Boxing Day Rugby Match

22-12 The Noah's Ark Select veteran Team were defeated by the younger and far more enthusiastic Laugharne 2nd XV. Four tries to two was an admirable contest and all in aid of the charity. Tries by flanker, Peter Waters and wing, Dave Bradbury kept the oldies in touch.

Phil 'the Moose' Jenkins, the awesome scrummager that he is, entertained the crowd in the famous Fountain Inn, Laugharne, ably supported by Andy 'the Slug' Edwards, his Uncle Lyndon and Gar from Narberth. The music pulsated from early afternoon, unknowing and with the cider flowing, the afternoon became a karaoke fest as Robert 'the ladybird' Thomas, captain of the 2nds gave a rousing rendition of 'Hi Ho Silver' followed by coach Stephenson leading the troops through 'Daydream Believer' The afternoon highlight was Laugharne's interpretaion of the classic, 'Stand By Me' with Henry 'the Sloth' Jones on mandolin, the Moose on his flying V 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' ukelele, the Slug on Harmonica and Rhys 'the Goose' on 6 string. The night was finished off with Uncle Lyndon's, 'Freebird' and 'Need Your Love So Bad'

£300 raised through use of a hat and selling of Pork, Stuffing and Apple Sauce rolls.

Many thanks to Laugharne RFC and all its supporters.

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Polar Bear Swim - Pendine

It's over - nobody was hurt. Everybody was chilled but all came through. When all the money comes in there is a total of over £1300 going towards the charity. 30 swimmers braved the icy waters of Carmarthen Bay, some in fancy dress, some still in their nightwear, some in their best suits, some in their birthday suits!

The community event was a huge success, the barbecue roared with Xmas spirit with a roaring fire on the beach, good food and coffee at Cafe Gilbert and good company all around.

Many thanks from all the C2C team.
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http://www.coast2coast-usa.org/
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Xmas/New Year Activities

Sunday, Dec 21 - Polar Bear Swim, Pendine registration from 1100 - 1200 swim followed by BBQ

Friday, Dec 26 - Noahs Ark Veteran Select XV v Laugharne RFC 2nds - Kick Off: 1130 followed by live musical entertainment in Fountain Inn.

Wednesday, Dec 31 - 'Two Fat Cyclists' New Years Eve singalong at The Three Mariners, Laugharne - 8 till late.

Sunday, Jan 11 - Morfa Bay Challenge teams of 4 attempting various activities - some easy, some gruelling. For more details e mail: teddypenllew@googlemail.com

Sunday, Mar 1 - Dafodil Challenge - Pendine Cyclo Sportif details on the website - www.pendineonline.org

Everyone is welcome - come and join in and raise some money for the Noah's Ark Appeal by supporting the events that the Coast2coast Cycle Team are organising

Merry Xmas and thnaks for all your support in the past

C2C Team

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http://www.coast2coast-usa.org/
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13th Dec 2008 - The Day `The One` destroyed the Bwlch Butt.

Today myself (Phil), The Vetran `Teddy` (Andy) and Richard `The One - Pantani` Belcher took on the mighty Bwlch (its like a French Alp like they do `ave in France but about 3 times shorter) from the Port Talbot end.

Starting the day in the Beautiful, and always sunny Porthcawl, a reduced team of 3 set out towards the West and the enclave of Taibach after Teddy had called for `a gentle half hour opener` following a late, vol au vent fuelled 18th Birthday gig at Llanmiloe Social Club (the Ronnie Scott's of the West) where `do you know any Abba song's butt` was the question on everyone's lips.

AWOL team members for this ride included The Leader (Gareth 8` 4" - EPO Evans) due to a nasty case of shopping, and Mr Henry Magners-Meltwater Jones, also suffering with a severe bout of `clothes shopping sorry chaps` - Lets just hope the shops are closed when we're in the US of A..there could be issues...

Soon after arriving in Bosnia Herz`Taibach`egovina the gradient picked up and we soon found ourselves heading up through Penycae and on towards the mighty Bwlch.

Arriving at Blaengwynfi and after a quiet opening hour, Pantani (Richard) decided to show the field his class and put the hammer down and left the chunky element in his wake. Heart monitors screaming we eventually met up with him near the top at one of the favourite local car burning spots on the mountain.

