Generosity

Last evening I enjoyed an excellent meal at The Portreeve, in Laugharne. The owner was very enthusiastic about my venture, and promised that the proceeds from their Wednesday Quiz Night would go to my charities. There weren't many people in the restaurant, but at the end of the very informal quiz, he doubled the £13 income and handed me £26. He also gave me the opportunity to explain to the other diners what I was doing; that brought in a further £25 in donations. The owner then gave me a total of £11 that he'd taken in tips and, to cap it all, insisted that my meal, which included two pints of Adnams and a J2O, would be 'on the house'!

I set off reasonably early from the campsite this morning, but a few miles up the road I had my third puncture - rear wheel yet again. Some 40 minutes 'wasted' but I was lucky in one respect - it happened on the outskirts of the village of St Clears and after I'd put on a spare inner tube I stopped at a local garage where they were able to put in the required 80 psi. Using the hand pump I struggled to get as much as 60.

I reached Kidwelly by lunchtime in sunshine, after some extreme hills and winding roads around the estuaries of the Taf and Towy. It was then a real pleasure to find that the next 25 miles or so were off-road and flat, firstly through Pembrey Forest and then along the foreshore and promenade of Burry Port and Llanelli. The off-road route continued as far as Loughor Bridge. A further five-mile section along a former railway line brought me out on to Swansea Bay. More promenade and roadside cycle tracks enabled me to reach Briton Ferry by 18.00.

Tomorrow I will be met at Penarth and taken to Mike Page's parents' house for the night. Mike and family should be arriving in the evening, too. For those who don't know Mike, he's a psychologist and former colleague of Bundy's.