Welcome to Wales

"You pays for your own sheep see" lol!

Total miles 70 miles
Total ascent 1405 metres

After a good night's kip I didn't wake up til 8am. It was raining and my desire to jump up and ride 60 miles or more suddenly left me.

Kevs day started with a puncture that appeared overnight. Eventually we set off into the grey murk, kitted out in longs and wet weather gear.

The ride started with a tailwind and flat roads...blimey a tailwind???
Getting around bristol was fun, then it was off to cross the severe bridge into the looming gloom and mist that heralded the arrival of wales! ...tidy.

Tintern abbey was I good ride, lots of green forests and tidy roads boyo. The hill down to the abbey was a good ten minute cruise to the bottom, where we met a Scottish.couple cycling the other way. I was pleases she had mastered english because I couldn't understand a word of what the guy said! Riding along the river Wye was picturesque, nice villages and pretty much what  I thought wales would be like. Sheep everywhere see...erm...boyo!

All was going so well...then the route took off up into the welsh hills...and let me say now that those who say the Cornish or Devon hills are the toughest on this ride clearly didn't come this way! These hills were pigs. Steep and repetitive, pne after the other for a couple of hours. Not even a bag of jelly babies was going to
Get me up a couple of them and Celeste was groaning on agony under me so I just got off and eked up several. Kev is better at hills so he rode up.

I was over heating I'm my wet weather gear so I found a hedgehog and stripped off and changed into my summer kit. Much better. Then it rained.

Thankfully the rain didn't last and the hills became less and less as we finally rolled into howton, and found the bed and breakfast.

So here I am on a nice big room, chickens outside, bike in the hall,
Tea and biscuits, and pasta .

Knackered!

Tintern Abbey

At the Bottom of a huge hill I rolled up at Tintern abbey. It must have been a bleak existence for a monk. No wonder the cows are nervous.

Scenes from a tidy ride in the valleys see

Riding in wales felt different. For a start it was darker, greener and damper. The hills look deceptive, several were killer grades and one had to be 25% easy...boyo. The downhills are fun but the road surface was very poor, potholes are everywhere on the shadows and blind bends hide the odd car coming at you.
On these hills I need a triple. I'm a big guy at 6' 4" and heavy as well...gravity sucks see...boys.

Slight change of route for tomorrow

The kilpeck inn is fully booked so I asked them to recommend another place. So the destination for tomorrow is a small village called howton where I just managed to find and book a b and b. It's another few miles ride on there'd of A long ride...hopefully the predicted rain tomorrrow won't go on to long.

Full mixed grill

It's in the roolz of cycling!...and don't tell me it isn't lol!
Steak, gammon, chicken, sausage, egg ...all good to keep legs strong.

Followed by ice cream Sunday which was forced on me by the waitress lol!

Tonight's hotel in yatton near Bristol

No more cycle paths pleeeeeeze

Navigating out of taunton on the  bike paths was a pain. The surface of some of the paths are not suitable for road bikes. Nice along the river bank though.

Exeter to yatton

Total miles today 79 total ascent today 1169 metres.

Today's ride started from the globe backpacker hostel under grey cold skies. I hadn't slept again due to the level of snoring in the dormitory room and I could easy have just crashed out on the sofa, but that's not why I do this, so it was onto the bike and out.
Today was cold, so it was more s question of let's just get on with it. The route had less climbing than the last two days, but it managed to save the biggest climb until last!
The ride had a mixture of A roads, B roads, and cycle paths. Navigating the cycle paths proved to be a nightmare around taunton. The GPS took us about two miles down a very rough dirt track and dumped us in a cornfield, all courtesy of the national cycle route planners...hmm...no more cycle paths from now on I'm sticking to the roads, fast traffic or not. Luckily no punctures or bike damage and eventually after much colorful language on my part we finally escaped taunton.
I had to ignore the GPS route for thus section and just navigate by.my own instincts, which eventually proved the right thing to do.
Along the way we got flagged down by some silly woman who wanted us to find a friend in a blue astra who was lost..seriously, how many blue cars are there ??
We pulled into a Texaco garage and asked to fill up our water bottles. The woman at the counter went out of her way to be difficult and wins my award for miserable old hag of the day. Take a bow Texaco.
Once again the wind was a feature of the day, but it did get behind us at times. I didn't take many pictures today because most of the time I was navigating our way out of taunton!
Riding whilst looking at the small Garmin screen is a skill in itself. It is far to easy to get distracted from the road when figuring out where to go as I ride.
I enjoyed the first two days better, mostly because of the better scenery, which seems to have gone for a while.
Having found a bike shop by complete accident I took the chance to get the bottom bracket and cranks tightened again.
The guy in the shop had done lejog riding 120 miles a day. Well done him but why???
Tonight's dwelling is the hotel in nort road yatton. I still can't remember its name although kev told me at least five times on the way in to town. Finally a young lady was asked directions and the GPS is on the sin bin for tonight.
I'm sitting in the hotel bar in my cycle kit, getting the usual looks from the ladies, and laughs from their guys who arnt happy with the clear threat a lycra clad Adonis presents to them lol!
I did take an energy gel on the ride today, towards the end of the ride, then we arrived and now I'm wired!
There is a big hole in the floor of the bathroom here. I told the young lady on reception, but they weren't aware.
As usual after a ride I am hungry. But I am putting on weight, so I should go easy I guess.
So....made it up bristol way! Yay!

Graffiti bunk

This quality line was written on the underside of the bunk above mine tonight! I liked the addition...go home then!

Cars

One thing that stands out a mile to me so far through Cornwall and Devon is the behaviour of drivers. They have been friendly, courteous, and pass wide and slow. They even smile! What a huge difference to the drivers back where I live! Also down here everybody says hi to you when they see you. That's how it should be.
Tonight we had pasta and minced beef in Bolognese sauce again, it's got all we need by way of carbs and protein and its cheap and easy.