COAST-2-COAST USA DAILY UPDATE: 31 MARCH

Today's exciting trip news (reproduced with permission) from the Coast-2-Coast USA team - a bunch of brave dads/uncles/brothers/friends of children from the UK, cycling across the southern continental United States from Oceanside, California to St. Augustine, Florida to raise donations for the Children's Hospital for Wales and the Noah's Ark Appeal. Show them your support with pledges and, if you're on their route - especially at the end in St Augustine, Florida - turn out and welcome them, put them up or feed them or just buy them a beer! Previous days entries here:- March 19th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th , 28th Interview with Americymru member and Coast2Coast rider Gareth Evans:- here Listen to Coast-2-Coast USA's Richard Belcher on Radio Glamorgan with Peter Cox!

Gar's #10

Austin - Houston, Texas; day 10

Personally, the least enjoyable day on the bike for me, for various reasons. The conditions of the roads weren't the best today. Constant bumps and unsmooth roads playing havoc on saddle rash and aching joints. There also seemed to be a very strong wind early on, making it very difficult to get into any rhythm. There are some bloody idiots on these roads too, although some drivers probably say the same about us. On numerous occasions on our first leg, it felt as if some Texans were trying to play 'cidior cymro' on bikes. Not a pleasant experience being pushed ever and ever closer off the road. The roads were the equivalent of the A48 without a hard shoulder, so it was some relief when a hard shoulder appeared later on. Chance for a break, until it was time to cross over exit slip roads, and the 'cidior cymro' continued!!

The weather has brightened up no doubt, it's about 70-75 degrees, which means we can all at least work on our cyclists tan!! Rich felt it today also, there was no 'gettin on the bang today'. It goes to show that although it was a relatively short day, how much we've put ourselves through in the last 10days. Quite possibly the best part of the day was myself and pirate stone letting off some steam with a mini tirade of 'abuse ping pong'. Probably did us both good to let off sone steam. Stoney probably had the last laugh, especially when he receives a Phone call from my mother saying that some woman called Denise had found my mobile in the back of an Austin cab!!

It's off to an old mate of Andy's tonight, Ian Cross, who's kindly putting us up for the evening, and tomorrow we leave Texas and head for New Orleans and good ol' Louisiana. 5 days to go. Today gave the first real signs of fatigue, there wasn't quite as much 'oomf' left in the legs, shoulders and wrists are really startin to ache, and as for the saddle rash...you don't want to know about that. What have we got to moan about though? When you hear some of the stories from the people we've met along the way, and think of who were collecting for; a bit of saddle soreness and pain Is a small price. 5 days to go; a lot can happen in 1 day, let alone 5.

Big hand for Chatsy tonight who dropped the usual 'cheeseburger please' and went for the fish asks chips. Another week, and he'd have progressed onto chicken dippers.

Rich's #9

When I awoke today it felt like it had all the ingredients for a great day. The sun was shining and the big plan allowed for reduced mileage as we were to stay with a friend of Andy's.

We were all in high spirits as the C2C team had worked like a well oiled machine the previous day.

The lower miles facilitated a late start and the opportunity to visit Mellow Johnny's bike shop; owned by a certain Austin resident by the name of Lance. A few $ lighter and we were ready to go.

Gareth and I were first up and feeling good I asked to increase the initial stint to 30 miles. We started out on a busy road, bit with a wide, smooth hard shoulder. I was wondering if this was the influence of Mr Armstrong, when suddenly the hard shoulder ended.

As a result we found ourselves cycling along a dual carriageway trying desperately to hug the side of the road as cars and lorries zoomed past. Gone was the tooting of horns in encouragement to be replaced by more hostile "get off my road" horn abuse.

Twice Porth encouraged us to pull in, but we ploughed on until finally I'd had enough and we stopped. This was the most scary 10 or so miles we'd ridden and I was glad to call it a day. We got in the car and caught up to the point that Andy and Phil had started their stint from.

It wasn't long before the hard shoulder returned but when Gareth and I resumed the hard shoulder was dreadful and made the course of Paris - Roubaix look like polished marble. The road remained very busy and felt like riding along the M4.

By now my mood had changed and gone was my early morning enthusiasm to be replaced by disenchantment. I've been homesick on the trip but today as we trudged along I would much rather have been at home, playing football in the garden , being attacked by light sabre wielding boys or fighting it out with Jeni for 3rd place on the wii (Sam and Thomas are amazingly good).

As we stopped Gareth said you have to laugh or you'll cry. I did neither but I was a damn site nearer to the latter. I haven't had a more miserable cycling experience since a car door opened on me as I zipped along the streets of Cardiff and I broke my ribs as I hit the ground.

On our 3rd stint the gravel on the hard shoulder had gone and the roads were bare concrete. This had the affect of magnifying the sound of the passing traffic. Gareth wanted to "chain it" but my heart was no longer in it.

The day has, however, been saved thanks once again to the warmth and hospitality shown to us by our hosts, this time Ian and Jacky.

In addition to arranging food and lodgings we arrived to a cameraman from ABC and later watched Andy doing his thing on the 10 o'clock news.

Gar's #11

Houston, Tx - New Orleans, Louisiana- day 11

After the fantastic hospitality of Ian, Jackie and Bevan, and the free supper and bar at the 'llew coch', Louisiana was our next state. We made a swift exit from Downtown Houston, and headed for Port Arthur, the Texan equivalent to Port Talbot. The air was rancid. Anyway, after crossing a ma-hoosive bridge, we found ourselves on some man made land, aptly named 'pleasure island', and were heading east, towards New Orleans. What laid in store were some mental cross and headwinds, which made the miles difficult to rack up. Again, following yesterday, the arms and shoulders were in bits, bit the legs seemed fine once they got going.

