Congratulations undoubtedly must go to that tea making marvel Ryan the Steam, who had told us that he had been consulting his OS maps in order to plan a ride. And it certainly paid dividends, as 14 of us were privileged to take part in a breathtaking ride (literally for Jock) which was full of singletrack and ridden at a breakneck pace. 14 is certainly a good turnout for this time of the year, with the ‘fair weather riders’ opting to stay indoors. Chrissy ,Bernaard, and Dez were the main culprits of non-riding, with their lame excuses being a bad back, broken brakes, and playing with my dinosaur respectively. This has been noted and the New Captain has said he is not going to stand for much more of this half hearted attitude!!

Performance of the night surely must go to our favourite summer dress lover Dickie, whether it be performance enhancing sweets, sheer determination, or last weeks electric shock, Dickie was on fire last night cutting through the pack like a sharpened scythe through a field of corn! Even his usual ‘Achilles heel’ of riding uphill didn’t seem to affect him last night, as he showed more experienced members the way it should be done, and didn’t even take his usual break to have a burger and onions half way up either!! Well done ice cream boy!!

Jock made an early claim to this years ‘Crash of the Year’ award, with a spectacular ‘off’. Whilst trying to attempt a tricky manoeuvre, he managed to get entangled in part of a fence, and was propelled in a 360 degree somersault landing on his forehead in the process; it also showed how important it is to wear a helmet as this took most of the force.

A warm welcome also to David Price of DP Cycles Pengam, who joined us last night, ‘Dai Shop’ made a good account of himself until his failings in the maintenance department came to the fore, as his poorly maintained bike broke down on him, and he had to freewheel most of the way back, ‘Don’t worry I’ll strip it down and have a look in the shop tomorrow’ said Dai, ‘Maybe you should have done that before you came out’ replied the ‘maintenance conscious Crock!!

Undeterred by the breakdown of ‘The Shops’ bike, Johnny Mechanic was unashamedly trying to get a free service from Dai in return for free labelling on all his products for the next year, well done Johnny helping out fledgling companies with generous offers, I commend you!!!!

Last nights theme was ‘cheese and wine’ and it certainly proved to be a success. Turning the lower bar at the Maenllwyd into something that resembled the deli counter at Sainsbury’s, there was a wide selection of cheeses on offer, from the humble Cheddar to more obscure variants such as a delectable ‘beer’ cheese, it certainly proved popular, washed down with Rioja and Cotes‘d’ Rhone it made a welcome change to the refreshments that we usually enjoy.

No sooner had we wiped away the crumbs of our Jacobs Crackers, it was time for the mad dash back to the village, with HQ out of commission it was decided to reconvene at The Royal Oak. What an inspired decision, as we were made to feel welcome by ‘Lyn The Landlady’ who was somewhat overawed at the drinking capacity of the Moos, but was very happy for a midweek boost to her takings.

With the evening in full flow and the wine quaffing continuing in earnest, The Captain decided to address the Moos for the first time, he made some valid points and also drew up some plans involving forthcoming events, it was however marred by the ignorance of Ryan the Steam and Crock, who both insisted on talking throughout The Captains address. We wouldn’t mind so much if they were talking about something worthwhile, but The Steam was heard telling Dai Shop all about the wonders of Yorkshire Tea as opposed to Glengettie!

With the formalities over and ‘shut tap’ upon us it was time to go home. Most people preferred to go the ‘safe way’ but for a small group of us the infamous ‘Oak Steps’ was the only way down. Led by The Captain we approached tentatively, but the only way to conquer the steps is to attack them, and Owgie did this successfully, Gaz followed quickly, too quickly in fact and ended up eating dirt, The Steam and The Mechanic both preferred to carry their bikes down safely, which left me to bring up the rear. I managed the first bit with no problem, but being cheered on by the rest at the bottom, I suddenly veered to the left and caught my hand on the wall, ripping my glove open and cutting my hand, this went down very well with the rest especially Harty who was quietly reminiscing about his one and only previous encounter with ‘The Steps’!!

The boys are now wondering what kind of fertilizer Scrippsy has been using on his lawn, because he woke up this morning to find a toilet, wash hand basin complete with pedestal and a kitchen sink in the middle of his lawn, although he saw the funny side, his wife however did not, especially as she caught him having a pee in his new ‘Alfresco’ bathroom!! The search is now on for the prankster who took advantage of this elderly couple!!