Two-up in the south of Wales

With the money saved and the time booked off work, my girlfriend and I had a summer holiday planned abroad. Then the car’s timing belt snapped.

This required a change of plan. We decided to spend a long weekend in the south of Wales on the bike. Three nights’ B&B were booked at a small village pub which had been recommended by a friend.

On Friday morning, bags packed and bike loaded, we set off early, stopping off in Sandy – our home town – for a cup of tea in the sunshine. After riding almost 300 miles we got a very warm welcome from the staff and locals in the village pub/B&B on Friday evening and we were soon enjoying a drink at the bar, chatting with everybody.

Over the weekend we enjoyed touring the area, including a route recommended by a motorcycle instructor in the pub we were staying at – taking in the mountain road from Rhayader to Aberystwyth in glorious sunshine.

We didn’t get as many miles covered as we had hoped because we kept stopping to take photos and to take in the views, which were incredible – showing the south of Wales in all its glory.

We did, however, get caught out on a mountain when the heavens opened and the rain fell like it had not rained for weeks. Cold rain blew through the valley – rocking the bike – while sheep calmly grazed, probably wondering what we were doing out in such weather. It’s a very lonely feeling when the weather turns nasty and you’re out on a mountain. We took shelter under a small tree – the bad weather soon passed and we were riding back to the village in beautiful sunshine.

Each night, the locals were all interested in where we had been and what we had seen. As the evenings passed we wanted to be spending more time with this lovely crowd, but we were soon loading up for the journey home.

Already, we’re planning on going back soon with the bike.