Good time was made as we cycled alongside Johnsons Bayou and Holly Beach, two areas that were devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, today the strong winds meant that we only just missed the ferry that crossed Lake Calcasieu. No panics, Andy and Phil will continue until we get there.

A couple of chats with some people on the ferry crossing, and we were literally 20mins behind the van, we had the support car for company. As the ferry docked, quick discussion between crews, and off sped the Toyota to hunt down the other two. This was at about 1pm.

4 hours later, and after battling the strong winds for what seemed like an eternity, the support car was still nowhere to be seen. With us travelling through the Louisiana Bayou, surrounded by gators, the excitement in finding one sunbathing in the centre of the road passed the time by, but unfortunately, we only saw them bathing in the roadside canals.

5.30pm and we finally meet just south of Lafayette..starvin marvin. By now, there'd been a bit of blue language in the van, but this was over by the time skipper Cooper and Phil van Morrison treated us to the first 9 verses of the official tour song.

Were currently on our way to the hotel, the French quarter of New Orleans. A quiet night and food at the hotel...no chance says pirate stone as we must all try the local cocktail, aptly named the hurricane!! We'll see what happens.

Texas this morning, Louisiana now, Mississippi and Alabama tomorrow, there can't be that many states left?? Roll on Friday, even though I think everyones had a great time, there are some very tired bodies and minds in need of chillout, and a break from Ian's snoring. As for the logistic nightmare today, Merv was right, we'll get it right by day 14.

Phil's Blog

Saturday 28th - Monday 30th - Texas to Louisiana (Sweetwater, Austin, Houston and New Orleans)

28th March A wheel disaster day. - Austin

The day starts with wheel problems for Gareth (Poppy) when he finds that all his spokes have loosened from all the bumpy roads and he has to try to tighten them with a pair of pliers before starting his first leg of the day. The weather has improved and the winds gods are with us and we make great miles and cover over 240 miles in the day.

En-route further wheel issues arise as first my `sexy` white plastic spoke`d back wheel gives up the ghost as I’m pushing hard up a hill. I change to my spare set and we set off again to finish the leg. Within 30mins of this change pulling off from a busy set of traffic lights a loud bang is heard, Stoney almost soils himself and I find that I’ve had a front tyre blow out and the tyre jams in the front brakes.

A change to another wheel and I manage to finish the leg.

We decide as we are nearing Austin and following some sterling organisational moves by the Kitten (Henry) to send one of the support cars forward to Austin and on to Mellow Johnny’s (Lance Armstrong’s Bike Shop) to get the necessary repairs done. However during the journey into Austin the 7 seater hire car develops serious problems with its brakes and has to go in for repairs which we have to cover ($700). Thankfully the team manage to get a taxi in to downtown Austin and Mellow Johnny’s carry out repairs to both mine and Gareth’s wheels for free and offer a free service if we can make it in to the shop the next day with our bikes. Unbelievably friendly and supportive and really saved the day for us.

29th March - Houston

The next day we visit the shop to stock up on goodies before cycling to Houston and a night at the Red Lion with Ian Cross and Jackie. The cycling was pretty hard as the roads were busy and uncomfortable but we made it in good time and were delighted to find that Ian and Jackie had a pool and had laid on giant ribs and sweet corn as appetizers before we headed off to the pub for a free meal courtesy of Craig (from Bradford).

We were also filmed by ABC news as we arrived at Ian’s and we were able to watch it on television in the pub later. We had a great night and sang Welsh hymns and songs as well as the obligatory rugby songs that Stoney and Andy churn out n varying musical keys.

30th March – New Orleans, Louisiana

Today, we left Houston and Texas behind and travelled in to Louisiana. We passed many areas devastated by Hurricane Rita and I was humbled by what I saw.

A few days ago we were cycling at 10,500 feet, today we found ourselves cycling along a ruler straight road with bayou on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other and Andy’s GPS unit showing 4 feet below sea level.

Today while Ian and I were doing a leg with the RV ahead of us ready to drop off the other two cyclists, we managed to `lose` the support car for 4 hours. The `BRAINS TRUST` incl Tomos `Onslow Izzard` Wilding, chief navigational brain Andrew `The Porth` James and the film crew that are in it surrounded by maps, SAT NAV and other assorted technology managed to go the wrong way and were out of mobile signal for hours. We cycled on in very strong and tiring winds until eventually finding them approx 50 miles off course. Did they think to stop when they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of us for hours NO they drove around hoping to bump into us. Stoney was ready for them when we met up but managed to hold himself together and not spill any blood. We’ve now christened them `TEAM MENSA`.

Happy pedalling and good winds,

Phil (Mellow Flavoured Pork Pie) Jenkins

Tomorrow - Alabama

Walked down Bourbon Street and had a Hurricane in Pat O'Briens. Caught some soul bands in various pubs. Got a Greek gyro from a little take away. Merv wanted his change instead of paying the tax. Great night but we must get back on the bike in the morning and head for Mobile, Alabama.

An Audience With Penny Simpson

THIS POST HAS BEEN MOVED TO HTTPS://AMERICYMRU.NET

AN AUDIENCE WITH PENNY SIMPSON

Sweeping Up After A Dragon

Reproduced from David Western's Portland Lovespoon Blog.

After last week's little tirade on the sad state of the craft market, I came back to my dragon raring to go. With all the major carving completed on the front of the spoon, this week is all about sweeping up any obvious inconsistancies, errors or annoyances which still remain.

Most of these lurk in the cutouts of the Celtic knotwork and the vines.

To deal with fuzzing of the wood, scruffy saw cuts or knicks and blemishes, I make use of needle files. These remarkable little files allow me to polish up rough areas without involving sandpapers. I find that the file (whether full sized or in needle form) saves me a ton of money on abrasive papers and even more time not having to fold up the sandpaper into odd shapes. They also have the great bonus of not leaving sanding grit behind in the wood and dulling my tools should I need to revist the area witht the knives. I don't spend a great deal of time with the filing as I will be turning the spoon over soon and working from the other side, so there will be a final opportunity for tune-ups later.

