Commuting part 2

I've written about my commute to work in the previous post, and as I've said, it's all good whatever the weather and it sets me up for the day.

The ride home is a different beast.

I work hard. I find it the best way to get through the day.

We have a fleet of around 200 bikes which had never seen a service till I started work. There's a lot to do.

Now the weather is good, I drag a workstand outside and fix bikes in the fresh air all day. As I've said, the bikes were in a sorry state when I got there, most of them needing new chains, new brakeblocks and new cables. As soon as one bike's done, there's another to take its place.

When I commute to work, I travel to a different world. I'm surrounded by beautiful countryside - I have one of the best views of the Preseli hills anywhere. Apart from my work colleagues, I'm surrounded by people on holiday. It's a nice atmosphere to be in, and I don't have to think about anything. I can fix bikes in my sleep, I don't need to think about what I'm doing, in fact the less thought, the better.

I'm on my feet all day and the work can be strenuous.

When 4.00pm comes around, I've usually tired myself out.

But then I have to cycle at least 12 miles home.

Grim determination is the only way.

I start off slow. I try and take the path of least resisitance, but there aren't any, really. The hill on the north side of Creselly has to be avoided at all costs. It's a killer, with a nasty bend in the middle. Even though I'm dropping over 200 feet in altitude, it's all so up and down, you don't really notice. I try and maintain a steady pace, but really I just want the journey over. Invariably I start to push the pace. The A470 trunk road between Carew and the dock is very busy at that time of day, and traffic seems determined to run me off the road. It is no fun.