Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means
Alan, Anna & Morgan live in West Wales and attempt to make the most out of life. Alan is a freelance website designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband. Anna works at Aberystwyth University and is a full time Mum & wife.
The forecast for the weekend wasn’t great, butt summer seems to have stayed with us and I’ve been making the most of it! Nothing new there! Gravel Pits Friday evening was spent at the gravel pits in Cwm Rheidol with Aber Kayakers and the the Scouts. The all got on really well with their kayaking and...
Read more »I’ve only been talking about getting some deep section wheels for my bike for about 6 years! Many a time I have thought I’d take the plunge and get some but never quite did. I have now finally done so. Only the best will do Part of the procrastination was brought about by the fact...
Read more »Phew, it’s been a while since I last did an FTP. Monday morning brought with it time to do a 20 minute FTP test though. My last test was at the beginning of January, an 8 minute test that produced an FTP of 290 Watts. Not great, but it dod result in a slight improvement over...
Read more »We’ve been busy here again. I popped down to Bristol for a night at the weekend. Whilst there I dropped off some furniture for Kia and Max and then went to the pool / spa at Tortworth with Trudi. I saw my Mum and Dad for a little bit – a surprise Mother’s day visit...
Read more »The final overall standing in the Welsh Cyclo-cross 2016 league have been published recently. It’s therefore time for a little round-up of my first ever season racing Cyclo-cross. Why Cyclo-cross? Before I get into the results and how I fared against my competitors, a quick recap on why I chose to do Cyclo-cross in 2016....
Read more »I like to do my best to fill the time between Christmas and New Year with activities and this year the weather seems to have been helping. Yesterday was cloudy and cold but dry at least. After checking the surf which was good I had to choose between surfing, cross biking, surf-skiing or something else....
Read more »What a day that was! There has been very little wind for what seems like ages. Very little apart from the mad, short-lived and very destructive squall that we had back in November. The forecast for the run up to Christmas was looking good wind-wise though so I was chomping at the bit and ready to...
Read more »Round 8 of the Welsh Cyclo-cross league was at Llanerchaeron, just outside Aberaeron. Although still a 50 minute drive from here it was my local event of the series which meant a fairly lazy start to the day. I was still up early though. Early enough to see the sunrise and to get lots of...
Read more »After a weeks hiatus from Cyclo-cross last week for the Cross Mountain event it was back to it for round 7 of the Welsh Cyclo-cross league. This weekend it was quite a drive away in Gorseinon on the outskirts of Swansea. I didn’t have to leave early though as my race doesn’t start until 12:15pm so I...
Read more »Another weekend and another cyclocross race, This time on a Saturday in Abergavenny as part of the larger Crosstober event. This not only saw the Welsh Cyclo-cross races on the Saturday but the more prestigious National Trophy Series races on Sunday. As usual my V40 race started at 12:15 so there was no need to leave...
Read more »Another weekend, another Welsh Cyclo-cross League race and yet more sunshine. In fact it was a glorious day with wall to wall sunshine, bright blue skies and barely any wind. The dry conditions meant that – uncharacteristically for the showground in Carmarthen – there was very little mud. In fact, the organisers had made a few last...
Read more »Despite a 6 hour mountain bike ride in the Tide to Tide on Saturday I was due to race in the Pembrey Dune Cross on Sunday. This was round 3 of the Welsh Cyclo-cross league. I was awake fairly early so left Anna sleeping in the tent and headed off into Pembrey Country Park for a walk as...
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