It IS however, a bit of a morale boost to have the front almost finished and to not have jobs hanging over my head before I go to work on the back.

Inevitably there are little areas which could benefit from a touch more knife work. Every time I turn around it seems like there is some aspect of this star which could be improved. I'll try to get as much as I can done now, but I anticipate spotting more on my last sweep when the whole spoon is complete. For now I go over the spoon with a nice little customized Flex cut pelican mini knife. For those of you with an interest in tools, to customize a pelican knife just like mine, simply drop it on a concrete floor while talking to some door-to-door type soliciting a sale. When the tip of the blade breaks off, you are ready to spend time at the grinder carefully trying to reshape things without over- heating the blade and loosing its temper. I should add that keeping the knife's temper is crucial...YOURS however, will be long gone!

The vines could do with a little bit of touching up too. For this I rip a couple of narrow strips of cloth backed abrasive and I then run the strips over the vine as shown in the picture. Running the paper back and forth gives the edges a nice, soft 'roundover' which gives the vines a natural look. I don't ever use anything coarser than about 150 for this process (preferably 180 or 220) so that the scratch marks from the paper going across the grain don't make a mess of things. I'm more concerned with getting the edges neatly rounded than I am about removing material.

Lastly, I give the spoon bowl another light sanding with 220 grit paper. This cleans up any last scratches and also gets rid of any accumulated dirt which has adhered to the spoon during the carving process. I know that sounds as though perhaps I am carving in a farmyard, but you would be surprised at how pencil lines, eraser sweepings, grease from the hands and metal from the tools can conspire to take the sparkle from your work. A light buff at a super fine grit like this will get rid of that stuff and get the wood looking pristine again.

Next week I'm going to flip the spoon over and have some dusty, noisy, dangerous fun with an angle grinder. Who says its all comtemplative quiet in the carving studio?

In the meantime, please consider donating to the Left Coast Eisteddfod! With every week that passes, this exciting event draws nearer and your support becomes more and more vital. I hope you will consider becoming involved in the Eisteddfod as a donor, sponsor, volunteer or ticket holder! And if you know any AIG execs who got the big payouts last week, ask them to send a couple of crumbs our way!

COAST-2-COAST USA DAILY UPDATE: 28 MARCH 2009

Today's exciting trip news (reproduced with permission) from the Coast-2-Coast USA team - a bunch of brave dads/uncles/brothers/friends of children from the UK, cycling across the southern continental United States from Oceanside, California to St. Augustine, Florida to raise donations for the Children's Hospital for Wales and the Noah's Ark Appeal. Show them your support with pledges and, if you're on their route - especially at the end in St Augustine, Florida - turn out and welcome them, put them up or feed them or just buy them a beer! Previous days entries here:- March 19th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th , 28th Interview with Americymru member and Coast2Coast rider Gareth Evans:- here. Listen to Coast-2-Coast USA's Richard Belcher on Radio Glamorgan with Peter Cox!

Facts of Taos

On Wednesday 25, at 1300 hrs, the Coast 2 Coast charity cycle ride team met up with cyclists from Taos Cycle Club, New Mexico. We met a Randy, who was sent out as a scouting party at the Rio Grande bridge. He took a Welsh flag on to Taos main plaza where it was to be flown alongside the new Mexican flag. At 1330 hrs, at the KTAO parking lot in Taos, Rose Bauhs and Matthew Foster from the Taos cycle Club met us and welcomed the group. A police car then escorted us into downtown Taos stopping the traffic as the 25-30 cyclists were given the privilege of driving through red lights. At 1400 hrs, after a few miles we turned into the plaza where we were met by Zorro on his horse. The horse danced and twirled in front of us as we did three ‘laps of honour’ around the plaza. Circling the main gazebo/bandstand in the plaza the Taos High School Mariachi Band played and the whole welcome scenario overwhelmed us. Getting of our bikes we were invited to listen to the band whilst they went through some Spanish numbers with individuals and duets taking it in turn to take the lead vocal.

The Mayor made a welcome speech and we swapped gifts from Carmarthen’s mayor, Anthony Jenkins. Next up was Billy Archeleta, a local recording artist, who sang and played guitar on his own composition which was followed by La Bamba. Next up were Paul and Grace Jones who played their own beautifully composed music and finished with a number entitled, ‘Spanish Love’. Andy was asked to make a small speech and Marilyn, a Taos resident and a lady who was born in Wales and feels incredibly Welsh even though she hasn’t been home for many years MC’d the whole event. I was then presented by Lucy, a local Taos herbalist, with a concoction of local herbs to stave off the affect of altitude whilst cycling.

Marilyn and Randy showed the boys around the town, and took us to Dean Johnson’s Souvenir shop where presents were given and presents received.

We returned to the Alta Mount Ranch where we were hosted for the evening by the lovely Phyllis and Jan. After a long hot tub session we adjourned to the barn for an American style BBQ with all the friends who had welcomed us in the afternoon attending. Some more relaxing peace pipe music from Paul, delicious food, sponsored beer and wine gave everyone the chance to relax and reflect on their past experiences. With more giving of presents and speeches by Andy and hugs and kisses from Mervyn we tried to sing a few Welsh songs along with the National Anthem. Phil then provided some singalongs and the Barn party finally broke up after the group photos and goodbyes.

The next morning we were invited to take breakfast with Jan and Phyllis. An outstanding fare was provided with fresh strawberry smoothies and blackberry surprises followed by Blueberry pancakes, sausages and fresh coffee. We left with yet more presents and finally said our goodbyes at the Church of St Francis. An incredible day of welcome and hospitality – what are we - but memories.

Clovis to Sweetwater

New Mexico to Texas. It was only to take us 5 minutes to get into the next state but heavy snow and high winds meant the morning cycling was abandoned.

