dmorg.org

Why this blog on Blogger? It's an experiment in blogging from my phone to see whether I can leave my laptop at home on my next bike tour. Which is coming up shortly!  In a bid to rescue my existing  dmorg.org  blog from where it has been languishing on the monolithic and unwieldy WordPress platform, I've been coding a blog from scratch, using the brilliant SvelteKit JavaScript compiler-cum-framework. But it is a work in progress and I'm not confident that I will be able to edit the posts from my phone: hence this little excursion into the Blogger-sphere. If nothing else, this may serve as a location to store my memories while they are still fresh, for later transfer to a newly revitalised  dmorg.org .

Not being blessed with the best of weather on this trip, we waited out a day of rain in Llanelli before continuing westward. There seems to be a pattern of wet day, dry day. And we’re not sufficiently hurried (motivated?) to ride through the wet ones. St Ishmael’s Parish Church, on the approach to Ferryside, has parts that date from the 13th century. There is a splendid roof, and a sundial that is claimed to have been added in 1725. Despite the grey days, the sun shone intermittently, making the light bright and the greens intense. It’s not all due to Lightroom! The prevailing winds are westerly and the abundant wind turbines explained our regular headwinds. We arrived at the Harbourlights Guesthouse, in Saundersfoot, just a few minutes too late to prevent getting soaked when the heavens opened. By the time we showered, changed and were out for dinner, the weather had cleared again. We enjoyed curry night at The Royal Oak, with the excellent (and seemingly appropriate) Jaipur India Pal...

A cycle route across southern Wales, from Chepstow to Fishguard, following National Cycle Network 4 (NCN4). Into Wales at Chepstow, over the old Severn Bridge, on a sunny afternoon. We rode along narrow lanes with high hedges, and little traffic. Fortunately, because there was little room to pass and there were stinging nettles in the hedges! A pleasant night in Chepstow. The next day, we stopped for a wander around Caldicot Castle before having our regular bread, cheese and salami lunch. We arrived in Newport in the early evening and stopped to look at the Newport Transporter bridge, as empty and deserted as it had looked two years ago (when I had also arrived when it was closed). It was difficult to tell if it was just closed for the evening, or more permanently for repairs; there didn’t appear much evidence of daily use. There is a large difference in height between low and high tides on the River Usk through Newport – in the region of 12 m. A conventional bridge would have to be hi...