There were spills, thrills, and a lot, a lot of lycra clad bodies in town for Abergavenny's Festival of Cycling. Join us for a peak at the carnival atmosphere that pervaded the town and made it another big weekend to remember.

ABERGAVENNY'S Festival of Cycling grinded to a leisurely halt on Sunday afternoon after three days of riding action and satisfaction - with even the weather behaving itself to a degree.

The town street's were pounded by two-wheeled youngsters, fancy dress cycling enthusiasts and pro racers on Friday night as the Wales Open Criterium rolled into our neck of the woods and showed us just what a bicycle, between the right pair of legs, can do.

The rain held off on Friday night long enough for Doncaster's Graham Briggs to land the Elite Town Centre Series victory, and for 28 have-a-go riders to try their hand on the circuit in fancy dress and amuse us all in the Carnival Race.

The Carnival spectacular which left many of the gathered assembled breathless in fits of feverish hysteria, was won by John Bannon, who runs Jaybee soft furnishing shop on Frogmore Street. But as sweet tasting as the intoxication of winning can be, first place was just a nice cherry on the cake for John, as simply having fun was what mattered.

And didn't the people who took part have fun! There were dragons, cows, fairies and many other characters taking to the streets - including 'Elvis' who, along with a cow, gave a long-haired charity fund-raiser a 'warm' welcome over the line with water pistols.

Then, after a night's rest, it was a case of saddling up and hitting the trail for the leisure riders who took to the roads for the Iron Mountain Sportif.

Hundreds of red-faced and enthusiastic riders went over the 19, 50 and 100 mile courses around Monmouthshire and South Powys.

And, despite a few showers, the spirits of the riders could not be dampened as they arrived back in Bailey Park, to receive their medals, certificates and a hot shower in the rugby club before heading back out again to enjoy the carnival atmosphere.

Festival organiser Bill Owen said: "Everything went very well. The racing in the town centre on Friday was superb, with people having fun in the Carnival event and the young kids really enjoying themselves in their events.

"The Elite race was exciting and very fast and then we had an excellent entry of many hundreds for the Iron Mountain Sportif on Saturday.

"Although it rained heavily overnight on Friday to Saturday, it held off for most of the weekend which certainly made it even better for the entrants."