A visit to Wal Mart in Clovis, a cafe stop in Anton and interviews all round for the camera crew create a sense of under achievement. The weather subsides and as we move south we are met by tail winds that push us along at over 26 mph average. Time is made up and we arrive in Sweetwater along with the dusk of a bitterly cold Texan evening.

Austin tomorrow and everyone is up for an early start at 6 a.m. and the 240 miles that lay ahead!

Drinking for Wales! New Book Charts Antics of Legendary Welsh Tipplers

Wales is renowned for its sheep, male voice choirs and rugby players. In a new book published this week Aubrey Malone makes a case for the legendary status of Welsh drinkers. In the introduction to Welsh Drinkers he mentions the boozing antics of amongst others Rhys Ifans, Charlotte Church, Dai Llewellyn, Tommy Cooper and Hugh Griffiths, however the bulk of the book is dedicated to four world famous Welsh celebrities whose lives fell apart due to their addiction to alcohol.

Welsh Drinkers examines how Richard Burton, Dylan Thomas, Rachel Roberts and Anthony Hopkins coped with celebrity as their lives became ruled by the demon drink, with Anthony Hopkins being the only one to recover. Author Aubrey Malone said,

“Their stories are presented neither to entertain or frighten; merely to state how it was for them on the greasy pole of celebrity before and after their lives become ruled by the substance they once imagined would save them from themselves.”

Aubrey Malone, a proud Irishman, sees many similarities between the Welsh and the Irish’s relationship with drink.

“I see a great affinity between Ireland and Wales in the sense of two small nations who were colonised by England and perhaps as a result of this developed a rebellious defiant streak, which led to colourful personalities who were sometimes unbalanced and sought either escapism through drink to make their poor circumstances bearable or dutch courage to try and do something about them. For every Dylan Thomas there's a Brendan Behan, for every Richard Burton a Richard Harris and for every Anthony Hopkins a Peter O'Toole.”

Welsh Drinkers (£4.94 / $7.50 approx ) is published by Y Lolfa and is available on www.ylolfa.com and in Welsh bookshops.

David Western's Lovespoon Blog Update: "Lovespoons in the snow!"

From David Western's Left Coast Eisteddfod Lovespoon Blog:

I took a break from my regular routine of lovespoon carving this past week and took myself over to Vancouver BC for the big Celtic Fest and St. Patrick's Day parade. Getting ready for an event like this takes a lot of effort and involves adjusting my mindset from fussing over individual commission pieces to quickly carving lots of 'economically' priced spoons for the impulse-buy market. Its not something I like to do all that often. While it is good for me to practice carving at slightly higher intensity than I usually carve, my normal speed is pretty damn quick, so it isn't really that much fun to go even faster. Generally, it means that I am carving simple designs as quickly as I can manage it and not being able to give the subtle details the time I would like.

Never-the-less, the thought of meeting all kinds of interesting people and having a chance to get out of the studio for a couple of days lends some excitement to the proceedings. I get some spoons together, maybe make some earrings or jewelry boxes for the 10 dollar crowd and break out the David Western Lovespoons banner...it's good fun.

Of course once I get there, I am inevitably faced by the customer who tells me that my prices are too high or that they could carve one faster, better, blah, blah, blah. Now normally, I'm pretty good at keeping a poker face, nodding sagely and offering a polite response, but take a look at this weather we had, and you'll see why my mood darkened a touch this week.

The first day was pretty good, but it did start to rain and blow a bit in the afternoon and I started to get pretty chilly. That was when my 'you're too expensive' customer showed up. On a sunny day, she would have got an equally sunny smile, a slight shrug of the shoulders and some sort of non-committal, politically correct, the-customer-is-always-right type of response to her insult. But I was freezing my arse off and frankly I wasn't in the mood for it. My reply was somewhat curt, lightly laced with dripping sarcasm and with a hint of cruelty to give it that certain je ne sais quoi (as the French would say). I very much doubt I'll ever enjoy her custom in the future.

But as the second day rolled along and the snow began filling up my display boxes, I had plenty of time to consider the whole 'expensive craft' issue. How does a craftsperson get through to people who are conditioned to buy the cheapest crap they can lay hands on that the things we make are worth the money we charge? As a lovesoon carver, I'm damned lucky if I ever make 20 bucks an hour carving a commission piece. Now that might sound pretty good if you work at the Arches, but for the amount of knowledge and technical skill I am expected to possess, it's pretty mediocre money. Remember too, that 20 bucks also includes the cost of running my studio, my advertising, wood, tools etc etc., so by the time I get my hands on some, I'd probably be better off financially working for Walmart. So why not charge more? Well, you can only charge what the market will bear and the market doesn't have much time for handmade stuff. It's kind of a funny thing, but I get loads of people coming by the booth to admire my spoons and to bemoan the sad state of affairs in the 'hand-made' world, but hardly any of them support their kind sentiments with a purchase.

Another problem is that there are so many TV shows and 'how-to' books which show you how to make a 'one-of-a-kind heirloom' on a Sunday afternoon during the half- time show of the football game, that alot of craft has been cheapened to the point of irrelevance. I don't mean to belittle those people who have to see a finished project after their 12 minutes of hard work, but sometimes good things really do come to those who wait. Good craft requires patience, skill and more than a little bit of determination. It also requires that you have breakages, disasters and mis-starts along the way. That is all part of getting good at something.

I guess where all this is leading, is if you are one of those people who thinks that the craft product in front of you is too expensive etc., etc., ask yourself if you could really do it better and quicker. Of course you think you could, but could you really? Be honest about it and then ask yourself if you would do the work for that price -- I bet you'll come up with a different view of things.

Well, now that I've got all that off my chest, swept the snow off my spoons and packed them away, I can return to my Americymru spoon and my usual sunny disposition!

