In the last few days we have used National Cycle Network routes 8 and 4 which have both been amazing. We have spend hours cycling along car free paths next to the sea, crossing rivers and railway lines on dedicated cycle bridges, and enjoying the spectacular scenery of Cardiff Bay, Aberavon Promenade and Swansea Bay.
Route 4 has been especially well signed with an amazing route weaving it's way through Port Talbot past the Tata Steel works.
I have even enjoyed the stretches of cycle trail which go alongside dual carriageways as, free from the fear of being crushed by traffic, I have loved the novelty of being on huge road bridges crossing estuaries and looking across to adjacent motorways or railway lines.
Today is our first 'rest day' with no cycling - which I was ready for. In the past 7 days we have got ourselves into a daily routine - breakfasting and leaving the B&B by about 9 - 10am and arriving in our destination by about 4pm. Being slightly worried that we will end up putting on weight with our daily Full Cooked Welsh Breakfast, we have been stashing some of the breakfast sausages and bacon with toast into plastic lunch boxes and then eating it when we start to feel a bit weak at about 11.30am. We have a thermos flask as well as a water bottle on our bikes, and I am always very happy to stop for hot chocolate or hot Ribena. Washing of cycling clothes gets done on arrival in our B&B room when we see there is a hot radiator or some way to dry things by the morning.
We have had a few stops in tea shops, and have had 3 evening pub meals, but realise we need to plan for meals a bit better, as some evenings have been composed of a food forage in a local Spar.
