Moo moo on a midget! (May 2 ’09)

How do I get out of this town? I have been through more roundabouts or circular galaxies of confusion then I can keep track of. I am starting to think the powers at be are playing a really good joke on my sense of direction. I finally stopped Pandemic my magic bicycle and asked a construction worker how I head up the coast of Wales. I didn’t mention that the roundabouts were about to make me start crying out of frustration. Keeping the ocean on my left really shouldn’t be that hard should it? The ocean is huge, a person of average intelligence with a college degree should really be able to follow something that big. Granted my degree is in sociology which is just a really good excuse to daydream for 4 years about visiting other world cultures but still following an ocean really shouldn’t be this hard. Should it? The construction worker I asked for directions looked at my bewildered frozen face and loaded down bicycle and said I would have to go through 5 roundabouts, take three left and then head through five used to be lights now sign posts and that would be put me on the main coast road. Ok, I thought laughing to myself at how ridiculous it sounded, 5 roundabouts, 3 lefts and 5 used to be lights now signs posts. Got it, thanks! And so I peddled around the cute little town one more time.

I started thinking I might just be spending the rest of day circling around this cute little town. The next person I found to ask for directions was Noel Fitzpatrick, a Irish man living in Wales working as an engineer for local parks. I told him I was trying to cycle to Ireland, he didn’t think I should be heading all that way without a reflective vest so he gave me his vest, right off of his back. Noel, a big hearted Irish man and I joked that I looked dazzling in a reflective dress. Noel’s vest is size x-large men’s and since I more of a xx-small female it drapes over me like a moo moo on a midget heading down the red carpet. I am grateful that Noel was so thoughtful to have gifted me with such a fine reflective dress, complete with a piece of string to fashion as a belt. That’s twice the amount of reflective material for the motorists to see, that’s double fashionably safe.

After admiring my newly acquired safety inspired garment I mentioned to Noel that I was having a little trouble with the roundabouts. And as much as I do enjoy circles, I talk in circles, think in circles and even built a circular house back in Alaska, I still could not quite figure out how to cycle out of town. That’s cycle not circle out of town. Noel laughed and bellowed out peddle like hell and follow me. He then hoped in his truck, Pandemic the magic bicycle and I peddled behind. We drove over a large grassy residential green area crossed a road and through another residential park. We stopped at a tall wooden fence and then Noel jumped out of his truck and picked up my heavy loaded bicycle lifted it over the fence and onto the busy road. He then pointed to the roundabout sign and said follow that road. Ahh, I felt a deep grateful sigh of relief that the roundabouts that had been consuming my world all morning were rapidly coming to an end. I peddled towards the roundabout sign, a beacon of hope and possibility, the world’s best sign, the sign of all signs, the mackdaddy of the signs and off I peddled out of town in my safety dress. By the end of the day I was following the bluest rockiest northern Atlantic coast line I have ever seen. And I was exquisitely dressed for the occasion to bout.

The coast of Wales is described as one of the most beautiful in the world. And this time around they weren’t just talking. It is completely true. It is late winter early spring, there are very few folks outside in the weather and there is a constant trickle of freezing rain which doesn’t matter because each rain drop reflects off of the ocean like a crystal prism of freedom. A beautiful sense of freedom that can be obtained from cycling for 100km(66miles) a day,6 days a week north towards Fishguard, Wales through the freezing rain in a sexy safety dress.