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Weather: Cloudy start, improving to sunny afternoon
Stats: 55.2 miles, Ave speed moving: 10.5 mph
Counties: Somerset, City of Bristol, Monmouthshire (Wales)
GPS track map: Link here
Mercifully, it had stopped raining, and we had dried out somewhat. I started the day by going back into the city to see the cathedral in daylight, well worth the detour. I then set off in pursuit of the main group. I climbed through impressive Cheddar Gorge (surprisingly quiet given that it ought to be peak holiday season) and finally joined the main group at the coffee stop, nicely sited beside the Chew Valley Lake.
The route then took us to Bristol. For the first time, I missed a turn on the Garmin. Having gone a mile before I realised, I was feign to turn back, and rejoined the proper route 4 miles or so downstream. It turned out it was a lucky mistake, since the proper route was closed for maintenance, and the group had to walk through a muddy field to bypass the closed section.
The route through Bristol was neat, coming in via pastoral Ashton Court deer park and crossing Brunel's great Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge. Lunch was at the Water Tower cafe on Durdham Down, and then we made our way to another, more modern suspension bridge, the Old Severn (aka M48) bridge. There is a cycle deck on the downstream side, which provided a quite exhilarating ride: the sun was out and it was great to be up close with this impressive structure, and to have great views of its more recent sibling.
On the other side we were of course in our second country for the trip, Wales. It was a reasonably straightforward run past Chepstow race course (Peter the Guide had urged us not to stop and bet away our beer money), then along the Wye valley, up and over to Tintern Abbey, where I had my very first ice cream of the trip so far.
Shortly after we checked in, it started to rain, so we definitely had the best of the day.
Next day
Weather: Cloudy start, improving to sunny afternoon
Stats: 55.2 miles, Ave speed moving: 10.5 mph
Counties: Somerset, City of Bristol, Monmouthshire (Wales)
GPS track map: Link here
Mercifully, it had stopped raining, and we had dried out somewhat. I started the day by going back into the city to see the cathedral in daylight, well worth the detour. I then set off in pursuit of the main group. I climbed through impressive Cheddar Gorge (surprisingly quiet given that it ought to be peak holiday season) and finally joined the main group at the coffee stop, nicely sited beside the Chew Valley Lake.
The route then took us to Bristol. For the first time, I missed a turn on the Garmin. Having gone a mile before I realised, I was feign to turn back, and rejoined the proper route 4 miles or so downstream. It turned out it was a lucky mistake, since the proper route was closed for maintenance, and the group had to walk through a muddy field to bypass the closed section.
The route through Bristol was neat, coming in via pastoral Ashton Court deer park and crossing Brunel's great Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge. Lunch was at the Water Tower cafe on Durdham Down, and then we made our way to another, more modern suspension bridge, the Old Severn (aka M48) bridge. There is a cycle deck on the downstream side, which provided a quite exhilarating ride: the sun was out and it was great to be up close with this impressive structure, and to have great views of its more recent sibling.
On the other side we were of course in our second country for the trip, Wales. It was a reasonably straightforward run past Chepstow race course (Peter the Guide had urged us not to stop and bet away our beer money), then along the Wye valley, up and over to Tintern Abbey, where I had my very first ice cream of the trip so far.
Shortly after we checked in, it started to rain, so we definitely had the best of the day.
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| In front of the West door of Wells Cathedral |
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| Joe (R) meets fellow recumbent rider: what are the chances of that happening? |
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| In Cheddar Gorge |
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| Our bikes, Chew Valley Lake coffee stop |
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| Descent to Chew Valley Lake |
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| In Ashley Court deer park |
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| With Les-the-Guide at Clifton Suspension Bridge |
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| On Old Severn Bridge |
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| On Old Severn Bridge, with New Severn Bridge in distance |
Tintern Abbey
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