LEJOG day 5

An early start from Frenchay saw us navigating our way towards the Severn bridge on the cycle network from Bristol. We crossed the bridge at around 15 miles in good spirits, but our legs protesting about the long day yesterday and the lack of recovery time.

On the bridge

Whilst riding we realised that my most uttered sentence every day has been "You alright?" Which can mean anything from:

Are you ready to go?

Or are your gears working properly?

Or are you feeling ok?

Or can you peddle faster?

Or I don't have much to say.

Tracy has to work out which one it is.

Tracy was desperate for cake (addict that she is) and demanded that we headed into Chepstow to find a coffee shop. We did, but it meant heading downhill, which meant more climbing later. I didn't do a great job at hiding my disapproval.

Graffiti near in an underpass at Chepstow 

Still, decent cake and coffee made up for the increased effort still to come. We met  a family in the coffee shop who asked about our trip, full of questions. Turned out the grandfather has been part of an 8 man relay team who ran the route in 10 mile sections. Took them 82 hours. We were very impressed. Only 30 minutes later we were chatting with a guy running up the hill by Chepstow racecourse, keeping up with us on bikes. He was aiming to run 24 half marathons for charity and was on a training run. I also noticed that he was litter picking on route. People still surprise me.

Our descent from Chepstow into the Wye valley was a wonderful time to be in the saddle, a good road surface, light traffic and exhilarating speeds. Gorgeous as the Wye valley was, she is shy - no photography viewpoints and mostly hidden by the tree line, so pictures will be sparse today.

Tintern abbey

Lunch at Monmouth was baguette and jacket potato in a Thai cafe. We both would have liked the Pad Thai from the menu, but decided it wasn't "lunchy" enough.

Our second climb of the day out of Monmouth made us realise how tired we actually were. We endured rather than enjoyed the back roads to Hereford, with every little climb sapping a little more of our energy. Still, we kept the pedals turning and slowly ate up the miles. This was the first day that Tracy didn't have to use the lowest gear - no getting off and pushing! She was very happy, as there were plenty of challenging hills on the route.

God knows where we are now

The old railway that took us all of the way to the hotel was a perfect end to a challenging day, traffic free and downhill all the way.

Crossing an old railway bridge into Hereford

After a snooze, shower and fresh clothes, we ventured out, determined to find a Pad Thai that we regretted not having all afternoon. We ended up in one of the Thai restaurants in Hereford (apparently there are 3). Food was great and the owner provided us with much amusement. He kept telling us how busy it was (3 tables including us) but would get so easily distracted from the task in hand. We were concerned that our meals would take ages, but it seems that his wife in the kitchen keeps him firmly in hand. Sounds familiar.

Onto Shrewsbury - a flatter ride and hopefully we will be revived by a good night's sleep 

Distance travelled : 61 miles

Elevation: 3835ft

Cake of the day: Honeycomb tiffin 

Tracy whinge factor: 2/10

Total distance: 321 miles