In between mouthfulls of endurance flap-jack and coughing fits I had couple of photo's taken with `The One` who looked like he just stepped off a bus at the top, not a bead of sweat in sight.
Flap-jacks done we then started the descent towards Nantymoel and Ogmore Vale before dicing with the Christmas traffic at McArthur Glen near Bridgend. Safely navigated we headed back towards South Wales answer to Miami (Porthcawl) via 3 Step Hill with nearly 50 miles done and ready for another session tomorrow.

During the final couple of miles I realised that I have never seen `The One` change down on to his easier cog on the front ring and asked if he ever used it as I tend to live on mine....He gave me a blank lost look followed by a prolonged uuurrrrrhhh??? and then finally answered " uhh I did once back in 1996 I think" and then powered off ahead.....

Happy Cycling
Phil

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http://www.justgiving.com/coast2coast-usa

MAYHEM ON THE A477

'Let's go out with Tenby Aces on Saturday', a remark that we would rue!

7.30 sharp was the call. All wrapped up and double gloved we meet the gang at the Leisure Centre and off we go.

A long climb out of Tenby warmed everyone up. The back roads seemed a little shiny - so all agreed to stick to the main road to Pembroke Dock, turn and head back to Kilgetty for a return to base.

Lessons learnt - a sharp learning curve. An hour out on the road, dropping temperatures, in and out of shade and black ice! Back wheels don't grip and suddenly you are thankful for helmet as you butt the road and bounce down the tarmac in front of a VW van. Weebles wobble and they do fall down. You realise then that cars are whizzing passed with no idea of the black ice. I get well away from the road and scream at the oncoming cyclists. The Tenby Aces have become the Tenby Ramblers!

If we had taken the back roads then at least we wouldn't have taken the chance of being run over by speeding traffic and causing mayhem on the A477. Tumbling back towards Tenby, cut elbows, headaches and dings all over the bikes the weary Aces wound their way back after 25 miles of dodgy cycling.

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MEWN A MAS - ROY NOBLE SHOW - RADIO WALES

In and Out. It was all over in 5 minutes or that's how it felt!

Gareth and Andy were very grateful for the invite to visit Roy at BBC Llandaff, Cardiff.

The interview was relaxed. Gareth nervous! - 'conserving his energy' Andy 'ye ye ye' and overpowering! 'It's called coast 2 coast usa cos that's what we're doing'

MAIN INTERVIEW

'Let's get this right', sitting outside waiting for the call up, 'my grandmother was your father's first cousin.' 'Got to get our story straight'.

EXTRAS

Roy suggested that we do a 'Roy Rota' where he will phone us up every day that we are on the trip and interview us about the previous day's escapades!

Thanks to the Beeb.

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Once we get to Aberaeron we can get on the BANG...Another coast2coast training adventure.

29.11.08 Llandysul-Aberaeron-Synod Inn-Llandysul Loop 50 miles (and bloody freezing too)

The Coast2Coast squad took on another mighty training challenge today with it has to be said, a few more hills than the last full team outing (They don't call it Brynmawr for nothing). This was predominantly down to the fact that Poppy (Gareth)`The Figure Head` Evans (Pen Cala - to his friends) had nothing to do with the route...although being local he was able to provide us with the advance warning that some of the hills on the route were not of the normal sort but, `short sharp, deep burn f**kers and you can blog me on the quote with that` he has such a way with words....

We had all agreed to meet `really early` at the Porth Hotel In Llandysul (the land of the fingerless glove) so we could complete the ride and all get back to watch the match (Wales V's Australia) in good time. Anyway...after a light fuel stop for some quality nutrition at Mcdonald's, the Carmarthen based element arrived at `The Porth` around 8.30am where the leader (Gareth Fabian-Glittersparkle) predictably hadn't put the kettle on or prepared the hot bacon sandwiches.