COAST-2-COAST USA, 23 MARCH 2009

Today's exciting trip news from the Coast-2-Coast USA team - a bunch of brave dads/uncles/brothers/friends of children from the UK, cycling across the southern continental United States from Oceanside, California to St. Augustine, Florida to raise donations for the Children's Hospital for Wales and the Noah's Ark Appeal. Show them your support with pledges and, if you're on their route - especially at the end in St Augustine, Florida - turn out and welcome them, put them up or feed them or just buy them a beer! Yesterday they reached the Grand Canyon, can you spot them in the picture below?

Reproduced with permission from Coast-2-Coast USA Blog

Another Ode from Aus

The Grand Canyon was empty as a blizzard took its toll, we struggled riding through it and had to reach our goal, the bear remarked I thought that it was dry and full of sand? But looks to me more like an Irish heat wave in Lapland.

On arrival at our Hotel the porter he did say, the wind had knocked out all the lights, no food for us today, But Porth he had a cunning plan to erase the doom and gloom, and ushered all the women under 30 to their room.

Then Mervin asked a question the reply we didn’t know? The difference between a man and wife that were made out of snow? We sat around and pondered then Gareth he recalls, it’s easy really if you think the man has got snow balls

Steve Stone

Wodonga, Victoria, Australia

Spirit's High

After getting to the Grand Canyon Merv remarks that it was like going to Lapland and there being a heatwave. But nevermind!

Gar's #4

A frustrating day today, as the wind and snow have caused havoc. It all started so promisingly on good ol' 66, but by the time we got to Tusayan it had turned to the pits. The first leg for Rich and myself was ideal, a nice 5 mile descent to allow some freshness back in the legs. Having passed two freight trains, both with 100+ carrages attached, the rolling roads soon flew by. Similar terrain on the next stint, but a fierce wind, would could have come from stoney's hind end, continuing to blow us across the road. Had there been no wind, 25mph would have ben a breeze, but until good old tom tom pulled up in his trusty toyota, we were taking a good ok bashin. (just like the England pack...regardless what Rich says).

Opportunity followed to buy some gifts, and $100 lighter, we travelled to Williams, a town founded by good old Dai Williams from Tregaron. Probably not true, but it could be.

Our final leg of the day was probably the most dangerous experience I've had on two wheels. With ludicrous gusts of wind cutting across our path to our final destination, seeing rich and myself having to stop on several occasions to straighten up and get back on the road, TM stone calls safety first, it's it's all aboard for the last ten miles. So strong was the wind, that when they returned, ian looked more like Casper the ghost, as the prevailing winds almost blew them into the oncoming traffic.

We arrive at our hotel, only to find that the lovely breeze we had justcycled through, had cut off the power to the whole village. No power, no pool, no food...panic not, porth ha his wind up torch, a he offers to usher all females under the age of 30 to their rooms!!!

When this trip was a dream 2 years ago, we literally sat in front of a map and plotted famous landmarks that we'd love to visit...the most obvious being the grand canyon. Finally, we had arrived. Unfortunately for us, the Derek Brockway of Radio 66 mentined nothing of the winds, or the blizzard that it would bring. I know stand over the south ridge ofthe grand canyon, where the temperature has droped from 80 to freezing, it's tippin it with snow, and the visibility is nil!! Guess I'll have to come ban with leri and gwenno fach again. 3 down, however many left to go, I make it 20% done.

The one shining light of the day was news filtering from I'm that rafa's boys had smashed villa. 3 massive wins on the bounce...momentum is increasing. God willing by the time I get back to the uk, they'll be a little higher. Goosgog, bradders, keep looking over your shoulder.

10-4. Pops


News from Taos

www.taoscycleclub.com

On Wednesday 25, the Welsh team will meet up with local cyclists, 1:30 pm, at the KTAO parking lot. Rose Bauhs and Matthew Foster will be there to ride and to assist with the co-ordination. (Many thanks to you both). We will have a motorcycle police escort.

We're aiming for a non-stop turn around which means that there won't be much time for meeting and greeting at that location. We're aiming to get the team to the Plaza for 2:00 pm. The Taos High School Mariachi Band will start up as soon as the team arrives there, and the Mayor will make a welcome speech. So we're going to do our best not to keep them waiting.

For those who are interested, the riders blog is:

If you want to keep up with the team as they head this way, here is their blog. Ahh, the world of international bike riding. http://walescoast2coastusa.blogspot.com

And I just received this link to a BBC article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7943054.stm. It gives an informative, brief summary of the hospital fund raising and the ride. And Taos gets its very first mention! Lots more after the visit I know.

I'll be on Breakfast with Nancy, KTAO, tomorrow (Monday) morning at 9.15 to talk about the ride.

I do hope to see as many of you out there as can make it.

My best regards, Marilyn


Rich's #6

We started off back on route 66 and our first 20 mile stint went like a dream. Then sat in the van ready to do the next 20 we were looking at miles of gradual descending roads and eager to get on the bang. That is right until Stoney opened the door and the wind sent it flying. What ensued was an hour and a half of struggling to remain upright as we faced the cyclists biggest enemy - the crosswind.



So it was less kapow and more gulp as my hands, wrists, arms and shoulders gave my legs a rest as I hung on for dear life. The winds remained all day and as we approached our destination of Tusayan brought with it snow. Amazing the contrast in weather between today and the previous few as sun cream was replaced with extra layers of clothes. Tusayan is right on the edge of the Grand Canyon so we all went down to the viewing platforms to see absolutely nothing as visibility is so poor. Let's hope we can see more in the morning as we're cycling through the park.


Just a Short One

We leave Kingman travel out on Route 66 with mighty cross winds that people estimate between 45 and 60 mph - eventually arrive in the Grand Canyon to heavy snow and freezing conditions. Tomorrow it will be sunny and on we go to Mexican Hat and Monument Valley. Spirits are high!!


