I was quite late starting today, I wasn't really in the mood to get out of bed! It didn't help that I did not sleep very well. I did have the hostel room (4 bed) all to myself, which was good, but the bed wasn't hugely comfortable and I wasn't too keen on the room being brighter than I would have liked. I found myself laying in bed thinking to myself whether I could be bothered with the trip at all, also my difficulties packing the bike weighing on my mind. If I could not get the bike packed properly so I could ride it without any problems...well, not a good start to this trip!

Fortunately the packing efforts succeeded eventually. As per usual, once I actually got on the bike, suddenly the trip seemed like a good idea. I enjoy riding my bicycle. Who knew! Of course, I did, but I tend to forget how much I enjoy it until I'm actually on the bike. My Orbea Orcca with its wireless shifting and hydraulic brakes is a breeze to ride too. If you've read my North Coast 500 travel log, that was carried out on my Triban 3, which is a bike close to my heart, but the mechanical gears have a habit of playing up pretty quickly. I think I get it too dirty!

My first job was to go to the local GoOutdoors, to buy some fuel for my stove. The fuel I used on my trip to Rome (Sorry, I didn't write about that, couldn't bring my laptop!) seemingly went missing when I was looking for it on Thursday evening, I'm sure it will turn up in several months when I'm looking for something else entirely - as is tradition.

Once I'd finished in GoOutdoors, it was tinme to start the actual cycling trip! Hooray!

This is the second visit to Swansea I've been on since graduating from the university, and also the second time I did not actually see much of it. I'm not actually a huge fan of city visits, and as much as I miss Swansea, the thought of wandering around the city centre for a day was not hugely appealing. At least I can say that I've been there.

The roads out of Swansea were a bit more built up than I would have liked. At one point I was on a fast road, noticed a cycle track pavement thing to my right, and that I was also holding up traffic behind me. I'd much rather use a well maintained cycle track when the option is presented to me. So, I saw my opportunity to join it (a road crossing), signalled right, slowed down...can you guess when happened next? The driver (Porshe, go figure) sounded their horn at me! Would you believe it? Probably, especially if you cycle too. Presumably they would have preferred that I remain on the carriageway and hold up their sports car for a few more minutes? Bizarre. The cycle track was pretty good anyway!

Plenty more riding on busy streets for most of the morning, it wasn't really what I was expecting given that I had asked Komoot for the route. Usually it's pretty good for finding quiet roads. In fairness I wasn't on dual carriageways or anything quite that severe.

Riding with my new Edge 1040 was a vast improvement over the old 810 I've used previously. In addition to the extended battery life and big screen, it gives me lots of info on the hills coming up, which is really helpful.

The weather forecast for the day was rather changeable, but in the end I managed to avoid getting too wet, thankfully. Each time there was a rain shower I was conveniently close to somewhere to shelter, either under a bridge, or near a rail station. There wasn't any sustained rain all day, thank goodness, and my shoes didn't get soaked! That was a relief.

Besides the relatively dry conditions (compared to what was forecast at least), the only issue I did have was contending with the wind. Most of the time it was not an issue, but it did threaten to become an issue when I had to tackle a long descent. I'm not the most confident descender on a bicycle, even with effective easy to use hydraulic disc brakes. That said my cargo bike and tandem are easier, but that's because they weigh so much!

The climb out of Pontantwn was much more enjoyable than the descent in to it. A pleasant steady gradient over 1.8 miles. It actually reminded me of Simplon Pass last year! OK, the only thing that was similar was the fact that I was cycling uphill for more than a minute or two, but it was a pleasant ascent. I was a bit disappointed no-one from the ouses I was passing through cheered me on, but you can't have everything. I have had that before! I think that time (the last time I cycled in Wales) it was because it turned out I was following part of the same route as a pro race that would catch up with me later.

Eventually I got to Carmerthen, and before I could get to the centre, there was a brief rain shower, so I ducked underneath thte awning of the train station. This was at about 1PM, a bit later than I would have liked to arrive for lunch.

When I finally did leave the shelter of the rail station, it was time to find some lunch. Reader, I am not proud of how long this took me. I think by the time I was actually looking for some food, it was 2PM (Perhaps the previous time estimate was wrong). The welsh bakery that looked appealing only had pasties and the like. I do enjoy eating such things, but of course they're not particularly healthy. I tried looking for a cafe where I could keep an eye on my bike. I have a D lock with me, but that only covers the frame and one wheel if I'm lucky. Unlike my Triban pannier bag setup, I'm loathed to take the bags of this bike, it takes some time! I have left it alone for a minute or two locked up in the past with bags attached, but it would not make for an enjoyable cafe visit if out of sight in a built up area.

In the end I settled on a convenience shop on the outskirts of the town centre. I picked what I wanted...minimum charge for card payments, £5! Bother. I did something which I dont think I've ever done before, and put my sandwich and turkish delight back, I didn't want £5 of goods. I found another corner shop, guess how much I ended up spending there? Over £5! Go figure.
Once I'd bought my lunch I did what I usually do on these trips, and tried to find somewhere to eat that would be a bit more pleasant than just inhaling it while stood up next to the road. I ended up at the local park, which even had a velodrome! I didn't try riding on it. I've already done Roubaix after all!

By now it was about 2:30, I think. The plna had been to spend the whole day cycling, but I really could not be bothered. Maybe it was more just not having a plan for where I was going to stay that evening that put me off. In the end after several failed WarmShowers hosting attempts, I gave up and settled for a hostel about 5 miles away. £50 for the night, and they also conveniently had a Mexican restaurant! The owner, Ken, was mentioned several times in he reviews too.

It was a very relaxed ride to the hostel, I did remind myself that perhaps all my cycling holidays shouldn't be full of just cycling, and given I was in a bad mood at the start of the day, ending the day on a more positive relaxed note rather than pushing myself to cycle an arbritrary number of of miles seemed wise. That said, when I did arrive at the hostel I did have a moment where I looked at the sunshine and wondered why I wasnt cycling some more!

I met Ken, he is indeed a friendly chap. After showering I had (or attempted to have) an hour long nap in my bed. Can't really do that in broad daylight if wild camping!

Enchiladas for tea, I'm not sure they were as good as the ones I can make at home but they were good value for £9, and filling too. I could tell they hadn't been in the oven, the wraps were soft...oops! Expecting amazing Mexican food from a Welsh hostel was a bit much I suppose but it certainly was not bad, and I appreciated the effort. I remember on the last cycling trip in Wales I didn't have a stove and ended up eating a lot of things with chips for my main meal, it got a bit tedious! The last day then involved a curry, which was blessed relief.

I've got a plan for tomorrow. Follow a route that someeone posted on Komoot which follows the Welsh coast. An advantage of my new Garmin is that downloading the route from my phone was very straight forward. I can do this with Strava on my old Garmin, but this new one lets me do the same with Komoot too, very handy! A good night's sleep, good weather, a plan, and a cheap campsite to stay at in the evening hopefully. I'm excited!