After a quick chat while awaiting the arrival of - THE ONE (Richard `Keanu` Belcher) the team set off from the Arctic tundra that is Llandysul in minus 3 Celsius towards the coast at Aberaeron where we were promised "it will be warmer there butt with less ice"

The team for this trip had undergone some personnel changes and started out as a sixsome (in the non sexual sense) including two newcomers (Mr Andrew `the tache` James of The Porth Hotel and a slightly plump but attractive ladyboy from www.morfabay.com (Mr Retro Lloyd-Hughes)

Following his dismal performance in the recent Cardiff - Brynmawr - Cardiff One Day Classic, Mr Henry-Magners-Meltwater-Jones was substituted for this challenge by his Brother-in-Law the aforementioned and slightly effeminate Laugharne 2nd's Centre (and as it turned out equally dismal), Rhys `The Failure` Lloyd Hughes.

`The Failure` who often talks a good ride and promised much it has to be said, performed well for the first 25 miles amid constant whinging about his bits getting cold. However, following an unplanned toast and milky coffee stop/binge in Aberaeron brought on by the distant and light whimpering of his mentor, Andy `the thighs` Edwardakis about his wonky little left finger getting chilly on the downhills, spectacularly BONKED or as he said in his own words "was beasted" by the climbs towards Ffos-y-ffin and Synod Inn.

`The Leader` who seemed unaffected by the low temperatures and continues to drop the rest of the peleton and dazzle with his inexplicably improved performances of late (chemically induced???) was heard to shout on several occasions while CYCLO - AIR DRUMING to the rock beats of Shania Twain from his IPOD ` come on Boys let pick it up and time trial it back to base`.

The author also has to confess to having suffered on todays' outing following a nasty bout of manboob flu this week. Although I was heartened by the fact that even I managed to get home a full 5 minutes before THE FAILURE....

Our No.6 and tail gunner - Mr Andrew `the tache` James who we have been advised has a history of `going walkabout`, was forced to turned back after 6 minutes riding this morning with a severe case of `cramp of the hair` hadn't made it back to base by our return some 3 hours later and worryingly remains MIA. He is believed to be being held against his will in an enemy public house near Gorrig.... the family are not too concerned.....

Happy riding

Phil

www.myspace.com/coast2coastusa
http://www.coast2coast-usa.org/
http://www.justgiving.com/coast2coast-usa

ECLIPSED BY A FAT UNCLE

The Fat Cyclists Gig - The New Three Mariners Laugharne 21.11.08

Last night the good people of Laugharne were `entertained` and relieved of £184 and 50 Krona of their hard earned by 5 musicians some of whom came from Norway (and you could never tell by the knit wear!), a human beat box who wasn't and a fat bloke who came all the way from Cornelly...North Cornelly not South (they're poof's down there).

The coast2coast X factor duo of Andy and Phil churned out the usual stuff for the first couple of hours accompanied on a few choice tunes by Phil's big gay fat uncle Lyndon (only joking Lyndon).

Later the Norweigian's who turned out to be very accomplished joined big fat gay uncle Lyndon and a bloke who turned out to be a human beat box who we all thought was from Norway as well, but when asked in the usual way we all do when speaking to foreigners nice, loud and clearly `WHERE ARE YOU FROM` replied `Laugharne, I live opposite the Mariners`.

This impromtu combo played some great tunes including Very Superstitious by Stevie Wonder which went down a treat with all. Towards the end of the evening after packing away most of the gear, Lyndon who had impressed all and one very attentive bloke in particular was offered £50 for 10 minutes....After clarifying with the young man what he was expected to do for the £50 / 10 mins, Lyndon treated the crowd to another complete set of great singalongs with more cash being raised for each song over the extra 10 minutes.

A great night and I can't wait to be eclipsed again by members of my own family and others playing my kit, perhaps I should become a roadie.......

Phil
www.myspace.com/coast2coastusa
www.coast2coast-usa.org
www.justgiving.com/coast2coast-usa

Polar Bear Swim - Pendine

Sunday, Dec 21st - the villagers of Pendine in cold, wooly West Wales will be braving the Atlantic Sea. Sponsorship Forms can be downloaded. Please click here. Forms also available from Gilbert's Creative Cafe, Pendine Online or Morfa Bay Adventure.

We raised over £500 last year and would love to repeat that donation again. All sponsor forms returned on the Dec 21st with more than £20 will receive a 'lovely' commemorative tee shirt.

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www.coast2coast-usa.org
www.justgiving.com/coast2coast-usa

Roy Noble Show - Radio Wales

Going Live on Radio Wales with Roy Noble on December 3rd. Gareth and Andy will be interviewed by the most listened to radio presenter in the Principality between 2 and 4 in the afternoon.

