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BIKE RIDE OF A LIFETIME

February 3, 2012 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Bike

Comments:
I met this CivE grad student from Poland who is a rather crazy biker/distance runner. Lots of miles, lots of experience. 16:30ish in the 5k, specializes in longer distances, trail races, marathons... also went on a month long bike ride in a big loop around norway and sweden, just because he could. Krzysztof is rather nuts. Anyway, he lent me one of his bikes and took me miles and miles out of Cardiff to the north. We went all around for about four hours, I never really knew exactly where we were, but we were somewhere around the towns of Caerphilly and Pontypridd. We biked UP THREE MOUNTAINS and right up to Castle Coch!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell_Coch) Then we went up a second mountain and prepared to head back to Cardiff. Then I saw it one mountain over: Garth Hill. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Hill) Garth Hill is the subject of the Hugh Grant film "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down A Mountain," one of my favorite movies. I recognized the mountain because it was pointed out to us on a coach tour last weekend. I asked Krzysztof if we could possibly go there and he said sure, so we biked up that one too!! I WENT UP FFYNNON GARW (as it's called in the film)!!!!!! I was more or less dying with excitement.

This is without a doubt the ABSOLUTE COOLEST thing I've done since I've been here. The views from the mountains were incredible; I could see Cardiff, the smaller towns to the North, the surrounding hills and mountains, the freshwater bay on the other side of Cardiff, the Bristol Channel, England on the other side, the ocean further out, the pits that remain of the coal mines that once dominated this area's economy... the landscapes were just too incredible. I can't even describe it.

Total estimate on the distance. Krzysztof laughed at me when I suggested we went more than 10 or 15 miles, but that's just ridiculous. I've gone on 15-mile rides before, and this was NOT 15 miles. I would like to say more like 30... and UP MOUNTAINS...

Saturday: LEGS. DEAD.

OW.

I love Wales :D