Twentynine Palms, CA – Kingman, AZ

In sporting terms, personally, today can be classed as a ‘s**t sandwich’, two great legs to start, two great stints to finish…an hour of pain in-between.

The day began with Rich and myself taking over from the bear and the Kitten, with a gradual, constant climb. Thankfully, the legs seemed great following yesterdays’ final ling…where a bonk was almost imminent (not that sort of bonk!!), and although the sun was starting to cook, the electrolytes, skins and a large supreme thin base from Pizza hut seemed to have done the job.

First leg down, second coming up, and as it mirrored the first, the words ‘relentless’, ‘constant’ and ‘never-ending’ were regularly delivered from Keanu Belcher. Again, constant gradual climbing, no relief for the legs whatsoever, and the sun again…cooking. The difference compared to back home, the straight roads. Not even a kink in the road could offer the relief of even thinking that a plateau was imminent. Constant, relentless, never ending climbing.

More so, when sitting in the van, it seemed that every time we swapped, we seemed to miss a descent. We can't complain, I’m sure this was my tired mind playing tricks on me, but if not, it was payback for yesterday’s stunning descent into Palm Dessert.

The third leg began with a downhill…relief, but the hills had taken their toll, and with very short recovery periods, the legs again felt empty, not a ‘bonk’ empty, just unable to get them going. Again, I must apologise to rich…who was like a dog on heat just trying to pull me along…but to no avail.

By now, the other group had set, and a change of tact brought increased periods of recovery. An hour in the van, some more ‘Go’ juice and a few slices of leftover pizza hut special, and there seemed to be a bit of ‘hwyl’. Another constant climb, but a shorter stint felt great, and the worry that yesterdays tiredness had already set-in were put to rest, with eagles flying above, and a bit of ‘ipod’ relief, we were back on the road. By now also, the Belcher had a grin from ear-to-ear…as Martin Johnson’s men leapfrog the Welsh in the 6Nations. “You must be s**t if you’re behind England, says the Gillingham fan (who lost 3-0 today).

Increased recovery seemed to bring a second wind to the whole group and the Bear, the Belcher and Phillipousis complete their legs, into a wind. By now, good time has been made, and Kingman doesn’t seem that far away. My penultimate leg leads to a 5mile climb, again, not the steepest, but continuous, and the theme for the day seems to have been set…then comes 10mile descent down to Davis Dam, which seemed great, but had to be carefully taken due to high crosswinds and regular gravel traps.

We end in style, as a four, reaching our destination as the sun sets over the Arizona dessert, on good ol’ Route 66. This route is the only one I believe to go the length of the states, and as Rich and myself covered a good 10miles earlier in the day, it seemed strange that we had rejoined 7 hours later. Why don’t we stick on this road??? The answer will be evident tomorrow.

Highlights of the day has to be the little rant by TM Stone, as he steered HMS Hwyl for the first time this morning. Almost ready to digest the Sat-Nav, the silhouette of the Bear on the horizon saved the sat nav in the nick of time. The fact the crew still don’t have a map is great, and as we’re almost there, is there any point in buying one now??

The vistas of the Mojave were spectacular, the salt beds, the Joshua trees, the deserted towns spread across the plains, that were obviously once thriving hubs, now more a scene of a Hollywood Horror flick. News also of victories for Fulham and Spurs bring a cheer…Rafa’s boys must complete the job tomorrow.

Doctor, Doctor, I Can’t Stop Laughing!

Welsh comic author Dilwyn Phillips has just published a collection of humorous medical anecdotes. Hospital Jokes, published by Y Lolfa, covers all aspects of hospital humour from “doctor, doctor” jokes to a whole chapter on viagra. Dilwyn Phillips, author of many similar books believes that humour is an antidote to many conditions and that reading this book may be a drug free way of alleviating stress, boosting your immune system, and may even help towards managing certain physical conditions whilst exercising various muscles.

Dilwyn Phillips, who hails from Pontarddulais in South Wales , but now lives in Los Montesinos Spain , said “I’ve spent days on end on hospital beds and it’s always great to have something easy to read. I’m convinced that this book taken 3 times a day with the medicines and treatments will put you into a good mood and help get you out of that hospital bed in no time.”

Dilwyn is married to a retired nurse and credits many of the anecdotes, stories and observations included in this book to her. Hospital Jokes, an ideal “get better soon” gift, is available on Y Lolfa’s website www.ylolfa.com for only £3.95. ($6.00 approx )

From David Western: "On a Wing And a Prayer!"

This week the dragon finally gets his wings clipped! He might also have a name fairly soon too.

There are a number of ways I can approach the wings in terms of how I shape them. Many times I carve a concave 'dip' between the spine of each wing section to give them a bat-like appearance, but for this spoon I am going to cut in evenly. This will create wedge shaped section which will cast more shadow and have a vaguely art deco feel. I think that with the bold scales running along his back, the bolder and more stylized look of the wedge tapers will work nicely.

To do this, I first cut lines to delineate each section of wing. I do this in several passes until the knife is cutting about 1/16 of an inch deep or so (1.5mm) Be careful to keep the support hand out of the path of the knife blade in case it suddenly slips. Although the picture angle makes it look like my left hand is perilously positioned, it actually is out of the way of the knife blade.

With the lines all cut, I start shaping out the wedge cuts. I start close to the line and take small cuts, gradually deeping and widening as more material is removed. I resist the urge to hack out heaving great chunks as it makes the work a lot harder and increases the risk of a slip or break.