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www.coast2coast-usa.org
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The Story of a Coast 2 Coast Team training ride ( 60 miles Gwent Valleys - Cardiff to Brynmawr

..They don't call it Brynmawr (BIG HILL) for nothing - its ALL up hill after the first 10 Butttt...

Had a great rideout today as a fivesome on a challenging training route set for us by Ricardo EPO ..Poppy.. Cavendish (Gareth). Billed as "one hell of a climb" the organiser promised constant gradient after the opening 10 miles of flat.

After 10, 20 and even 30 miles many were still looking for the first pull of the day but I noted several, I guess they must of just missed them and were too busy taking in the numerous beautiful veiws.

Personally I very much enjoyed the x 3 hors D.. categories climbs. Others I felt thought the route may make an ideal time trial loop.

For me the days stand out ascents would have to include the challenging and much misunderstood ..Mount Risca.., The awesome & picturesque ..Col du Aberbeeg.. (including the ..hump de Aldi.. - where on the return leg Mr H Jones after a substantial night on the juice bonked (got very tired) for a 3rd time on his prototype ninkinonk cellotape fused racing Battaglin) and the days biggest challenge, the mist shrouded, fearsome and menacing but often overlooked ..MONT D' GALIBITILLERY...

Once at the summit, the leader (Gareth) shouted at us between a few bars of N.E.R.D or Oasis and above the maximum volume of his iPOD (ITS ON SHUFFLE BUTT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR GONNA GET NEXT IT COULD BE SHERYL CROW THOUGH) "we're going to hammer it across the top to Brynmawr and then we turn round and start the descent...."

Apart from the all the other magnificent scenes that seem to catch ones breath on such a sojourn, I have to confess that never before have I come across such a concentration of ..women?.. at a TESCO Extra with handlebar moustaches. The Lower Gwent Valleys for me often rival the stunning natural beauty of somewhere such as Port Talbot and its majestic CORUS steel plant domininated skyline.

The day very nearly ended with Myself and Rich who had dropped off from the lead group in the final 3 miles being run off the road by a few of Gareth's traveller neighbours with their donkey powered traps.

Fortunately all survived unharmed and made it back to base for a bowl of Pasta and to be left with final orders from Stormin Norman (Gareth) to do another Turbo sesh later that day.

Can't wait to go on the next ..Poppy.. (Gareth) ride I hope its as good as this one.....

Phil
www.myspace.com/coast2coastusa
www.coast2coast-usa.org
www.justgiving.com/coast2coast-usa

Buying A Mile

Ladies and Gents,

Please can you help us promote this challenge and the charity by circulating this email to your friends and colleagues.

I am one of four guys cycling across the USA in March 2009. We are cycling from Los Angeles, California to St. Augustine, Florida. 3000 Miles in under 2 weeks. We will also be raising much needed money for the Noahs Ark Appeal and the Childrens Hospital for Wales.

Can you please show your support by visiting our ebay account, and purchasing a mile. Each mile is set at £2.50 - Any other donations will also be gratefully appreciated. You can find the 'miles' by searching 'Coast2Coast-USA Challenge Mile' on the ebay search engine.

We have 3000 miles on sale, one for each mile we will cover during the challenge.
Once you buy a mile and leave a message of support, your name and message will be placed on our 'donations wall' - which can be found on our website.
If you do not have an ebay account, please contact us via our website for more info on how to sponsor us.
Can you also please forward this email to your contacts list and encourage them to do the same.

For more information on the challenge, please visit out website - www.coast2coast-usa.org

Many Thanks

Coast2Coast-USA Team

----------------

Boneddigion a Boneddigesau

A fyddwch yn garedig i helpu ni hysbysebu'r her uchod, gan anfon yr ebost yma ich ffrindiau

Rwy'n un o pedwar person sydd yn seiclo ar draws America yn mis Mawrth 2009. Rydym yn seiclo o Los Angeles, California i St. Agustine, Florida, dros 3000 o filltiroedd mewn llai na pythefnos. Wrth i ni cwbwlhau'r her, byddwn hefyd yn godi arian i Apel Arch Noa, a Ysbytu Plant Cymru.

