Race recce with Kate

Kate was back! She has been off skiing forever but she was back. And she was up for meeting up. And she had an idea of what to do: in September she will do the Dragon’s Back Race, and she wanted to scout some of the route. Was I interested in doing Cadair Idris? I thought that would be ambitious. I was going out for dinner with Sue and Dean later, so I had to be home at a reasonable time. Even getting to the start of a hike that is 1.5 hours. It sounded like it could get hurried and stressful! Not my favourite kind of hike.

She then suggested a different part of the route that started at Sychnant Pass. That sounded better. We settled for it. And she came to pick me up.

When I stepped out of the door I could already hear Bryn bark. He was glad to see me! Soon after that I heard the ‘whump whump whump’ of his tail against the panels of the car. He is a sweetheart.

We drove up to the pass and on our way. We started on a path I had never done before! But it was beautiful. And after a while it came back to a route I am familiar with. I have, for instance, done that with the other Kate. And our goal was Tal y Fan. And from there to Bwlch y Ddeufaen. And then back.

It was really windy! That is a bit tiresome. You have the constant howling of the wind in your ears. But it was largely sunny, and dry, and the ground was not as sudden as either of us had suspected. So it was a great day anyway! And we didn't let the wind get in the way of catching up.

Bryn’s wind face

Sea views

Dreamy house

Kate had been ill not too long ago, and wasn't quite back to normal fitness levels. So the uphill bits were a bit trying for her. She even suggested not actually going to the top of Tal y Fan! That's not like her at all. We went anyway. We took one submit selfie and then quickly retreated. It was so ludicrously windy up there! And we binned Bwlch y Ddeufaen.

View from the top 

Summit selfie with wind hair

Below the summit we had lunch. I managed to eat all of it myself, in spite of Bryn’s efforts. A bit later on Kate had to wrestle him because he wanted to eat a sheep’s bone. She thought it would be bad for him. He wasn't going to give it up without a struggle! 

When we got back to the car I was glad to get out of the wind. I was really glad we hadn't tried Cadair Idris! Imagine the windspeeds up there. And I don't think Kate would have quite enjoyed the ascent. 

I got home in good time for the dinner, so I even had time for a bit of DIY! And I hope that some other day in the not too distant future, and a less windy day at that, we can scout Cadair Idris after all…

Out of the cake competition in the semifinal

I’m out! But I came far. I reached the semi-final of the SOS cake competition with my vegan cakes. And I was booted out by only two votes! I think that is a good result.

This round was a bit unusual for two reasons; one was that it contained three cakes, and the other one was that it fell in a week in which my circadian rhythm was compromised. I think the three cakes were a result of someone new arriving at the school, and being drafted into the cake competition which was already underway, which led to an odd number of bakers.

I knew I had to bake my cake this evening before, but that provided a bit of a challenge, as that day and the day before I had got up at 4:30. I was completely knackered! And that didn't help the baking process. I initially forgot baking soda and had to mix it in at a late stage. My production of buttercream didn't go overly smooth either. But in the end, a cake was produced.

It was also unusual as Miles had suggested he come over that night. I said that was fine, if he was okay with having to witness me baking. But by the time he arrived, the cake was already in the oven. I should say cakes; I baked a big one for the competition, and a small one for myself. The oven was on anyway! 

I was completely knackered when he arrived. I really had to give myself a peptalk before going down to the kitchen to put the kettle on. But he was very understanding. And he got to try the small cake. He liked it!

I had gone for a mocha cake. I like them, and I figure I could do them myself as well. The recipe I had used for my hazelnut cake, actually, was based on this mocha cake recipe, as I had lost the original hazelnut cake recipe. So I had practiced! And I had wanted to decorate it with coffee bean-shaped pieces of mocha chocolate, which you can buy anywhere in the Netherlands, but turn out to be a lot more difficult to get a hold of on britain. I had tried all big local supermarkets and failed, and had to buy them online.

Prep

The final product 

Susan would pick the cake up and drive it to work. So I just left it by the front door, and got on my bike.

When it was time for the cake competition I went up to the coffee room, and I noticed there weren't that many people. And there were three cakes! The other two were blueberry crumble cake and a bara brith (Welsh fruit loaf). I figured the bara brith was unlikely to win. The crumble cake sounded good though. And it was! 

There were so few people that there even was enough for seconds! This would be one of those days when I don't find it difficult to wait for lunchtime to have lunch. And I was glad to see our vegan appear, and have a good chunk of my cake.

