Over the Hills Part 2 - A recount of the Bristol to Colwyn Bay bike ride, July 2013

Day 2 – Diary of a Wimpy Cyclist (Day 2 – Saturday 27^th July)

Although Jonny awoke early at 7am, the rest of us did not rise properly until almost 9am. Nobody was particularly enthusiastic about clearing up camp, but after delicious bacon sandwiches, we set off about 10.30am; too late as we would later discover ...

Following a toilet and water stop at the priory, the team split up, with Fabian slowly navigating the support van up the narrow lanes, and myself cycling separately from the rest of the team at the rear. This is a lovely valley and the climb is quite manageable until the last couple of miles. The last part of the climb is steep but worth the effort when you reach the top of Gospel Pass and overlook the amazing view which takes in Hay On Wye, looks across to Herefordshire and, of course, across to mid-Wales; our destination for this part of the journey.

We were all excited to find an ice-cream van and for the first time to receive some kind of phone reception. After briefly posting on the blog and checking in with loved ones at home, we set off on a steep decent before following the River Wye to our lunchtime destination of Builth Wells.

Liam, who had never cycled over 30 miles before yesterday, decided to miss the second part of the day’s ride and join Fabian to travel ahead to the campsite and set up camp at Llanidloes (our half-way destination).

The three of us set off along the river and were soon climbing another hill out of the valley and towards the town of Rhayader. This period of the ride was slow. Climbs were small but regular and the Sustrans route took us on windy paths. And then, as we ambled along these small welsh roads, I felt a spot of water on my face… rain! Rain had not been forecast until the following day so we were disappointed to feel even the faintest hint of the wet weather coming. The reality was that due to the temperature still being relatively warm, wearing waterproofs would only get us hot and very sweaty, so the only choice was to get wet until camp later on. When we arrived at the village of Newbride-on-Wye, we decided to ride on a more direct road for about 10 miles. This was a less pleasant part of the ride, but because of our late start it was already late afternoon and we needed to make up some time. We arrived at the town of Rhayader as the heavens opened and the gentle rain turned into a downpour. We didn’t bother with waterproofs but Tom and I put on overshoes so that at least we would cycle with dry feet. Because conditions were poor, we decided to go back onto the minor route and follow a narrow valley along farm tracks towards our eventual destination. By this time the three of us were wet, tired and it was getting late. This part of the route however was green and lush, with the jagged mid-Wales mountains surrounding us along the ride which was mostly off-road. We eventually came off the path, briefly joined the main road and cycled into Llanidloes, navigating to the campsite just a couple of mile beyond.

We were met by a lovely sight: the van and awning set up and tents erected. Liam and Fabian apologised that the tents looked a bit saggy; it didn’t matter – we were soaking wet and the tents were up - wonderful! It was Chili for tea (cooked by Mrs Condon earlier in the week) and a campfire in the rain. We were excited because this lovely campsite had showers! The fact it was surrounded by hills and situated next to a river was lost on us and most of the campers in the on-going rain. We spent the remainder of the evening around the fire and looked forward to the thunder and lightning planned for the following day…