"I have been a resident of Kerry, Newtown for over 20 years, and am a 77 year-old cyclist and a full time monk at the Monastery of St Barnabas the Encourager.
Cycling is a passion I have been indulging for over 50 years since I discovered the bike in my early twenties. I used it as a cheap means of getting to work in the centre of Birmingham as an apprentice in the motor trade!
My days are now spent in pastoral work caring for members of the community out at Lower Brynmawr and campaigning for new cycle routes in the Newtown area.
Unless I have to visit another town, all my trips are by bike. My steed - a trusty old Brompton that folds down easily and quickly to make travel on trains and buses very easy.
My motto is plain and simple: 'caring for the spiritual, physical and mental health of the community' and cycling fulfils all of these categories. However I feel that the roads are no longer safe enough for cyclists to use and I don't feel safe travelling from Kerry to Newtown other than in the car.
The small village of Kerry has doubled in size over the last five years and more traffic is using the roads in the surrounding area. It is a similar situation for the villages of Sarn and Abermule.
The solution has been to build a new-shared use cycleway along part of this route giving us all a safe car free alternative into Newtown. I make the round trip from Kerry to Newtown in just under an hour, and enjoy the wildlife and scenery along the way. I no longer fear speeding traffic alongside me!
I currently have 16,000 miles on his cycle Milo meter and plan to increase this by using the bike as my main form of transport for the foreseeable future."
Article by Father Bryan Scrivener
Find out more about waterways in Mid Wales...
Read up on Aberystwyth's Grwp Beic...
your comments
If you are under 16 please do not disclose your surname.
We try to publish as many comments as we can but unfortunately, due to the volume of comments we receive every day, we cannot guarantee that all comments submitted will be published
Kit Davidson Llanfyllin
Bravo for Father Bryan! I have rediscovered my bike after 10 years of cycleapathy. There are actually some flat and wonderful traffic-free cycle rides in Mid and North Wales. Try the obvious nearly 11 mile circuit of Lake Vyrnwy but then graduate to the wonderful Maddwych Trail from Dolgellau to Barmouth. The Elan Valley trail climbs only 600 feet in 8 miles from Rhayader and the North Wales coast between Point of Ayr and Rhos on Sea is purpose-built cycling paradise. Try Chester to Connah's Quay or Ellesmere Port, both routes follow the river bank or canal path. If the weather is dry, Trevor to Llangollen! is a perfect ride along the canal. More details are at: www.cyclingnorthwales.co.uk With more effort from Powys County Council, particularly along the Montgomery Canal near Welshpool, this could be expanded to cyclingmidwales.co.uk!
Mon Sep 15 10:49:14 2008
Do you use the canal path? Have you seen Father Scrivener cycling by? Send us your comments.
