Today was a good day’s cycling. No, actually it was a GREAT day’s cycling. We started early from University of Bath’s Sports campus in an effort to miss the Bath commuter traffic. I think 800 cyclists still annoyed an awful lot of car drivers round Bath, the first climb seriously slowed everyone up and the road north of Bristol was particularly busy, very stop start for everyone and a difficult crossing of a busy main road.
We entered Wales very briefly at Chepstow for the first pit stop at Chepstow Castle. It was a great shame that the Welcome to Wales sign on the old Severn Crossing was missing. Some of the overseas visitors doing the ride must have wondered if they were welcome or even visited Wales!
We had a couple of tough climbs but we spent a lot of time riding along the Wye Valley – absolutely stunning in the sunshine. Photos to follow. After the second pitstop we had rolling roads and I eventually managed to get in a group of riders and bowled along at 18-19 mph. I ended up on the front quite a bit as I felt really strong on the bike. I hope I don’t pay for it tomorrow.
The highlights of the day:
- Crossing the old River Severn Crossing Bridge (my first time on a bike)
- The Wye Valley with a welcome tail wind
- Coffee stop at Ross on Wye after 60 miles – a welcome caffeine boost
- The group ride into Ludlow
Tomorrow sees us head to Haydock, another racecourse after Ludlow. A flat day (the flattest of the nine days) and 107 miles. Rain is forecast for the start of the day – we’ll have to see.
Riding from Pasties to Haggis 