For the first section which is quite small and confined, I make use of my wonderful little bent knife and make yet another shameless plug for tool maker extraordinaire, Mike Komick at Preferred Edge Tools. If you have ever wanted to try out a bent knife, you really can't get better than one of Mike's. I love my bent knives and have used them to replace almost every one of my gouges. Handled carefully, the bent blade can access just about any area of the carving and leaves a nice smooth curve in its wake. Now you might be saying, "I thought Western said he was going to make a flat cut" and you are right!! I'm going to use the bent knife to remove material in the awkward areas and then will go over the results with my straight knife and chisels to get a nice flat surface. If I didn't have a bent knife on hand, I would use the straight knife here, I just wouldn't be able to clear the area as quickly.

Here is a close up showing the wedged-stepped effect I am after. What I want to happen is for each segment to deepen evenly and fairly with no bumps and dips. Its harder than it sounds, especially as the grain changes direction through the curve.

I'm using my straight knife to come back with the grain on this wing section. You can see that the grain changes direction about half way along the section, so I am forced to work from both ends toward the centre if I want to have smooth, tear-free cuts. Going against the grain is not recommended except in direst situations. It inevitably results in torn and ragged cuts as the wood snaps ahead of the blade. I've often been told that it pays to learn to carve with both hands so that I don't have to keep spinning the work around, but I confess that I have thus far lacked the discipline to teach myself ambidexterity...hell, I can't even spell it!!

The design I am working with will show both the left and right wings of the dragon, so it is important to cut the left wing down in depth to set it off against the right wing. I level this area down about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch below the right wing section then cut my lines back in. With that done, I proceed in the same manner as with the first wing. When complete, the effect of 'one wing behind the other' should be fairly evident. The meeting of all these lines also makes a nice sculptural image all on its own!

Well, here he is in all his splendor. That means we are almost half way finished. Next week I'll go over some of the rough sections and details I haven't quite finished and tiddle everything up before flipping it over and starting phase 2.

This gives a good idea of how the spoon will look when completed though and it will hopefully convince any 'fence-sitters' who haven't donated a couple of bucks to the Left Coast Eisteddfod that it will be worth it! Time is ticking and the Eisteddfod is coming together! Please help support it!! Come on Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta, Cerys Matthews, Anthony Hopkins etc etc etc...where are you??

The First Welsh eBook

A Ceredigion based publishing company is hoping e-book technology can help breathe new life into Welsh language literature. Y Lolfa is launching the first ever Welsh language eBook.

Managing director Garmon Gruffudd said the technology, which enables works to be published without printing costs, could enable Welsh works to be distributed widely across the world.

He said: “Production costs for e-books are far less than for printed books. You don’t have to take paper, ink and glue into account. Nor do you have to worry about delivery costs or warehouse storage. It means we can sell Welsh language books to readers all over the world without the great expense of distribution and postage.”

The first work to be published as an e-book by the long established Talybont based company will be a murder mystery novel Y Llwybr (The Path) by Geraint Evans, a former lecturer at Aberystwyth University. The cost of downloading an electric EPUB file of the book is a pound cheaper than the paper version. Y Lolfa hopes that this book will be the first of many eBooks in both Welsh and English that will be available on its website www.ylolfa.com. Garmon Gruffudd added,

“The problem at the moment is that the e-reading devices are quite expensive, however as with music, in the long run, technology will improve and prices will come down. As a forward looking company we want to be prepared.”

The Left Coast Eisteddfod Portland, Oregon - Tickets on Sale Sat March 7th

TICKETS ON SALE HERE

View our promotional slideshow below.

For further news updates subscribe to our RSS feed HERE.

So far confirmed to attend are:- Chris Needs, Bruce Anderson, Niall Griffiths, Oceans Apart David Western. Other announcements will follow. There is every chance, should our funding situation continue to improve, that we will book a second and possibly a third day It was our original intention to stage a three day event and we are exploring various sponsorship options with interested parties at the moment.

The Tickets are now on sale from Ticketmaster at this url"- Left Coast Eiesteddfod Tickets There will be a Welsh market/tradeshow with vendor spaces during the day and seminars/appearances by lovespoon carver David Western and authors Niall Griffiths and Penny Simpson in Lola's Room and performers appearing in the ballroom in the evening.

The winners of all our online Eisteddfod competitions will be announced at the event. The Short Story Competition is being judged by Lloyd Jones and Peter Thabit Jones is judging the Poetry Competition. Judges for the other competitions have yet to be announced. David Western will announce the winner of the Left Coast Eisteddfod lovespoon he is creating and auctioning for the event.

We're working out additional presentations and possibly appearances and events at other locations near the Crystal Ballroom: book signings and other events. We'd really love to hear from anyone about events they'd like to see at this, any ideas anyone to make it even bigger and better.

We want to thank all our members and contributors for helping us get to this point and giving us an opportunity to promote Wales and modern Welsh culture in the western USA. We really hope we see a lot of you here and plan a special event for AmeriCymru members.

If you would like to sponsor the Eisteddfod or any of the individual online competitions please email americymru@gmail.com for details . Here is a list of our current sponsors.

The Fron Male Voice Choir Homepage

Political Thriller Set to Stir Controversy.

Buy The Stoat here. ( Publication date: 03/08/09 Price: 9.95GBP )

A tense political thriller about the hunting down of a wartime Nazi executioner in the Welsh countryside by, among others, a Jewish girl, is being published by Y Lolfa this week.

Set in the early eighties, shortly after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and now published in the wake of the Israeli massacre in Gaza, it likely to prove controversial as the author is a committed Zionist.

However Judith Maro, the author, who now lives in Mumbles, Swansea, insists she disagrees strongly with present Israeli policies, as do many other Jewish intellectuals.

Author Judith Maro said: “I do hope the novel will also stimulate discussion about some difficult political issues which are relevant to Israel, Lebanon and Gaza today.”

Judith was brought up in Jerusalem and after graduating at the university there, joined the Zionist paramilitary Haganah organization. She met her future husband, Welsh sculptor Jonah Jones, at a British Army education centre in Palestine. She has lived for long periods in North Wales and Cardiff before settling with her family in Swansea.

