Overlooking Tenby in S. Wales

A journeys end is always bitter sweet.  Our Wales adventure was no exception.  Wales is a fantastic place to travel by bicycle- particularly if you like to ride hills, lots of hills.   And rain… lots of rain.  This episode of Peterberger Adventures has come to a close and we are telling our tales to any ears that will listen, including our dogs.

Yesterday we rode 47 miles in Oregon- deciding to do some climbing we logged over 3600 feet in elevation, unloaded (Jay was on his road bike).  It was pleasantly cool in the morning but hot and humid in the afternoon. Of course, we left at 11am and proceeded to do most of our climbing in the hottest part of the day.  Climbing allows me to think.  This particular climb brought me back to Wales.

Our 760 mile figure eight journey around Wales took us to more cities, towns and villages than most Welsh people have visited. We ate baked goods in just about every bakery we passed. We endured biting black flies while climbing a relentless 16% incline on a narrow lane covered in cow shit, lined with hedgerows on a hot windless day.  We rode past thousands (millions?) of sheep, hundreds of cows and more beautiful vistas than can be remembered. We pedalled and slept through a deluge of rain so severe that towns were flooded. We learned that rain gear and water proofing actually works. We cooked basic camp meals on one day and gourmet dinners on the next all on a one burner stove.  We ate full Welch breakfasts (fried tomato, fresh local sausage, Welsh bacon, eggs, toast, and sometimes hashbrowns) until we tired of them.  We camped in fields overlooking the ocean, crowded with caravans, in the middle of nowhere and often on a working farm. We shared bathrooms with spiders.  We connected, gabbed, gossiped discussed politics, religion and a whole lot of nothin’ with locals, tourists, family and friends. We pronounced Welsh words terribly wrong.  We made new friends and reconnected with family.

We grew stronger together.

Now we are wondering what the next Peterberger Adventure will be???