In
the midst of a very cold spell on a beautiful bright sunny day, we all met up at
Sarn Park Services for a run organised and led by Martyn and Wayne. A few new
faces joined us yet again (Hello Michael and Trudy) and 14 cars set off towards
Llantwit Major for our first coffee stop by the sea. Just as we were leaving
Sarn Park, Dennis and Jennifer joined in at the last minute so nobody got left
behind.
The wind was bitterly cold and it even snowed on our way there but as ever, the flasks came out as soon as we arrived. Some people took advantage of the coastal path and went off for a bit of a wander; others looked longingly at the collection of classic motorcycles that were in the car park. The rest of us just complained about the cold although we hadn't had the sense to put the tops up on the cars to keep warm. Bob and Ros joined us at Llantwit as they had a late start due to other commitments; but they made up for it by arriving topless.
Our cruel run boss Martyn made us wait until the allotted departure time in the freezing conditions before he allowed us to set off for lunch in the Six Bells in Penmark near Cardiff International Airport.
Lunch
was a triumph with us choosing from a possible three courses with some having
the lot! George and Liz also joined us there after seeing most of South
Glamorgan trying to find us and arrived just in time for a bag of cheese and
onion crisps before we set off again.
We had such a great time that Martyn awarded the landlord and landlady with some honorary MX-5 club baseball caps. It may feature in a Christmas Lunch later this year (quite close to December 25th oddly).
On
leaving Penmark, the run continued through Bonvilston then Pontypridd before we
stopped for another break at the Rhondda heritage centre for another chat and to
use the ablutions. Several people decided to head home direct from here and we
all thanked Martyn and Wayne for all their excellent hard work before setting
off again.
The route continued back down towards Pontypridd before turning up through Graigwen then over Llanwonno Mountain to the, now annual, mini-roundabout dance. Some of the road over the mountain was a bit challenging for those of us with lowered suspension, but it certainly kept us on our toes and the views were stunning.
After passing through Treorchy it was over the Bwlch to Maesteg before dropping down through Aberkenfig and back to Sarn Park. By this time there were only six cars left as most had peeled off and headed for home.
This route was absolutely fantastic and will be appearing on the website for anyone who fancies it to download and follow. We were blessed yet again with excellent (if cold) weather and the air was so clear that the views as we were driving over the hills were breathtaking; when we were at Llantwit Major beach, it almost looked as though you could reach out and touch Somerset in the distance. I've lived in the South Wales area all my life and some of the places we went today and roads we drove on were completely new to me. Every time we have a run, there are new things to see.
Thanks to Martyn and Wayne for all the hard work that must have gone into making it such a well organised day and many thanks to everyone for turning out and making it such a fun day. I was relieved that we didn't have a bout of certain people trying to out-Rhondda one another during the day.
Ray - "Thanks to Martyn and Wayne, not forgetting everyone else, for a great run. I liked the little extra touch of snow this morning that you organised. Could we have some for our run in July please?"
Mark - "Thanks to Martyn & Wayne for today's run. Good driving roads, good weather, good food, good company. What more could you want"
Hi Ho Silver