Pot black along the Tour of Britain

THE other day I had cause to drive from Llandeilo to Kidwelly via Carmarthen, and along much of the way it was the route that the Tour of Britain will take in a couple of weeks’ time as it leaves Pembrey and then proceeds via Kidwelly, Carmarthen, Llandeilo (or more correctly Ffairfach to those who live south of the border and the bridge in the less crachach district of town), Bethlehem, Llangadog, Llandovery – and then on to Newport.

As I drove I played a smiley little game called pot black, where I note all the potholes and ruts freshly filled and eye-catchingly black, indeed, a length of the route was being resurfaced completely. And this is as it should be.

Actually it’s a game I play when I watch road cycling from any corner of the planet because the camera ruthlessly highlights the condition of the routes and the last thing any country wants is broadcasting to the world the wretched condition of its roads, or worse still, cyclists crashing at high speeds after hitting a pothole. And yes, every country, except perhaps Norway, has its potholes.

Occasionally cyclists will hit rough sections of road – something between smooth and cobbled – and that’s fine, it is all part of racing’s rich passing parade and both riders and teams are prepared for punctures, mechanicals and crashes.

Perhaps Wales should be turned into one big cycle race track, at least that’s one way to get our roads up to speed. Having said that, I regularly travel along country roads around Llandeilo and I have to say that the council is rather efficient at filling in potholes and the like. After all, it must be smarter and cheaper in the long run to do it thus rather than handling endless damage claims.

Incidentally, will self-drive vehicles be able to safely side-step potholes? Huw Beynon Llandeilo