Alley Cats

Following on the heels of my "Ground Zero" post; I've continued exploring our small village looking for interesting new places, yet following the Covid guidelines by staying within 5 miles of our home.
UPDATED!
- 2020 -
Overview: Alley Cats
Date: May 24, 2020
Distance: 14.1 miles / 22.69 kilometres
Elevation: +689 ft / -713 ft
Duration: 1 hours, 56 mins.
Oakdale is a pretty small place and driving through the village you'd never realise that there are so many small lanes running behind the houses. Many contain charming gardens and odd bits of old buildings.
2023 UPDATE: This is an updated version of a previously posted Ride Report. As part of my ongoing redesign of this website, each feature from "Rides to Remember" will be re-formatted to accomodate the new larger page layout. All of the photographs have been re-edited and when needed, the text has been re-edited for context and clarity.
Another notable characteristic of Oakdale is that we have a lot of cats. My plan was to use a very small tripod to simulate the viewpoint of a cat and how it might see the lanes.
I'm still learning how to utilise all the features of my new camera (ie, depth of field), so much of what I shot was hit and miss, but it was a great exercise.
However, I found lots to shoot, so rather than fuss too much, I decided to just look around. See what there was to see and come back another time.
I was really surprised and excited by what I found. Some folks have spent a great deal of time decorating and landscaping. Painting murals even!
These old sheds and garages are starting to disappear as new and younger families move into the village. Cars today are too big for these relics. Green seems to have been a popular colour.
Hey there kitty! Looks like a good day to just lay around, eh? I see you've found the perfect spot too, so don't let me bother you.
I love finding the old stone walls. Unfortunately, most have been replaced with newer and higher wooden fences which don't have nearly the character. Some folks need to do a little trimming... whilst others have given up the cause entirely.
Of course you should save it! I know that door is going to be useful one day.
This is coal country and you can still find the old coal sheds around. Back in the day, all the houses around here heated with coal. Homes had fireplaces in every room.
Good for pedestrians and bicycles; York Avenue is the narrowest lane in the village.
Expanding the Circle
Now it's time to get a few miles under the saddle. First, I'll go around behind the new housing development and then head up to Pen y Fan Pond.
You cannot see it from these images, but behind me they're putting up "clone houses" where a golf course once stood. I don't know how long this lane will be like this; dark and secluded. So I'm documenting it now for posterity and because I love it!
After a wonderful switchback, I climb a bit further to the highest elevation of the small village where we live. The trig point stands in a field off the lane.
I've included a screen-shot of Oakdale and the surrounding area from Google Maps. The area circled in yellow is roughly the boundaries of the village. The area circled in red is where the golf course once stood and where the new housing develpment is being built.
The golf course is now gone, having been re-developed with "clone housing". (Many folks don't care for these new houses because they don't have much style, they look all the same, and don't match the style of the village.) As soon as the Google satellite scans us again, I'll have an update to compare.
Note: In the photo below, you can now see the new housing estate where the golf course once stood, as well as the new playing field (with running track).
I circled around behind the new housing estate and you can see that we're pretty high up on our little hill. The views are looking west and north toward Crumlin.
I then left Oakdale heading up the lane behind Abingdon Flooring in Creospenmaen. I discovered this small lane on Google Maps and thought it worthy of exploration. The lane immediately heads into the woods and becomes very rough snaking its way up to Pen-y-Fan Pond.
Looking northeast through the trees toward Crumlin and Llanhilleth the views are lovely, which the locals - who also happen to be looking pretty good, seem to agree.
The trail is secluded and very rocky in places. I was forced to focus on riding and neglected to photograph the rest of the route up to Pen-y-Fan Pond. No worries... I will definately be back for another visit.

Once at Pen-y-Fan, I circled around the pond, stopped for a snack and a few snaps. We're very lucky to have this little beauty spot so close to home.
As I was leaving the pond, I just happened to notice a bridle trail off the main road. "Wonderful!"; I thought to myself... more adventures!

Unfortunately, I soon encountered several folks walking along who approached me aggressively, shouting and waving their arms; "You can't come through here... this is a bridal path! It's just for walkers and horses only! Mountain bikes are not allowed!"

(Well, I'm a stickler for following the Rights of Way Act and I would't have entered had there been signs indicating that cyclists are not permitted?)
Despite the lack of any signage; the path wasn't the easiest — there were a few stiles to cross. No worries, I can lift my bike over a stile, but I had to wonder; "how does a horse get over a stile?" Some folks just gotta make a nuisance of themselves.
Soon enough I was back in the alleys where I had begun my adventure, lurking behind the houses, hunting for interesting things and perhaps to photograph. I'll be back little Oakdale. You can count on that.
Summary - Alley Cats
Part two of my exploration of Oakdale and the surrounding areas has been good fun. I've made a decent start, but there are several places I wish to revisit.
This little study of my home doesn't take me very far and my mileage isn't that much, but it has me looking forward to working on part three and that's exciting. After all is said and done, that's how you're supposed to feel about life... that's the best feeling.

I hope you enjoyed this little write-up and as always, thanks for spending your time with me & Bike Wales.

Cheers! - muse kidd 
A final word about the update - The bulk of my time updating this report was spent re-editing the photos; cropping them to a 3:2 aspect ratio (35mm film) and opening the shadows slightly.
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