We left Lugwardine at about 9am, nothing unusual there! The B&B was really high class and we had a very good breakfast. We had to order our breakfast the night before and remarkably each of us each ordered a different form of eggs - fried, poached, boiled and scrambled! If we had all ordered scrambled we probably could have left half an hour earlier!
It didn't take long for the first of the hills to appear on the horizon. We climbed and climbed and climbed. The scenery was wonderful and well worth the climb. That was very true until we had to re ride a hill after Mark had left his sun glasses at the top of it! Yes it was sunny, in fact we didn't see any rain, or even the threat of rain, all day. We were truly lucky with the weather, although you can't have everything and the wind was still strong and in our faces for most of the day.
The twenty five miles to Monmouth were hard but spectacular. It was also a bit of a trip dowm memory lane as Steve and I went passed pubs and B&B's we used to visit when we went to parties each year at a hotel in Brockhampton, which was very close to our route.
From Monmouth we followed the Wye down the Chepstow. A lovely ride with a twist in the tail! Yes at the end there was a long hard climb. Still the wonderful chip butty we had in the centre of Chepstow made it all worth while. There have to be compensations for all this exercise and a chip butty was one of them! Also I'm sure in the cycling books I have read the nutrition section recommends this particular form of sandwich!
We then rode over the Severn Bridge which was great fun. It was a long way up and despite the size of the bridge every time a lorry went passed the bridge vibrated!
Then it was on to Bristol! This is not a city you should cycle in. You go up a hill, go down it and then go up another one! I don't mind that in the countryside when you get wonderful views but somehow when you are just trying to get through a city it all becomes rather irritating! Once we were over the Clifton Suspension bridge, another impressive bridge, we sped on to meet Steve K. This meant a quick pub stop before braving the A38 for about 15 miles until we got to Axbridge where we are staying. What a wonderful little town and we are lucky enough to be staying at a small hotel right in the centre and so a beer in the square was fair recompense for all the hills we had to climb during the day!
Whilst it was a relatively short day, 77 miles, the riding was hard given the wind and the hills. The scenery was fabulous though and this made it a great day. Also crossing the Severn Bridge gave us a sense that we have made huge progress. Over 750 miles done, which I know seems hard to believe even though I have pedalled every single one of them! It's interesting to note Scotland took about five and a half days whilst from Carlisle to south of Bristol it has taken three and a half days! Having said all that there is still much to do before we reach Lands End.
Now for the facts:
Stats for the day - 77 miles at an average speed of 12.5 mph, which tells you hills, wind and possibly the cumulative impact of over 750 miles took their toll! The feet climbed was close to 6,500. Maximum speed deserves a mention, I'm not the bravest going down hill , and I was hoping to break 40mph but fell short tonight on the A38 at 39.8mph! Just not good enough!
Ale and Arse report - the only ale in the pub was Axbridge Ale, unsurprisingly a local beer! Very good it was to! No great change on the Arse front despite the hill climbs which make it all the more painful!
Forecast for tomorrow - if we are lucky, like we have been for the last two days, we will dodge the showers. A bit like today, shortish on the miles but long on the hills! Bring them on!
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