Narrowboats at Govilon, Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. PLUS testing my Brompton with 39T chainring.

[@robertbrierley7083]

Great vlog, lovely to see the Towpath Inn had a couple of drinks there back in2021 then we went to that excellent Chippy, Back in 98 when it was called the Bridge Inn we were on a hireboat holiday on a boat called Redstart we called in for the quiz night which was then on a Thursday.......what a night ,happy days.😊

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Thanks Robert - what a fabulous comment! I'm glad the video brought back those happy memories 😁 Gilwern and Govilon are both little gems - I was lucky enough to live not far from there for most of my life 😊

[@IainM-b5j]

Hi Jeff, great video, lovely countryside and good to see the chainring is a good investment 👍 I'll definitely consider fitting one to my Brompton, thanks Jeff.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Hi Iain! Glad you enjoyed it - yes, it's a beautiful canal and countryside. Yes, I'd absolutely recommend changing to a smaller ring - I went for the 39T but there is also a 44T option. My suggestion would be the 39 though (£26 from Brilliant Bikes). 👍

[@anniemac3075]

Good morning Jeff, hooray for the chainring! That was one of the most enjoyable rides along a canal I've seen complete with an aborted attempt on your life with a chunk of tree. Or possibly a heavy squirrel on a weakened branch...... Very pretty area, so many places to ride, walk & boat. Thank you for sharing with us. Oh & also - We want Gladys!

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Morning Annie! Yes indeed - money well spent.👍 Thanks so much for the smashing comment about the ride - I'm very glad you liked it. If I'd stopped a few yards further along, that branch would have landed on my head - it was actually quite large and it took me a little while manhandling it up onto the bank. Next time, I'll be sure to carry a saw with me! I don't know why it fell, although the wind was quite brisk, so maybe that contributed to it coming down just then. Yes, Govilon and Gilwern are really lovely places, I used to cycle through there often before I moved here to south Herefordshire. Thanks for the rallying cry! I hope for positive news about the engine this coming week. (But I'm sure that's something I've said previously, - and more than once!).

[@DavidJames-rz9lt]

Hi Jeff, That hill looked challenging, so glad to see the new chainring made the required difference, definitely money well spent. Your mechanical and engineering prowess serving you well good sir 👍👍👍Looks like it was a nice days cycling and the canal as lovely as always. See you in the next one Jeff.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Hi Dave! Yeah it was a bit of a bugger, although there are a few others nearby in Govilon/Clydach that are much worse! The smaller ring definitely makes a noticeable difference though, and I found myself using all 6 gears - something which I wasn't often doing with the 50T. Yes the weather was great... until it poured down at the very end - so Mr. Brompton has had to have yet another good clean!👍

[@dcvariousvids8082]

The incline Jeff was on, is Station Road and eventually links with the road going past the place with the extensive garden.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

@@dcvariousvids8082 YOU might call it an incline DC - but to this old geezer, it was a hill! Interesting to hear the road would lead to that house - it went straight on but did veer to the left as well, where I stopped, and I presume was how to reach that house, however I had no 'inclination' to go any further vertically! I should have known your local knowledge would be brought into play!

[@johnsharman76142]

Hi Jeff, another interesting and enjoyable Vlog. I recall visits to Abergavenny in 79 which was the 1st visit when I stayed in Ebbw Vale when I spent 2 lovely weeks there. The Market in Abergavenny was enormous but when I visited it again in 2012 it had reduced but still a thriving Market. You picked a lovely day and the Brompton bike ride was better for you now you have fixed a new Gear wheel, good job.😊 As always take care and stay safe out there 😊

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Thanks John! Ah, 1979 - the year I started work! In those days, Abergavenny market was on Tuesdays and was huge, as you said, with the cattle market outside too. That outdoor area is now a Morrisons store but the indoor market site still hosts a market of sorts and craft fayres etc and still has that lovely glass roof. Yes it was a bright day, other than the downpour that caught me when I got back to my car... the smaller chainring was very worthwhile. Not sure where I'll go filming this week, but hopefully take the Brompton again. 🤞 I hope to give an update on Gladys this week - the endless delay is really getting me down, as you can imagine. ☹️

[@BIKESnSKILLETS]

Nice 👍

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Glad you liked it! 😁

[@MadisonTen]

You decided where to go then :) Such a nice trail, brought back two memories of that place. I might have to have a non-filming autumn ride up there. Well done on the successful sprocket change. Hopefully things will feel much more relaxing now.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Hi Madison! Yeah - I decided on a fairly short route and to go by car - as I'm always a bit wary of having a mechanical issue after doing anything major like fitting a chain. Plus, I know that area very well as I used to live farther up the Heads of The Valleys, and when in the cycling club, we'd often finish off our Sunday rides by tackling Govilon/Fidddlers Elbow/The Keepers (or Tumble as more often called now). I used to ride that climb on a 42/21 once upon a time... 😁 Sometimes, I like to go somewhere without the pressure of feeling I have to film it - just go there for myself only! Govilon is a very nice place, so I'm glad it took you back. Enjoy your visit when you go. 👍

[@MadisonTen]