She has written four novels in both English and Welsh and various essays and reviews and a memoir. She is fluent in both Hebrew and Arabic.

Bydd Y Lolfa yn cyhoeddi nofel wleidyddol gyffrous yr wythnos hon gan awdures sy’n wreiddiol o Israel. Mae priodas rhwng Gwyddel a Chymraes yn gefndir i’r dirgelwch sy’n troi o gylch dwy fferm ym mryniau Meirionnydd. Mae ditectif lleol a myfyrwraig o Israel yn ymchwilio i gefndir Pwyliad sydd wedi byw mewn tyddyn unig o’r enw Tyddyn Isaf am 35 mlynedd. Mae The Stoat yn nofel antur ryngwladol ei blas, sy’n trin rhai o densiynau gwleidyddol dyfnaf yr oes sydd ohoni.

Cafodd Judith Maro ei magi yn Jerusalem. Priododd y cerflunydd Jonah Jones, ac wedi byw mewn sawl ardal o Gymru, mae bellach wedi setlo yn y Mwmbwls ger Abertawe. Er ei bod yn Iddewes, mae hi fel nifer o feddylwyr Iddewig eraill, yn anghytuno a pholisïau presennol llywodraeth Israel. Mae’n gobeithio y bydd The Stoat yn annog trafodaeth am faterion gwleidyddol sy’n berthnasol i Israel, Libanus, Gaza a Chymru heddiw.

Other News From Y Lolfa

Y Lolfa Dominates Welsh Books Charts

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Of related interest Welsh and Jewish: Responses to Wales by Jewish Writers A link to an article on Jewish writers in Wales by Grahame Davies, University of Wales ( PDF Format ) The paper discusses Dannie Abse and Judith Maro amongst others.

Amazing Sale at Gwasg Carreg Gwalch!!

Welsh publisher Gwasg Carreg Gwalch based in Llanrwst in Dyffryn Conwy are holding a sale at the moment. Many titles are as little as 50p (UK) which is about $0.70 (US). Of course there is postage to take into consideration but at these prices, who can resist?

Gwasg Carreg Gwalch publish of a wide range of Welsh books and Welsh interest books for adults, children and visitors to Wales. We include a few links to various sections on the site below.

Fans of Chris Keil's exquisite second novel, "Liminal" (Alcemi, 2008), will be delighted to find his first novel "The French Thing: A Novel" available for 1 pound (GBP) or approximately $1.40 USD.

The Writing From Wales section also includes pocket size selections of poems by ( amongst others ) Emyr Humphries, Gwyn Thomas, Glyn Jones and Harri Webb for 70 cents.

In the Welsh History and Myths section there are a number of fascinating titles covering hitherto little researched aspects of Welsh history. Here are a few random selections:-

"Ring the Bell in the Gaols of Brecon"

"An informative and intriguing volume which uncovers the secrets of centuries of barbarism, rape, murder and incarceration in the County of Brecon. It recounts the story of the men, women and children who inhabited the various gaols of the town, some of whom ended their lives on the gallows."

"Wales of the Unexpected"

"A collection of fascinating stories from the breadth of Wales's rich folklore, from the shadowy figures which inhabit legends, to the tales of fairies and goblins, together with modern day accounts of apparitions and other weird phenomena."

The Latest From Cymuned - Supporters Email

This is not an official press release but rather the personal observations of a Cymuned supporter

*CyngorNi - At last, after what felt ike an awful long preparation, CyngorNi (the campaign to secure Welsh speaking workplaces in Welsh speaking areas) was launched to the public in February. It was a quiet enough launch, with a stall outside the Anglesey council offices in Llangefni giving out leaflets and information to council employees. We are planning to hold some noisier activities soon to attract more press attention (the press were very interested in the campaign, but not so in a small stall giving out leaflets, funnily enough!), but it is important that we communicate with the people who will be most affected by the campaign, that is the workforce. Is as great to say that we had not one single negative comment, and found a genuine enthusiasm amongst the people that we spoke to.

*Caernarfon Prison - At the beginning of February, it was announced that Wales' new prison is to be built in Caernarfon. This plan has the potential to be a huge boost to the Welsh speaking town of Caernarfon. BUT, the Welsh will have to have an obvious place there to avoid the danger of Anglicising the town through importing jobs thoughtlessly, and forcing local people (the majority Welsh speaking) to work through the medium of English. It would be good to be able to tie in such a campaign with CyngorNi, but to do that we need a few more volunteers, to avoid interfering with our CygnorNi work. If you are interested in helping to secure the place of the Welsh language in Caernarfon (that's surely a sentence that should never have to be written!), then get in touch as soon as you can.

*Ein Gwlad - Ours Alone. To you monthly members, Ein Gwlad will be with you in the next few weeks. We had hoped to publish in February, but as often happens with a new project, some gremlins have appeared during the process. Don't worry - as the problems are ironed out, you will receive your magazine with articles on influencing your council, local currencies and the situation in the South Wales Valleys, amongst other subjects, as well as Cymuned news and interesting titbits. If you are not a monthly member, then get in touch to find out how to receive this essential magazine.

And lastly - sorry if I sound a bit greedy, but we want more! Thank you to all those who are spreading the word about our email. The numbers are increasing steadily. But if we are to win a future for our communities in the Fro and throughout Wales, then we need to reach as many people as possible - and only you can help us to achieve that!

Until next time

Iestyn

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Dewi Sant told us to "Do the little things."

To see what he had in mind, have a quick look at:

www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/dewisant

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Are you a dreamer or a doer?

Cymuned can't survive without YOUR help.

Have a look at:

www.cymuned.net/ymlaen/ourfuture

to hear how to make things change.

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Cofion cynnes/Warm regards,

Pwyllgor Gwaith Cymuned

(the Cymuned Executive Committee)

www.cymuned.org