A gallwch chi ddangos eich cefnogaeth gan brynu 'milltir' ar ein tudalen ar ebay. Pris pob milltir ydy £2.50 - byddwn yn gwerthfawrogi unrhyw fath o gyfraniad. Gallwch dod ar draws y 'milltiroedd' gan rhoi 'coast2coast-usa challenge mile' ar wefan ebay.

Mae ganddom dros 3000 o filltiroedd i werthi, un am bob milltir ar draws y daith. Unwaith i chi brynu milltir ar y gwefan, byddwn yn rhoi eich enw, ac unbrhyw neges o gefnogaeth ar 'wal gyfraniadau' ar ein wefan - www.coast2coast-usa.org
Os nag oes ganddoch cyfrif ebay - gallwch cysylltu ni trwy'r wefan uchod i ofyn am ragor o wybodaeth.

A fyddwch chi'n fodlon anfon yr ebost yma ymlaen atoch ffrindiau a chyd-weithwyr.

Am fwy o wybodaeth, ewch i'r gwefan - www.coast2coast-usa.org

Diolch am eich amser

Garfan Coast2Coast-USA.
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www.coast2coast-usa.org
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Training for the Cycle

Last night Phil and Andy hit Pendine hill - a short, sharp session as it's getting so cold and dark early! The 20% hill means that you suffer - 6 x 4 minute climbs with a return to the bottom as rest meant not far off 500 calories expended in 1/2 an hour. Roll on the next session. Both felt ok after the session but there's a definite need to do more!

Visiting the Hospital in Cardiff

Lyn Jones, a founding trustee and the Chairman of the Noah's Ark Appeal, is taking our team on a tour of the Children's Hospital for Wales on the 15th November.

A ward manager will be showing the team around the hospital so we can see what we're working for.
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THE ROUTE AT THIS MOMENT

DATE	FROM	TO	DISTANCE
20-Mar	OCEANSIDE	TWENTYNINE PALMS	160
21-Mar	TWENTYNINE PALMS	KINGMAN	229
22-Mar	KINGMAN	TUSAYAN	197
23-Mar	TUSAYAN	MEXICAN HAT	203
24-Mar	MEXICAN HAT	DULCE	219
25-Mar	DULCE	TAOS	129
26-Mar	TAOS	MELROSE	240
27-Mar	MELROSE	SWEETWATER	250
28-Mar	SWEETWATER	LEANDER	241
29-Mar	DEL VALLE	FREEPORT/SURFSIDE	196
30-Mar	HIGH ISLAND	NEW ORLEANS	301
31-Mar	PEARLINGTON	MOBILE	103
01-Apr	MOBILE	SPANISH FORT	156
01-Apr	MOBILE	SPANISH FORT	156
02-Apr	PANAMA CITY BEACH	LIVE OAK	201
03-Apr	LIVE OAK	ST AUGUSTINE BEACH	116

TOTAL 2941
DAILY AVERAGE 196.07
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If You're Near Cardiff, Come Join us for a Group Training Ride

We're meeting up Saturday, November 15, 2008 for 120 miles, Cardiff to Newport and back x 6, meeting at 07:30 am and we'd love company!

What is this?!

We're a team of cyclists from the United Kingdom who will be cycling across the United States in March 2009, from the Pacific coast at Santa Monica, California, to the eastern Florida coast at St Augustine, to raise money for the Children's Children's Hospital of Wales, in March 2009.

This is the first and currently only children's hospital in Wales. All funds raised through this cross-continental challenge will be donated to the Noah's Ark Appeal, which was created to raise funds to make the Children's Hospital a reality, to provide a hospital dedicated to the care of children and the support of their families.

The members of our team are fathers, brothers, uncles and friends of the children in our lives and we're looking to raise £50,000 on our two-week ride across the southern US. We need help. We need people to pledge donations on our web site and we need people along our route to hold fundraising events to help us make this trip a success. We're also looking for a caravan or RV to use on the trip, to house the team and double as our medical station and places to sleep along the way.

Team members will track our adventure on this blog.

If you can, please make a donation, help us raise money along the way or at least follow along with us here and tell other people about us.

www.myspace.com/coast2coastusa
www.coast2coast-usa.org
www.justgiving.com/coast2coast-usa