@@Gladysthenarrowboat Very wise, especially with anything like drive train, brakes etc… makes me wonder how we ever did without super low gears back in the day. I wouldn’t know what tooth could would have been on my road bike as a teenager but it would be nothing like we have today.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Yes, when I was a club cyclist, we mostly used 52/42 and a straight 13 to 18, or a 21 at most. Anyone using a 24 sprocket was considered a wimp! I hardly ever used the 13 though. I think mountain bikes arrived then, with nice big sprockets, and common sense arrived at last! Just started watching your latest video - I'll leave a comment once I finish watching later 👍😁

[@martinkiefer6733]

Good morning Jeff. Congrats to your well done machanic specifition and exposure. A sign in 9:50 was with its 1. sentence a liitle mystery for me. Seeing the bus busstop i may also ask its allowed to take a bike in official transport with you. Once a time i wondered in the netherlands thats only allowed for folding types in bus traffic.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Morning Martin! Thank you for the comment! I don't think you are allowed to take a bike on a daily-route bus unless its a folding type, such as a Brompton. I suspect that even then, one might get disapproving looks and comments from other passengers, as there is usually limited storage ability on such a bus. Posssibly on a long-distance coach, it would be more accepted, but I'm not 100% certain. On UK trains, it depends - because on some intercity routes, there are limited 'bike spaces' and you have to prebook your space. On other trains, there is often more room to take a bike and no specific limit to how many bikes are taken on - often I see people will just stand with their bike near to the entrance doors. A folding bike, however, is just considered as hand-luggage - as a suitcase would be, and you dont need to prebook on any train.😊

[@JohnHowarth-m6z]

Jeff, I was running on that stretch of the canal between 1 and 2.15 last Wednesday! It would have been nice, but slightly strange, to have met.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Well well... we must have missed each other by only a little bit. I think I left Gilwern, where I'd parked, about 2.15! Shame we didn't see each other - we'll have to meet up for our occasional coffee soon though! All the best, Jeff 👍

[@JohnHowarth-m6z]

Look forward to it.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

I'll drop you an email 👍

[@angelaaz6282]

Nice video Jeff! PS…You’re lucky that branch didn’t land on you eh 😮😅 Cheers…

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Thank you Angela! Glad you liked it! Yeah, if I'd been stood a few feet farther along, it would have landed on me - lucky I had my cycle helmet on I guess! Amazing that I didn't react much when it happened -- a real pro, eh?! It was a lot bigger than you see in the video - so yeah, a lucky escape! PS I am waiting for confirmation of where Gladys' engine is... and WHEN it will get to Aintree Boats. I'll post an update once I know 😒

[@dcvariousvids8082]

And I honestly thought my aim was plumb-on. Plenty more trees 😊.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

I didn't like to mention it in the video - but my suspicions were aroused at the time. Your laughter from behind the buses was unmistakable! 😁

[@dcvariousvids8082]

Can you remember the species of tree that dropped a branch? I can’t make it out. Apart from the rain, it looked like a good day along the canal. Cracking location at 14m 32s, all it needs is a beehive and a canoe.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

No sorry DC, I didn't conduct a close inspection - and my tree-recognition skills are limited to say the least! Yes, the rain at the very end, when back in the car park, was the worst part - but the canal, as always, was a joy 😊 Yes, that house was like a picture postcard - you are dead right about it! 🐝

[@human6.045]

Hi Jeff, new here. I'll have to subscribe after this comment as I've been enjoying your videos, I've only just stumbled upon them. It will be nice when you get your narrow boat. I bet that was a bit of a pain, that last clip, having to leave your camera to go down then up that hill again to collect it. Oh' nice bicycle!

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Hi - thank you so much! Yes, the boat has taken far too long and my patience has been sorely tried! But meanwhile II have enjoyed making videos like this one - yeah, with the last clip, there was a risk I'd forget about the camera and leave it there on the pavement! Yes the Brompton is a fab bike and you can't help but love the colour! Thanks very much for subscribing! New videos each Saturday from 06:00. Tomorrows features a canal under Birmingham!😊

[@human6.045]

@@Gladysthenarrowboat Yes Jeff, the colour is great, I had a motorbike with a very similar colour. My daughter has moved and lives across the pond in liverpool for work and she's also in a relationship there. I'm thinking I might just move somewhere close-ish (if that's a word) someday in the future. Marina's are expensive (it's all getting rather expensive tbh) continuous cruising and a narrow boat with the right layout at around 34' to 40' would probably do me. That's why I've been watching and reading as much as I can lately, although I've been interested in that life for 35 years...there's not really any canals here in Northern Ireland; there are some down South though but limited; and only makes seeing my daughter more difficult. Sorry for the long post...I just thought I'd share a little since I'm new to your channel Jeff.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

@@human6.045 Hiya! No need to apologise - longer comments are great - although my replys are sometimes a little shorter! I have been to NI a few times for work, and to the south quite a number of times on holiday. I love Ireland - I'm from Wales originally. I was originally looking for a 45 foot second hand boat but got disillusioned with not getting to see one before someone else had already gone and bought it. Hence I looked into a new one instead and saw the Aintree Beetle goes up to 40 feet. Hope you'll enjoy the channel - and don't worry about the length of comments! Signing off now as we have visitors here for the weekend - which will take my mind off my delayed boat! Cheers Jeff

[@human6.045]

@@Gladysthenarrowboat Cheers Jeff, I'll have a look at what Aintree are building, enjoy your weekend.

[@Gladysthenarrowboat]

Thanks - you too!