When a while later the email with the results came, I saw I had indeed lost to the blueberry crumble cake, which had been made by one of our master students. The bara brith had been made by a previous winner! I don't think he was on top of his game. And Susan told me that the difference was only two votes. Not bad!

I was okay to bow out like this! There will be one more semi-final, and then the final. Exciting stuff. And then I have the summer to think about recipes to try out when the competition starts again in the new academic year!

Cycle to work day

At the end of the citizens’ assemblies for sustainability, some subgroups were formed. They dealt with specific topics, such as energy, housing, transport, food growing, et cetera. And I ended up in the transport group. And one of our ideas had been a ‘cycle to work day’, when some of us in the transport group would cycle in at a particular time, and hope to inspire lots of people who normally take the car to join us. 

Reality was a bit stubborn. No new commuters showed interest. In the end it was Pete and me, who were the ringleaders, and an additional couple who bike everywhere anyway as well. I know the bloke as he works in the School of Natural Sciences, and his partner I know from Welsh class. They are lovely! But they also are the converted.

We decided we could just use it as a publicity event. Chris, our facilitator, showed up to take pictures, and the idea was that, upon arrival in Bangor, we would get interviewed on camera. They could use the footage to try to spread the word! If we do it again, maybe people will have seen the footage, and might be more inclined to give it a go.

Pete and me gathering in Bethesda. Pic by Chris

The full team. Pic by Chris

In the worst case, we just had a nice social ride to Bangor! Pete and me just politely followed the route. The others either peeled off because they needed to get to a different part of town, or took a detour as they thought that otherwise they wouldn't get enough exercise. As I said; they bike everywhere anyway!

It was Pete and I doing the interviews in Bangor. I was doing them in Welsh, and Pete was doing them in English. He was a bit more fluent! But I hope they got some useful footage out of us. 

It would be nice if we could inspire a few more people to give it a try. It is actually really nice to commute by bike. It's not just an environmental issue. The route is very beautiful. And it keeps me fitter than ever before. And I never have to worry about parking! Surely, all of that together could convince a few more people…

Second morning in the field

After our glorious morning, sampling for my MSc student’s project, in Dulas Bay, we had two more sites to do. She did the second site without me that same evening, and we would go out again together in the Cefni Estuary the next day. Another 4:30 alarm! But again that went well. And soon Finley and I were on our way.

At the other two sites, the sampling locations were not far from the road. But here they would be! I had hoped we could borrow a vehicle from the school, as these are quite big, and you can just throw two bicycles in the back. But they were not available, so we had to go in my little Corsa. That can only reasonably contain one bike, so I had proposed a repeat of the Dutch way of getting to the far end of Newborough Forest I had practised with Martin: two people on one sturdy bike. I had made sure it was ready in the back of the car the day before.

Finley had never been transported, or transported others, like that. She chose to be on the back. Maybe for the better; I am certain I am heavier. But she took to it well! And we got to the end of the woods at a good speed. There we left the bike.

This time we had left the big GPS behind. We were going to do this with a handheld GPS. Would we find the exact position back? No. Was it time to abandon striving for perfection, and going for acceptable? Yes. But how many decimal places were the coordinates we were working on, anyway? Even with a sophisticated GPS you can only get to a position as precisely as the data quality allows you.

The sunrise was not anywhere as spectacular as it been the day before, but we still got some nice skies. And the area was completely deserted! We had the whole place to ourselves.

It was a bit of a faff to find the locations back, but we did it. Sampling completed! And then we had a new mission: drive to the garage where Finley's van was. It was ready for her, but public transport in this area isn't impressive, so we couldn't let an opportunity of being able to tag that onto a car-facilitated field day slip. So not only had we finished the sampling; she also had her range of movement back! Success!

Spread the plant

When my office mate Paul left for Exeter University, I inherited his office plants. I tried to look after them well! Both still in the office, and at home, where I moved all of them when lockdown hit. I wasn't entirely successful; not all of them have survived the years since his departure.

One of the plants was something that looks a bit like a two dimensional aloe vera. It found a home in my conservatory, and it seemed to like it there. But I had decided that maybe I should move it back. It's a big plant! And there is more space in my office. So when I knew I was going to go into the field, and therefore had to drive to the office, I thought that provided a good opportunity. But I picked it up, and figured that it had outgrown its pot. I should really repot it before I move it.

Enormous plant! Crocs for scale

After the first day in the field I set to work. I took it out of the pot, but noticed it easily split into several individual plants. That was fine, but also more work! I turned it into four big plants, and two small plant pots with some pups. And I decided to take two of the big plants into the office. The third one could stay where it had been, in the conservatory; I have to think about where the fourth one will go.

