Cheddar to Leominster
Started early at 7.15 as I was aiming to finish at a more reasonable time. Started by cycling up Cheddar Gorge – whose idea was that? I’ll tell you – mine 6 months ago when I planned the route and thought that it would be a nice challenge as I sat in front of the PC drinking coffee. What an idiot! Still I got up there and continued on the back roads to Bristol via the Clifton suspension bridge.
A road closure meant that I had to pick my way through Bristol, but the GPS did me proud. I made good progress on the cycle paths, negotiating my way under the motorways, past the burnt out cars and broken TV sets – could have been Beirut rather than Bristol. Still I was happy to be away from traffic. I was cycling up a slope to cross the motorway and warned a dog walker about some broken glass on the path. He asked me if I knew that the bridge was gone. He told me that they were going to build a new one this year – I don’t know if he expected me to wait. This left me stuck on the wrong side of the motorway, but he gave me some excellent local knowledge to get me back on track.
Reaching Severn Beach was a psychological highpoint – partly because it felt like I was making progress crossing from England to Wales, mostly because I met two other end to enders, who were riding 70 miles a day without carrying kit who were struggling more than me.
A road closure meant that I had to pick my way through Bristol, but the GPS did me proud. I made good progress on the cycle paths, negotiating my way under the motorways, past the burnt out cars and broken TV sets – could have been Beirut rather than Bristol. Still I was happy to be away from traffic. I was cycling up a slope to cross the motorway and warned a dog walker about some broken glass on the path. He asked me if I knew that the bridge was gone. He told me that they were going to build a new one this year – I don’t know if he expected me to wait. This left me stuck on the wrong side of the motorway, but he gave me some excellent local knowledge to get me back on track.
Reaching Severn Beach was a psychological highpoint – partly because it felt like I was making progress crossing from England to Wales, mostly because I met two other end to enders, who were riding 70 miles a day without carrying kit who were struggling more than me.
Crossed over and still had 50 miles to go. Followed the A366 through the Wye valley, which was actually a really nice ride, despite being an A road. My original route had me detouring off onto B roads, but I decided to stick with it. Took the A35 through Hereford in rush hour – again not my original plan, but I felt quite safe as I was going faster than most of the traffic. The last 2 hours I really just ground out the miles – my body was tired and my left ankle was aching. My back is sore from lifting the bike around and I think that the miles are taking their toll. I stopped at a Little Chef for tea – that’s how bad a state I was in. Fuelled and full of sugar and caffeine, I was happy to roll into Leominster at 6.45pm. Job done – for today at least. I managed to speak to my children on the phone and it made me happy and homesick in equal measure. I haven’t heard Rosie speak on the phone for a long time – she was so expressive that it hurt not to see her. Alex asked me questions about my trip like how far have I gone and how much further is it. Luckily he didn’t ask me if I was enjoying it...
Day 3 – 100 miles covered Average speed - 11.1mph
Max speed – 37mph Ride time 9h
Total mileage – 312miles State of mind – homesick
Max speed – 37mph Ride time 9h
Total mileage – 312miles State of mind – homesick
Hey Dan - just checked your route on google maps - you have travelled a hell of a long way - very impressive.
ReplyDeleteYou need a large Sirloin steak to get you through the next few days, better make it a rare one to be certain.
ReplyDeleteWell done mate we are checking this daily.
Waz & Maz