I can't believe how much ground we've covered since yesterday morning! Since leaving Okehampton we have cycled across Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, made a brief detour into Wales, then gloucestershire, Herefordshire and now we're in Shropshire, camping at Ludlow race course.
The legs are getting a bit more tired but the stages are getting a bit easier. It turned out that day 1 was far hillier than the course info supplied but the organisers had let on - about 8400 ft of climbing rather than 4700 ft! (which made it the hilliest ride I'd ever done). So I was pleasantly surprised by how good i felt at the start if day 2.
It was a fantastic route with amazing scenery in Devon. I'm tempted to say it was better than Cornwall, but Cornwall looks a lot like Pembrokeshire and my patriotic side doesn't want to say that Devon is better than there. Let's just say they're all lovely.
Day 2 also saw us expand our gang with a few people we picked up along the way. Riding along in a peloton we set a speedy pace along the flat, although the quantock hills and cheddar gorge slowed us down a bit. As my friend Fiona put it - anywhere described as an "Area of outstanding natural beauty" should set alarm bells ringing for an cyclist as it usually involves a massive hill.
Today involved less climbing but still had a few steep hills and some amazing descents, plus some tiny country lanes complete with gravel, sand washed across the road, grass growing down the middle, potholes galore...a bit treacherous in places but probably a lot more scenic than following an A-road the whole way.
Yesterday we stayed at Bath University where having a proper bed felt like an incredible luxury after just 2 days camping but tonight we're back in the tents...and the weather has deteriorated a bit. Rain likely tomorrow morning :-(
Still, we're a third of the way through and tomorrow is the flatest day so should hopefully give the legs a bit of time to recover (in as much as riding 106 miles can be called a recovery).
Some photos attached, including:
- Victoria and i crossing the severn bridge
- Today's first food stop at chepstow castle
- The bike racking area at one of the base camps...note the masses if empty space (ie. We finished before mist people!!)
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