Day 11 - Orleton to Bristol
Distance: 69.6 miles
Elevation: 4108ft
Average speed: 10.7 mph
https://www.strava.com/activities/2456208981
Ride report:
Disclaimer: Picture above is taken from Dad's ride - I was a muppet and accidentally turned off my Garmin's recording in Monmouth, so had to restart it.
We set off from Orleton with decent weather, but it wasn't long before we stopped to put the jackets on as the rain came on. We played a bit of a game of tag with some local club cyclists who'd lost the rest of their group - wonder if they ever found them?
The rain stopped, and we took the jackets off. Next time it came on again, we didn't bother with them, which was probably a mistake as when we arrived in Hereford, it absolutely bucketed down, and we couldn't hide as we were stuck in traffic!
We met Mum near the south of the town where she'd done her usual excellent job of locating the nearest bike racks for us! They were outside De Koffie Pot, which Mum recommended as a slightly quieter shop than the one I'd suggested. We discovered they did excellent chocolate orange brownies, fantastic cycling nutrition.
After a couple of false starts, we headed out of Hereford on cycle paths and very minor roads, before getting a total shock to the system as we joined the A49 for a short stretch. Most of yesterday and today's routes were designed around not riding on this road, and from the short spell uphill, with lorries and cars hurtling past, I don't feel sorry for missing it!
Turning onto the Monmouth road, the traffic calmed down nicely and we waved at Mum as she passed us. We started to get some uphills, and climbed up to a place called St Weonards, which had an excellent sign outside the shop. Getting close now!
After dropping down the hill out of St Weonards, we found one particularly nasty hill just before Monmouth. "No matter," I said, "This is the highest point we get to today". Ha (spoiler). After a quick breather, we then discovered that pedalling was entirely optional for the next two miles, a well deserved (and fun!) descent.
Met Mum in Monmouth for lunch. I've been trying to find us interesting local coffee shops for our stops, not a Costa or a Starbucks in sight, so far! However, today was our first trip to a chain shop (but as a south Wales/Bristol chain, we thought it was probably fine), Coffee#1, a chain we've drunk plenty of coffee at the past. There was no sign of the rain we'd had earlier, so we were able to sit outside and do some good people-watching.
As we headed out of Monmouth, we were looking forward to a pleasant afternoon riding down the Wye Valley, a route that several people had recommended. However, as we got to the top end, we came across a series of diversion signs as part of the cliff was in urgent need of restabilisation. Discounting the recommended diversion as adding too much extra distance to the journey, we put together our own route. The only issue: we'd have to start by climbing out of the valley!
Elevation: 4108ft
Average speed: 10.7 mph
https://www.strava.com/activities/2456208981
Ride report:
Disclaimer: Picture above is taken from Dad's ride - I was a muppet and accidentally turned off my Garmin's recording in Monmouth, so had to restart it.
We set off from Orleton with decent weather, but it wasn't long before we stopped to put the jackets on as the rain came on. We played a bit of a game of tag with some local club cyclists who'd lost the rest of their group - wonder if they ever found them?
The rain stopped, and we took the jackets off. Next time it came on again, we didn't bother with them, which was probably a mistake as when we arrived in Hereford, it absolutely bucketed down, and we couldn't hide as we were stuck in traffic!
We met Mum near the south of the town where she'd done her usual excellent job of locating the nearest bike racks for us! They were outside De Koffie Pot, which Mum recommended as a slightly quieter shop than the one I'd suggested. We discovered they did excellent chocolate orange brownies, fantastic cycling nutrition.
After a couple of false starts, we headed out of Hereford on cycle paths and very minor roads, before getting a total shock to the system as we joined the A49 for a short stretch. Most of yesterday and today's routes were designed around not riding on this road, and from the short spell uphill, with lorries and cars hurtling past, I don't feel sorry for missing it!
Turning onto the Monmouth road, the traffic calmed down nicely and we waved at Mum as she passed us. We started to get some uphills, and climbed up to a place called St Weonards, which had an excellent sign outside the shop. Getting close now!
 |
| The end is getting closer. My ability to take selfies is getting worse! |
After dropping down the hill out of St Weonards, we found one particularly nasty hill just before Monmouth. "No matter," I said, "This is the highest point we get to today". Ha (spoiler). After a quick breather, we then discovered that pedalling was entirely optional for the next two miles, a well deserved (and fun!) descent.
Met Mum in Monmouth for lunch. I've been trying to find us interesting local coffee shops for our stops, not a Costa or a Starbucks in sight, so far! However, today was our first trip to a chain shop (but as a south Wales/Bristol chain, we thought it was probably fine), Coffee#1, a chain we've drunk plenty of coffee at the past. There was no sign of the rain we'd had earlier, so we were able to sit outside and do some good people-watching.
 |
| Breaking our streak of non-chain coffee shops |
After about the second of a dozen instances of one of us saying "We must be near the top now", we had a call from Mum telling us that the old Severn Crossing was shut. Knowing that diverting to the new bridge would add a whole lot of time and hassle, we decided to trust our luck with closed bridges to date, and pressed on. Uphill, again.
The sight of the Severn from the top of one of the hills was very welcome!
As we finally dropped into Chepstow, we stopped at a corner shop to replenish my water bottles and treat ourselves to a kitkat (other chocolate bars are available!). I was grateful for the sustenance as the following climb to get to the bridge was one more than I really needed.
Getting to the bridge, there were plenty of signs saying "Bridge Closed", but one helpful smaller sign saying "Cycleway Open" - we were in luck!
Crossing the bridge was pretty strange with no traffic noise. With a strong wind blowing up the river, the moaning sound of the air through the cables was quite eerie. It was also a fair challenge to keep the bikes straight in the crosswinds, so we took it steady to the middle.
I promised Dad there wouldn't be too many more bridges, as we posed for yet another bridge selfie.
As we navigated our way into Bristol, we stopped for another haribo break as we neared our destination. I'd put this route through a local cycle planner website, which meant that as we got to Easter Compton, we turned away from a hill Dad described as "short and sharp". However, any feelings of smugness I might have had disappeared entirely when we got to a rather longer, but no less steep climb! Still, upon reaching the top, we were in sight of the hotel and after leaving the bikes in a meeting room overnight (I wonder what they discussed?!), it was good to be able to rest legs that were much more tired than we'd planned for!
Rest day tomorrow, just 42 miles to ride across the Somerset levels to Bridgwater. I'm choosing to ignore the fact that Bristol is just one big series of hills, and we have to cross that first!
As we finally dropped into Chepstow, we stopped at a corner shop to replenish my water bottles and treat ourselves to a kitkat (other chocolate bars are available!). I was grateful for the sustenance as the following climb to get to the bridge was one more than I really needed.
Getting to the bridge, there were plenty of signs saying "Bridge Closed", but one helpful smaller sign saying "Cycleway Open" - we were in luck!
 |
| Another day, another closed bridge |
Crossing the bridge was pretty strange with no traffic noise. With a strong wind blowing up the river, the moaning sound of the air through the cables was quite eerie. It was also a fair challenge to keep the bikes straight in the crosswinds, so we took it steady to the middle.
 |
| Bridge selfie! |
Rest day tomorrow, just 42 miles to ride across the Somerset levels to Bridgwater. I'm choosing to ignore the fact that Bristol is just one big series of hills, and we have to cross that first!
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