From: BristolTo: Ludlow
Miles today: 80
Miles – running total: 301
We started our in Bris’ol, at Clifton suspension bridge where we had finished the night before. Clearly this classic Brunel structure merited a team photo and while were lining up a woman about to cycle across the bridge and called out,
“Excuse me, are you cycling to John O’Groats?”
“Yes” we replied
“I thought so, because I overtook you on Sunday in Cornwall near Land’s End. Good luck.”
And with that she was on her way. We were all puffed up to have been recognised.
We crossed through the northern edge of Bristol, across the downs, through the ‘burbs and edged our way out to the old Severn Bridge by mid morning. Our second bridge of the day, where your correspondent enjoyed a dizzying bout of vertigo and the rest of the team enjoyed making helpful comments like “Is that the bridge moving?” and “It could collapse at any moment”.
Thus we dipped into Wales and Monmothshire, our second county of the morning and had a mid-morning stop in Chepstow, before crossing the Wye with the backdrop of its Castle sitting about cliffs overlooking the river and back into England and the new county of Gloucestershire. Now we were back in the countryside, but this was only the start of our cross-county journey. We struggled up a never ending incline out of Chepstow and went on our way to Ross-on-Wye. Somewhere along the way we passed the Forest of Dean and into Herefordshire. Next stop Hereford.
This was another long day and not having set out until 9.30 because of the drive to the start point from our evening in Wales, it was never going to be an early finish. We were also moving into areas of the country that none of us was familiar with. Ross was an attractive market town, set on the side of a hill with plenty of history. We lunched here consuming the by now normal excess of calories. I’d swear that four days into this exhausting trip I have put on weight while my teammates are visibly shrinking away before my eyes. It was now 2.30pm and we had a long afternoon ahead of 40 some miles.
Hereford was a 15 mile stretch from Ross but included to start a delightful bimble along a deserted country lane running beside the Wye. Cycling up the Wye Valley, once again bathed in warm early autumn sunshine, it was almost good enough to forget all the aches and pains – Alastair’s bum and shoulder, my shoulder, Nick’s groin. Stephen was having a good day, although no doubt something or rather ached and hurt at some point.
We picked up the pace as we rushed towards Hereford, anxious for a break and conscious that we had a long way to go with the threat of receding daylight hanging over us. Perhaps for the first time we really began to work as a team, ‘drafting’ or cycling in close succession, one person ‘breaking wind’ at the front for a mile or two before the person behind moved to take over and so on.
We bowled into Hereford at circa 4pm with Alastair issuing directions to the cathedral as he had been there before. Just because Alastair has been somewhere before this is far from a good rationale for following him. Still, with the help of some school girls, we found the cathedral and with it Simon our driver and head of shopping. More calories were consumed and water bottles refilled. Still 25 miles to go.
With the day running away from us we took a tactical decision to cycle the next stage to Leominster on the A49 rather than the back roads to save some time. We ploughed on, pushed the pace up to 17 or 18mph on the flat until we hit another major climb. By the time we reached the top, fatigue really was starting to creep in so we eased back on the pace and cycled peleton like through Leominster and on to Ludlow. Five miles from our destination I picked up another puncture. Even the most statistically challenged among you may be able to detect a certain pattern to our puncture table:
Puncture stats:
Alastair 0
Nick 0
Stephen 0
Tim 4
We finally rolled into the rather lovely town of Ludow, still on the Wye at some time approaching 6.30pm.
A really very nice pub; beers in another pub, a visit from our friend Keith who had driven over from Derbyshire; England beating Croatia on the box to qualify for next year’s World Cup and a very decent curry made the perfect end to another tiring day.
Thus we dipped into Wales and Monmothshire, our second county of the morning and had a mid-morning stop in Chepstow, before crossing the Wye with the backdrop of its Castle sitting about cliffs overlooking the river and back into England and the new county of Gloucestershire. Now we were back in the countryside, but this was only the start of our cross-county journey. We struggled up a never ending incline out of Chepstow and went on our way to Ross-on-Wye. Somewhere along the way we passed the Forest of Dean and into Herefordshire. Next stop Hereford.
This was another long day and not having set out until 9.30 because of the drive to the start point from our evening in Wales, it was never going to be an early finish. We were also moving into areas of the country that none of us was familiar with. Ross was an attractive market town, set on the side of a hill with plenty of history. We lunched here consuming the by now normal excess of calories. I’d swear that four days into this exhausting trip I have put on weight while my teammates are visibly shrinking away before my eyes. It was now 2.30pm and we had a long afternoon ahead of 40 some miles.
Hereford was a 15 mile stretch from Ross but included to start a delightful bimble along a deserted country lane running beside the Wye. Cycling up the Wye Valley, once again bathed in warm early autumn sunshine, it was almost good enough to forget all the aches and pains – Alastair’s bum and shoulder, my shoulder, Nick’s groin. Stephen was having a good day, although no doubt something or rather ached and hurt at some point.We picked up the pace as we rushed towards Hereford, anxious for a break and conscious that we had a long way to go with the threat of receding daylight hanging over us. Perhaps for the first time we really began to work as a team, ‘drafting’ or cycling in close succession, one person ‘breaking wind’ at the front for a mile or two before the person behind moved to take over and so on.
We bowled into Hereford at circa 4pm with Alastair issuing directions to the cathedral as he had been there before. Just because Alastair has been somewhere before this is far from a good rationale for following him. Still, with the help of some school girls, we found the cathedral and with it Simon our driver and head of shopping. More calories were consumed and water bottles refilled. Still 25 miles to go.
With the day running away from us we took a tactical decision to cycle the next stage to Leominster on the A49 rather than the back roads to save some time. We ploughed on, pushed the pace up to 17 or 18mph on the flat until we hit another major climb. By the time we reached the top, fatigue really was starting to creep in so we eased back on the pace and cycled peleton like through Leominster and on to Ludlow. Five miles from our destination I picked up another puncture. Even the most statistically challenged among you may be able to detect a certain pattern to our puncture table:
Puncture stats:
Alastair 0
Nick 0
Stephen 0
Tim 4
We finally rolled into the rather lovely town of Ludow, still on the Wye at some time approaching 6.30pm.
A really very nice pub; beers in another pub, a visit from our friend Keith who had driven over from Derbyshire; England beating Croatia on the box to qualify for next year’s World Cup and a very decent curry made the perfect end to another tiring day.
Finally, we have moved out of the south of England. Tomorrow we hit the Midlands as we move north. It is hard and very slow going, but gradually, ever so gradually our trip is beginning to feel like our own little mini Tour de Grande Bretagne.
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