My blood oxygen saturation levels were recorded as 88 at the doctors last week.

On that same day 7 weeks ago, Darren also used his mobile phone driving his car with me as a passenger. First he used the phone in its mount whilst the car was moving which is bad enough and illegal, but then he took the phone off the mount and placed it to his ear to continue his conversation. I got my phone out and I recorded him discreetly. I pulled him up on it during our conversation and he says he doesn’t usually do it. I think that is likely to be bollocks. At the time, he knew I used to cycle and he knew I have a low tolerance of arseholes in cars.

Darren is a cunt.

Over the next month, I will be doing everything I can to ensure Darren loses his job and faces criminal charges. I don’t give a fuck if anyone considers this as vindictive. I’ll be doing the world a favour and making the roads a bit safer in the process.

It’s part of a bucket list I’m working on that also includes sowing 1 million poppies for Poppy.