Wednesday 24th January and the destination was Kidwelly. Always a good ride with several routes there but usually just the one route back along the Llanelli coastal path. A dry day was promised but with a low temperature and a light wind. In anticipation I hunted out my thermals and my neoprene overshoes – I was to be glad of that.

As usual we were meeting at The Railway Inn, Killay and there I was pumping away at the pedals and overtaking everything in sight when I discovered my way blocked by a fallen tree and some council workmen wielding chainsaws. The speed at which they were working was quite impressive and it would be rather charming to think that they were simply responding to the seriousness of the situation – you know, the old values ‘the male must get through!’ and so on but no, this was normal working for them. Three men, a lorry and a gigantic chipper, two of the men had chainsaws and were zipping through branches without effort, the third was clearing the severed branches and tossing them into the chipper which spat the resulting chips into the back of the lorry. I had never seen anything like it before – maybe their speed and efficiency was something to do with the fact that they did not seem to be hampered by a supervisor!

When I joined the group eighteen months ago we seemed to have about eight riders each week – not always the same eight but never many more, never many less. On Wednesday by the time we set off we numbered eleven but there would be another group waiting at Pont y Cob Road so we had an amazingly good chance of fifteen riders. As it happened it ended up as twenty. This was a historic day and now twenty cyclists can proudly say “I was there!” (apologies to Max Boyce).

John Cardy was to meet us at Penclacwydd. Since seeing The Queen he has developed the need to make grand entrances and Penclacwydd was the place that he had calculated that we would all be present. He planned to keep us waiting for a respectful time to enable us to be suitably composed for his grand appearance but fate almost dealt an embarrassing blow. The thing was, it seemed that there was a problem with Ursula’s bike and it needed urgent fixing. And so it was that as soon as Ursula arrived at the meeting place the pit stop crew had her bike upside down and the back wheel off – something to do with the bearings or something. Anyway the poor girl! There was almost no time for her to dismount but thankfully, she managed. The bike was soon back together again and we dutifully composed ourselves in preparation for The Grand Entrance.

We waited and waited.

Then he came into view, resplendent in a regal blue top and red ermine collar, his crown cunningly disguised as a helmet.

But what about the trumpets, what about the fanfare?

There was none. And you have to admit he has style! Such class!

A low gasp was heard from somewhere in the middle of the assembled crowd and Colin fainted – a fervent royalist at heart, bless him. Mr Cardy made his approach and stood before the throng, curtsies were made and forelocks tugged. A tear was seen running down his cheek. Was this the cold weather or was this emotion? He opened his mouth as if to speak but no words came out. He composed himself and tried again.

“ I’d like you to treat me as a normal person if you possibly can.” He said.

Slowly we relaxed, photos were taken and we were off towards Llanelli. The wind was keen, positively enthusiastic in fact. Its main objective seemed to be to slowly but persistently work its chill into our bones. But, we’re tough, very tough. There are destinations to reach, food to devour and today – carrot cake!!

We stopped again at Llanelli sea front, nobody was sure why but it provided an opportunity for some to have a comfort stop and for Walter to have his first dessert of the day. The more continent and diet-conscious of us listened to the great man telling us about his visit to see The Queen and it turns out, would you believe, that he had been referring to the film and not HRH at all! It’s a shame that the tide was too far out at the time. Anyway its good to know that he and Marilyn (WOJC) thoroughly enjoyed it although when I spoke to her she did say that there was a point in the film when John started telling all around him that Michael Sheen earned his stripes by being his personal paper boy. This caused a titter to circulate the audience but he was soon forcefully ejected, but the damage was already done. Things had to get back under control so a sharp tweak of John’s left year and a whispered menacing threat, the precise nature of which was not revealed, brought him back into line!

If I remember rightly the topic of conversation moved on to ways of combating memory loss. Seratins or something, never heard of them, but I will say that my parents claim that drinking lots of cranberry juice is said to be very effective. Trouble is they can never remember to put it on their shopping list!

Then Ursula remembered she had lost her bearings so John (her husband, so many Johns!) rushed her home before any damage was done.

The coastal path is quite exposed, as one would expect of course, but today the wind was really strong and we had to console ourselves with the thought that the wind would be behind us on the way back. Trevor phoned the café (Time for Tea, Kidwelly) to warn them to prepare for a crowd and when we arrived, a little later than normal, two long tables had been reserved for us. They were short of staff that day but they worked hard and soon we were tucking in to some good, welcome sustenance.

Lunchtime is quite often an opportunity for the exchange of use(ful)(less) information and today was no exception. Walter presented us with “Do you realise that it takes two hundred thousand frowns to make each furrow on your brow?” Almost as one we turned and examined Colin and concluded that he sported the work of a good million frowns on his forehead.

Personally I think that’s very unfair!

And who on earth carried out that bit of research anyway?

The ride back proved the fickleness of the weather because the easy ride with the wind that we were expecting just did not occur and we travelled the whole of the coastal path against the wind once again.

But, never mind, I enjoyed the hot bath and the whisky even more!

See you next time!

Lou Spokes