Cycling in Wales, Welsh signs, Welsh trains, cycling and fly-biking worldwide

Great Western, First Class carriage

Welsh cakes on train. £1.50 for two cakes in packet. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
I had never thought of cycling in Wales. It looks too hilly.

Answers
On the other hand, you get:
lots of exercise
great views from the top,
recover on the easy way down.

Bikes on Trains
Can you take bikes on trains? Yes and no. Arriva trains' website says they can take only two bikes on every train (not much good for a family of four, or group of four friends, fine for a twosome - providing somebody else hasn't booked their bike in first. You must make a booking to be sure of getting a space.

They suggest you make a booking for your bike, which is free. Do that at least 24 hours in advance.

Some days there are only one or two trains a day on some routes if you are making a connection using two trains on a long journey.  Even on a summer Sunday on the Great Western line from Paddington in London to Cardiff, Newport and Swansea in Wales in July 2017, I had only one train after 9 a.m. You also cannot take your bicycle on an Arriva train in peak hours.

Train Tickets
You may hear the announcements that you can upgrade your seat to first class on Great Western. One lady I know chose to do this. She said that the First Class ticket upgrade on one section cost less than £5 and included a voucher for tea or coffee and biscuits from the counter between the first class and the next carriage. You have to allow time to run all the way along the platform to first when boarding. Alternatively, have a backpack or small luggage to walk all the way along the train through the narrow aisle from the other end of the train.

Cycling Worldwide
You can hire cycles in cities in other countries, too. For example: London, England; Bucharest, capital of Romania. You might want to fly-bike, rather than fly-drive.

Luggage / baggage
On a long trip, or going to a special occasion such as a wedding, you might want more luggage at a destination. You can go on a group holiday which has a van to take everybody's luggage to the overnight stop.

For transporting luggage when you are travelling independently, see next post.

Tips
Cycling
http://www.cyclingwales.co.uk/welsh.html
https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Bicycles/

Luggage
This company's website says that sending luggage can be cheaper than paying airline excess baggage charges.
https://luggagemule.co.uk/
Here are some more websites:
https://www.sendmybag.com/
If you prefer a company whose name you recognize:
https://www.pickfords.co.uk/baggage-ppc/luggage-shipping-service

Story
I've been so long on Welsh websites and writing Welsh words that the automatic spell check suggests that my name should start LLAN!

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages.

Advice and Memories Of A Serial Trekker and Walker

Problem
"Will I be able to cope with a trek to Annapurna base camp, (in Pakistan), after managing my trek in Indonesia?"

Answer
Trekkers write to each other for advice. They ask, "What's it like climbing such and such a peak? Who should I book through?"

Story
Our local international expert has done 15 treks, including Everest and Kilimanjaro, and plans two more this year. He has an ambition to climb all the 3000+ metre peaks in Indonesia, having done the top three.

How High Is Too High
I have to type fast to catch his reply. "You start with the lower shorter walks and climbs and find out how you cope with the heights and altitude. My friend from the last trek in Indonesia has been within 404 meters of the next climb. That's only an hour and a half's extra walk.

I am going on a walking holiday, to Romania. My first ever walking holiday. I might practise walking, from my desk twice a day, to the bathroom, just to get fit.

Other members of my family do marathons. They run up and down 14 flights of stairs twice a day, at first just running, then after he first week, for more challenge and achievement, adding wights of rucksacks continuing cans of drink.

I ask, "What was it like last year, walking in Greece?"

Our expert says: "We usually drive to a different starting point each day. We could be walking around the mountain. Or along by a beach, like we did in Greece. Or up a volcano, like we did in Indonesia. It depends on the country."

Walking In Greece
"In Greece we walked near Olympia, which is a 40 minute driver from the west coast on the mainland. During, before or after the walking holiday we could visit the ancient Greek site of Olympus which has a museum open to the public for a fee.

"Although we were walking, some of us hired cars. Often the group organiser hires a car. We then share as much as we can between drivers and non-drivers. This cuts the cost, and saves time. You enjoy the company, for socialising. A practical point is to keep the group together en route to the starting point so nobody gets lost or delays the others. Coming back you all arrive at the hotel not in a close convoy but more or less the same time in time for dinner together.

"Athens is on the isthmus - a piece of linking land. The land passage is not a causeway, much bigger, although it looks narrow on the map. There is also an inland sea, but the sea doesn't violate its linked land characteristic.

Walking in Greece
"In Greece, if you wanted to go from Olympia to Troy on the northern side you either drove all the way back via Athens or had to catch the ferry. This was a non-walking alternative for people like me. Anybody who twists an ankle or who won't want to be too strenuous usually have an alternative for one day or more of a walking holiday."

Tips
"If you are mountain climbing, like to Annapurna base camp, you need evacuation insurance, to pay for a helicopter to rescue you. Nobody carries thousands of pounds with them trekking up a mountain. And the helicopter company knows from experience nobody will pay after they've been reduced.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please follow me and share my posts.