Day 4 - Winscombe to Withington

Thursday 5th August


Distance - 75.13 miles (overall 276.93 miles)
Max Speed - 40mph
Time on bike - 5h 53m 05s
Average - 12.7 mph

The Carrot

Woke up refreshed this morning, had a good feeling we would be left at a better time this morning but still we found things to occupy us so got left at 09:45am instead of our planned 09:00am. We had a small and quick breakfast of dry fruit, lots of nuts and tea. This was the first morning we felt everything was going right.

Feeling good in the morning waking up in no rain, notice in the background the size of our tents which we are airing from the night before

On the road we both were feeling great apart from in the first 5 minutes we stopped at traffic lights and I couldn't quite get my feet out the pedals which resulted in me falling over in slow motion about 2 feet from an audience of onlookers in their cars. We carried on up the A38 towards Bristol, where we would then head onto the A4 & A403 then over the bridge to Wales. Still unsure whether it was the fact that we were heading to wales, the roads were better or the sun was out but we were sitting at a really good pace. We stopped of under the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol for a photo. The small section of the A4 we were on was amazing and there was an amazing cycle lane too. We stopped for 5 minutes at Avonmouth for a quick munch of dried fruit and more nuts. Our pace still continued at the other side of Bristol towards the Severn Bridge to Wales. I couldn't help thinking while crossing the bridge, 'at what point am I in Wales and is it England or Wales who owns that small island below the bridge?'. Small daft thoughts like these kept us going though out each day.

Just north of Clifton Suspension Bridge, still trying to look gangsta

Crossing into Wales on the Severn Bridge

Once we entered Wales we headed into Chepstow for a bite to eat. Cycling 35 miles straight without having a proper breakfast had caught up with us. On entering Chepstow we couldn't stop thinking about food, also the road we were on was turning into a massive steep downward sloping hill. This is normally good news but we knew we would have to go up the other sideon our way North. We stopped at cafe for some paninis and a few coffees where we were nearly falling asleep at the table. Chepstow was a really busy but nice place. This 10 minute stop quickly turned into a one and a half hour stop. Our legs were feeling really tired now and constantly had to stretch them off, this was expected after the first few days of cycling.

Back on the road at around 12:30pm we headed up the A466 towards Monmouth. We were dreading this hill to get back out of the town, it did take a lot out of us but probably the best thing to break us back into it. We were trying to stay positive but both couldn't stop thinking about the nice fast flat roads yesterday. We eventually got to the top of the hill and to our surprise we could see for miles, and it was nice looking miles, nice weather, as far we could see was green and the best bit there wasn't anywhere in the near distance higher up than us. The next 16 miles was bliss, I must have pedaled the equivalent of one mile the whole way. I kept on thinking how good is this compared to 'The prolonged punch in the face'. Took some on the road road photos where I was holding the camera super tight as I was just waiting for it to slip out my hands. We both agreed that this was the best run so far.

Sketchy on the road photo enjoying our 16 mile roll downhill

Stopped at LIDL's on Monmouth, this shop was a life saver for us when we could find one, it was amazing the amount of good food that was easy to carry. Stocked up on dried fruits, cereal bars, water and bought smoothies to drink before we went. There were some skateboarders skating a small ledge outside we watched for a bit and what we saw was quite surprising, for anyone who knows and understands skateboarding will see why. There was one lad who was trying kickflip from the ledge to flat which was respectable, he couldn't get it though. We were thinking no worries until he rocks up pushing switch stance which got us interested, then busts out a huge popped switch late front shovit and landed it clean. In comparison its like someone barely managing to swim in a pool, then swims across the channel first time.

On the road towards Hereford it seemed to be hard going but we were still getting the miles in. The road was going up and down and up and down till A49 where we rolled 5 miles in 15 minutes. Quick stop at a pub for a munch in Hereford, while eating we both felt really tired, it was maybe the fact that we burnt ourselves out this morning but we decided to call it a night. Found a campsite a few miles up the road but immediately found it sketchy, the owners were trying to rip us off, were getting evils from everyone it was like we suddenly found ourselves at the wrong side of town and we had to sleep there. We set up camp at the most furthest corner of the site under some trees, where we hid all our belongings and locked up our bikes. We saw 4 teenage girls approaching form the other side of the park egging each other to get closer, we knew this could only lead to a intense interrogation and lots of annoying questions. They informed us that they will be playing loud music later and apologize in advance. We tried to ignore them as much as possible but not to much to offend or be rude until they found us boring and left. Maybe the extent we went to by hiding our kit was a bit excessive but the kit we had was essentially our house for the next few weeks and everything we brought had a purpose. In a hunt to unwind we asked if there was a restaurant or anything nearby. We were informed of a pub 400 yards up the road, but as far as we could see there was nothing, just country side with no street lights. In an attempt not to offend our hosts we headed of into the dark, clueless to where we were going. We were both saying and thinking, "I bet there will nothing there when we get back", slightly stereotypical I know, but we both were after a hour to chill out and relax.

Just then a light appeared in the distance and some houses also appeared at the side of the road. Nearing the light we figured out it was in fact a pub, but never held high hopes. We entered The Cross Keys Inn and immediately was greeted by the bar tender, a well traveled looking mellow dude but struggled to reply as we were speechless by the sheer awesomeness presented in front of us. The place was packed all with super friendly people genuinely interested in our stories, the decor was old school looking where all original features we kept and in good state, including the most vintage cash register I have ever seen. This place was my kind of pub. Through talking with the locals we found out that the Radio 1 DJs had stopped of here when they carried out their sponsored Lands End to John o Groats cycle. Left the pub stoked getting a heroes send off from all, and headed off to our cocoons where we slept instantly, and the caravan where the teenage girls were going to be blaring music never made a sound.

One of the nice roads we encountered earlier in the day

Another enjoyable day although our legs are starting to feel really tights and tired, plenty of stretching throughout the day seems to help. Learning more about food management also, we were both aware that although we knew to eat more we just weren't. Logan's chain was slipping a lot more today, mainly on his middle cog and I developed some weird looking red spots in the middle of my chest, not itchy or painful, just weird.