4/9/09 Day 4 back into England... 92 miles

Long day in the saddle today with some tough sections. On these rides there a phases of relative comfort & joy, along with painful tough periods. We had a few westward direction sections that went straight into the cold westerly wind – more like the ‘Ice Maidens revenge’ than yesterdays ‘Angel Breath’!

Last night’s meal was an excellent Steak o’poivre. All of us have tremendous appetites & devour vast quantities of food!
It was early to bed again..asleep before 2200!! In the morning it was good to see Gerry up & about. Steve said his Dad had had a rough night but was determined to keep going. Mark2 also had the runs & decided to sit out the day in the van.
Typical Breakfast would be 6 weetabix/full English/4-5 slices toast washed down with Juice & coffee!

We started off for the first few miles along the Wye valley – it’s steep wooded sides more suited to a Scandinavian landscape – as we twisted along through picturesque villages easing the stiffness out of our muscles (well trying to anyway) . Wigan-Mark was relieved to obtain his fix (lucozade) at the first village store!

On & down into Monmouth where my group got a little lost but had the opportunity to ride down, and then up, the main street! Out onto the Hereford road we climbed, with aching calves/thighs & bums. I’m still amazed how these muscles keep working despite the punishment. We crossed back into England; our stay in Wales was short. The road (A466) winds up through a wide broad green valley, with many apple orchards adding a cider aroma to the air.

After the drinks break at Wormolow I joined the ‘Pros’ (they are now 5 with the ‘promotion’ of ‘ice bath-Stu’ and ‘maddog-Paul’ as we shot through busy Hereford – Paul demonstrating his crazy ‘London-Style’ way of dealing with traffic ie ignore it!! The hill out of Hereford sorted the men out from the boys and they disappeared off into the horizon.

We turned left up the A 4110. During this section we were buffeted by the ever stronger crosswinds and the lunch stop seemed a million miles away. The earlier peloton had strung out as we attempted to keep the old legs turning, and standing/shifting on the saddle to get some relief. Eventually I arrived at Leintwardine and saw the DA van! As we rolled wearily in the relief on the new arrivals faces told the story of that tough section.

I must pay credit to Jason, Stuart & Matt who are looking after us superbly. There are ahead setting up the drink/lunch stops as well as providing good mechanical back up. Steven had a spoke break on a fast downhill stretch – he was worried the wheel would just disintegrate but luckily it held. They fix punctures, sort new break blocks out and many other jobs to keep man (and woman) and machine rolling. In the end he was able to ‘borrow’ a spare wheel!

Room mate Dave has a sore knee, and Nikky-Nakky-noo has a bad ankle – much helped by a massive dose of ibuprofen from Jason. Maddog then guided us out on the B roads heading into the wind for Bishops Cross. This would be the site of the ‘Paris’ moment being 300 miles from Land’s End and the same distance as London-Paris.

Once on the A488 the wind was slightly at our backs and the pace picked up. The climb was long and we got to a cold 1045ft. We had a few showers to contend with. The ride down Hope Valley was the best descent yet – thrilling, fast & sweeping, and with dry roads we flew safely down to a welcome cup of tea at the bottom. Probably the ‘descent’ of the trip (Clive 13/9/09)

Coming into Shrewsbury 8-9 of us stopped at a welcoming pub & savoured the local ‘Black Sheep’ ale – a lively oaky brew 16/20. Simon promptly fell off as we left, to great amusement, but the only harm was to his pride!

The ride into the Lord Hill Hotel was busy but safely negotiated.Most of us are staying in the new wing in the Car park. I was sitting in the bar amongst a wedding party and was given a large glass of wine by a the somewhat tipsy daughter of the Groom (he was 74y!)


91.8m 6h30m at 14.1mph 4660ft climb max speed 40.1mph TOTAL 327m TOTAL CLIMB 19880ft