Over the Hills - A recount of the Bristol to Colwyn Bay bike ride, July 2013

Day 1 – A Long-Expected Journey (Friday 26^th July)

Following several days of denial, I awoke early on Friday morning feeling prepared but unsure of what to expect. This was a ride which I had planned (and bored people about) for many years. Back in the Easter of 1985, at the age of 13, I cycled from Colwyn Bay to Bristol with the St. Joseph’s Scouts, over 7 days. Now, some 28 years older (and a lot heavier), I would attempt to do the reverse journey over 4 days.

The weather, which had been hot and settled for weeks, was now turning for the worse. The forecast for days 1 and 2 was fine but thunder and lightning was forecast for day 3 and beyond. I was confident that we could manage to the 60 miles planned per day, but wasn’t sure how easy this would be in poor conditions - however, at least the wind seemed to be coming from the south west, which was the most important. Cycling in the rain with the wind against us was my biggest fear.

The team assembled outside the Bridge Inn, Shortwood at 9.30am and consisted of Liam (my brother), Tom, Jonny, Fabian (our support driver) and myself. After a brief photo shoot and goodbyes to our families, the 4 cyclists were off with Fabian and the support van meeting us later in Usk.

The first part of the journey was familiar, following the ring road to Hambrook, until we made our first break from the planned route - cycling via Almondsbury, past Woodhouse Park and towards Tockington. Riding past Woodhouse, we could see great views of the Severn Bridge and managed to speed down a long stretch of road. Across the bridge, we could also see the hills that we would have to climb before lunch. We made good progress and were enjoying the fine weather as we crossed the Severn Bridge.

As we crossed the bridge, I opened a discussion; should we follow the Sustrans route and cross the hill which would be a climb of 7 or 8 miles, or should we take a longer route around the hill and follow the Usk River just north of Newport? I was dreading this hill and so opted for the longer detour. I was supported by my brother but Tom and Jonny heroically opted for the hilly route. We chose the hilly route, although 20 minutes later we were having second thoughts as we huffed and puffed up a steep incline a few miles past Chepstow. This was our first real challenge, although the climb became gentler after a mile or two and we managed to cycle most of it (we had decided early on that if we needed to walk, we would!). Eventually we reached to top and enjoyed the steep and pretty decent into Usk.

We cycled down into the Usk Valley and onto the town where we would meet Fabian. Usk is a small town that I had been to many times before. I recommended a good fish and chip shop to Tom, Jonny and Fabian, who all wanted a substantial feed; Liam and I opted for a less filling pie and cake. My bread pudding was delicious and gave me lots of energy for the next leg to Abergavenny. I enjoyed this next 15 mile stretch and built up a good speed, although I got told off by the others for going on ahead and not being a team player - I would not have had the energy to do it again even if I had liked! We stopped in Abergavenny so that Liam could buy new cycle shoes (he had borrowed a pair of mine that were too small), and then set of on the last stretch to Llanthony.

This last stretch started with a long climb over into the valley to Gospel Pass. This was the first time that some of us had ridden over 50 miles and although it was early, it was getting tough. Fabian, who had brought his racing bike, met us along the valley road and we eventually arrived, exhausted, at a very basic campsite, a couple of miles south of Llanthony Priory.

This choice of campsite had been the subject of much discussion the night before when we bought provisions. The team had wanted a luxury campsite nearer to the Priory. In this case, luxury meant a toilet and showers but sadly the campsite was booked. We had to settle on an old favourite of mine which is a basic campsite which consisted of a field and a river. After a long day cycling, we were all in need of a wash and had no option but to bathe in the icy river. Now, feeling fresher than we needed to feel, we had spag bol for tea and then visited the pub situated in the Llanthony Prior ruins a couple of miles up the road.

The day had been successful but we were apprehensive; how sore and tired would we feel the following morning? What would the weather be like? How would we manage the first part of our ride – 8 miles up the valley and over Gospel Pass?