Since rediscovering cycling I of course re -read the Highway Code in relation to cyclists and found, buried in the small print,that it is quite legal to visit tea rooms and boost sagging energy levels by ordering scrummy cakes and a decent coffee.

As a law abiding citizen I decided to visit Torcefn Tea Rooms which is not far from where I live but does involve some steep hills.

Here is the route

The graph shows the hilly bits. At the first the bike refused to change down to great granny gear on the front mech. which almost brought the trip to an end, but with some jiggling I resolved the problem but was then stuck in that gear.

Ever onwards ever upwards and  with one stop to don rain wear I was soon a sweating mass at the highest point on the common near Crwbin. At a cattle grid a small herd of young bullocks was stopped in the middle of the road with cars starting to back up. Using my country talents I crossed the grid and waved the cows aside keeping an eye on the leader whose horns could quickly damage my bike or even me!

The beasts

Nosy Horses

A rare Ganol

It was now I discovered that the £10 note I had tucked into the leg of my lycra shorts (yes I know) was missing and any dream of refreshments disappeared. However I cycled on to find the tea rooms for another trip. One last search and with no one around I dropped my shorts and luckily the note fell to the ground. Cake back on.

Highly recommended

What a find, with lots of cake on sale and more substantial meals if required. I decided on coffee and a scone. Now not being a well refined lad I was taken aback by a cafeteria of coffee and a proper cake dish with TWO scones with jam and cream – result! The whole lot came to £3.20! Luckily the waitress had no idea where the £10 note had been for most of the trip!

Fill your boots

With so many calories now resting in my stomach I decided to extend my journey to at least stay weight neutral and cycled on to Meinciau, Pontantwn, Llangynderyn, Cwmisfael and back to Llanddarog.

In Llangynderyn I was reminded of the fight that took place to stop the valley from being submerged by a reservoir to water the good folk of Swansea. The fight was won. Here is the story