Many plants now

It might be a bit trivial, but I really like this concept of looking after something that lives, and being a sort of a custodian to it. One of Paul's other plants already has grandchildren, one of which also living in my office. And now this plant has reproduced, in its own way. He left seven years ago, but his plants are still providing snugness to my office! And I hope he has nice replacements in the south. And when he inevitably stops working one day (due to retirement or otherwise), maybe someone will inherit those plants, and has many more years of enjoyment for them…

Sunrise in the field

After the not very successful morning in the field with my master student, we need to go back and improve on our performance. It took us a while to get to that point, but after Easter we had two days booked out. We would try to do all three field sites in these two days. And we had to do them in my little car, as one School vehicle was in the garage, and the other one was in an even worse state. And the tide times were not convenient.

The first day we would meet in Bangor at 5:30. It was surprisingly easy to get out of bed and get my arse into gear! And when I got to main campus, I noticed first light at the horizon. When Finley appeared we headed for the first site: Dulas. We wanted to resample the locations of an earlier student.

At Main Arts just before dawn 

When we parked up, the estuary was bathing in an absolutely gorgeous sunrise. We first took a few pictures! Then we switched on the GPS, and headed out to the most distant sample site.

It was a bit of a walk, and it was a bit difficult to navigate to the exact spot. I thought I had managed to define stake point that the GPS would navigate me to, but I didn't quite. At least the machine knew where we were, quite unlike the previous time!

Looking away from the sunrise it doesn't look so glamorous

Altogether it took us a lot more time than it would have if we would just have decided on samples spots there and then. I doubted we would be able to do the second site as well, but it wasn't far away, so we could at least have a look. So after we got back to the car, we drove to the harbour of Amlwch. The tide had indeed risen too much by then, and it wasn't feasible to sample that location as well. At least we got an idea of where you can park, and how you can get into the harbour in a practical way. And the weather has turned poor; I didn't quite mind getting back into the car and having coffee and brownie. I had had breakfast before 5 am; now it was almost 9 and I was hungry!

Amlwch harbour 

I drove Finley back to Bangor, and told her to keep me posted on how she wanted to proceed. We still had the evening low tide, and the early low tide next morning. Did she want to do both sites? Or just one? And later she emailed me to say she intended to go back to Amlwch that evening, without me, and that she wanted to do the third location together, early the next morning. So that was decided then! And I could just go do some work in the office, and just hope that the next day we would get an equally beautiful morning in the field…

Bonus Roman fort

I'd known for years that there were remnants of Roman occupation in the vicinity of Trawsfynydd. I had never seen them. I am not in that area very often, and if I am, I sometimes have stuff to get on with. But I had seen it is really close to the power station which was race headquarters. So I figured I might go and have a look after the race! 

On the day of the race, some really heavy showers came down. I did not want to visit that fort in any of these. But when I left it was windy but dry. So I gave it a go! I parked on the layby on the other side of the road, and started on the path. Surprise surprise, it looked quite like a stream! But soon it looked like not a path at all. But I knew in what direction it was, so I didn't mind. To get to the fort you have to go through a copse, and it was stunningly beautiful! I hadn't expected that.

It doesn't look like this path attracts throngs of visitors

Would it have been raining? The path ducking underneath the old railway to Bala, which got flooded by the Tryweryn reservoir

Fairy woodland

On the other side of the copse it is just fields, and you can see the mound that is part of the fort from a bit of a distance, so I got there quite easily. Navigation-wise, that is; I was still seriously buffeted by the wind. And another rain shower came over, but luckily it wasn't a really heavy one.

I knew from having a bit of a Google what approximately to expect. You can see some banks of the old fort. The mound, Tomen y Mûr, is quite central, but might not have been part of the fort. It seems to be an 11th century motte, conveniently located in the same place. The map speaks of an amphitheatre, but I had the impression that it needs a specialist eye to see that. I sure didn't see it! It seems to have mainly been a wooden structure, and these often leave only subtle traces. 

When I was standing on the top of the mound I could only just remain upright; the wind was still that strong. I also had a look at a little stretch of wall that has been reconstructed, to give an idea of what this place will have looked like in the 2nd century CE. But then I was ready to go back to the car again. Home was beckoning, with food and hot drinks!

Looking back at the power station 

Looking at the piece of reconstructed wall, from the motte

The wall, with the motte in the background 

I was glad took the extra effort to go and have a look! It's not really a place you want to travel far for. There isn't that much to see. But just extending a visit in the area a bit to see this is quite rewarding. Especially as it is not just historically interesting, but also a beautiful landscape!