To Thornbury: leaving Wales

August 20, 2022

The day starts the same as the last three did, with us dining in for breakfast in our apartment: muesli, fresh strawberries, a current scone for me, chocolate chip muffins for Rachael; and coffee, of course. We’ve really enjoyed our relaxed break here - waking when we want, loafing in the room over breakfast, Netflix at the end of the day. I think on future tours we’ll schedule in more stays like this.

It’s still showering lightly when we get up, and with another hilly ride ahead we’re not interested in enriching the day’s experience with some precipitation. It’s due to pass on about ten so we decide to relax and wait it out. Ten comes and the showers have moved out another hour so we text our host Loula to see if we can stay another hour. She’s fine with that and says we can stay until two if we want - the next guest won’t arrive until tomorrow anyway.

Eleven comes, the sun breaks through, and we hurriedly pack up. We’re leaving Wales.

Little Skirrid Cwtch, our home for the last four nights. Very nice. We have contact information if you’re interested - rates are cheaper if you book direct.

Leaving Wales, I’m reminded of the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are, who beg Max to stay and continue their wild rumpus with them a bit longer. “Oh please don’t go- we’ll eat you up-we love you so!” I haven’t thought of this for a long time, but it brings back my days parenting Shawn when he was younger and the couple of years when I was a latch-key worker. I loved sitting around with a warm kid on my lap, reading a story book to them.

So Wales throws more of its terrible hills at us, beginning with this one that starts about two blocks from the apartment, starting gently enough with a 5-6% grade but steadily steepening to 13. I’m just thinking of whether it wouldn’t be just as fast to walk the last bit when I round the bend and see it finally leveling off. Who doesn’t like a steep 400’ challenge in the first mile to start the ride off before your legs have even warmed up?

At least on top we enjoy a few good views around before we leave the region, and then it’s a gradual drop for the next six miles to the River Usk. Generally downhill except for a few speed bumps Wales throws in to remind us who’s boss. Not so fast, Team Anderson! How do you like this 12% little spike? Too easy? How about this one then? Or this? Bam! Bam! Bam! The King of the Mountains hurls a last few blocks in our path as we drop toward the river.

One last look at Skirrid Fawr, in the sun for a nice change.

The view west across the Usk Valley: Sugar Loaf and the Black Mountains.

One thing that disappoints me in today’s ride - the roads are like yesterday’s, lined with solid green view-blocking walls on both sides. We didn’t see this before in Wales, but then a lot of our biking has been in the national parks. It’s frustrating - with the rolling hills you can get views out to the fields and hills in the distance, but they’re only partial. You have to watch for the rare gap in the wall, and when you come to one it’s not by that interesting black sheep, parade of cows or stone cottage you’d like a closer look at. So mostly we just ride.

The well house at Bettws Newydd, a Grade II listed building.

Llancayo Windmill, now a self-catering holiday retreat near Usk. Built in 1813 and destroyed by fire in 1830, it stood in ruins until recently renovated.

Twelve miles into the ride we come to Usk, find a bench, and stop for lunch. With our late start the timing is right and it gives us a couple miles of easy, truly flat miles along the Usk after eating - relaxing, but still with no views of even the river - before we come to the main work of the day.

Lunch break, Usk. It’s quite windy today and generally in our favor. It helps on the hills, but not enough.

The main work is this hill up ahead that we’ve been anticipating for several days - 600’ in a mile and a half, which sounds reasonable if it’s well behaved. It’s not though, and the first half mile are a leisurely 5%, guaranteeing much worse is around a bend ahead. I’m counting down the remaining distance and elevation on the ClimbPro page, thinking that at least it shouldn’t be too long of a walk when I decide to dismount - which I do when it hits 14% with a third of a mile to go. I might as well push until it levels off some, it won’t be much slower - so I do, the whole third of a mile because it doesn’t slacken until the very end. It steepens instead, staying in the 14-19% range the whole way.

By the time I make it up my calves and triceps are both killing me from pushing the bike up this cliff, steep enough that my shoes slip on the pavement. And I can’t even especially enjoy the views along the way because as usual I’m walled in.

But I’m right - it’s not much slower than if I’d stayed on the bike, as I can see when Rocky slowly passes me, inches ahead, and continues all the way to the top. Super-tough.

From the top there’s a view to the inland end of Bristol Channel, if you can find a bit of a gap through the Green Wall. I’d forgotten what the map of this part of Britain is like and was surprised we could see the sea from up here.

But that’s pretty much it. There are still a few half-hearted speed bumps ahead but Wales has had its fun with us and spits us out with a ten mile descent to the Bristol Channel where we’re faced with a stupefyingly long bridge that reminds us of crossing the Humber Bridge six weeks ago. We’ve got a strong angling crosswind thrusting us up the gradual slope but it still takes a long time to reach the other side - long because it’s lengthy, and long because it’s arresting with its views first up the mouth of the Wye and then crossing the narrow end of the immense Bristol Channel, the mouth of the Severn off in the distance somewhere. There’s a real elemental feeling, with the strong winds blowing enough to make the bridge sing and the tide rushing in far below.

The Wye Bridge crosses the River Wye as it empties into the Bristol Channel.

Prove you’re not a robot. How many bicycles do you see?

At the border. Wales on the left, England on the right, the Wye up the middle.

On the Beachley Viaduct, the connector between the Wye and Severn Bridges.

It feels like we’re still on the same bridge, almost two miles long. It’s not though. The Wye Bridge and the Beachley Viaduct are behind us, and we’re onto the Severn Bridge. It’s a good thing the railing is high and the bike lane is wide because there’s a 20 mph crosswind blowing.

The upper end of Bristol Channel and the end of the Severn River, the lazy stream we walked beside back in Shrewsbury. The tide is rushing in beneath us - Bristol Channel has some of the greatest tidal ranges in the world.

Aust Cliff, an important fossil-rich geological site. Its strata are Triassic mudstones laid down a quarter billion years ago when this land was near the equator and the climate was a hot desert.

Downloaded from Wikipedia: an aerial view of the bridges. Four separate structures complete the whole. From left to right: Wye Bridge, Beachley Viaduct, Severn Bridge and Aust Viaduct.

Back in Merry England. Say - did we really leave Wales without giving the GBO a look? Now we really do have a good reason to return someday.

That’s the ride though. The last seven miles to our hotel in Thornbury are a rush as we blow down the road ahead of what must be a 20 mph tailwind. Wales spits us out, England sucks us back in. We’re at the start of the last major segment of the tour.

Video sound track: Everyday, by Classic Dream Orchestra

We’re staying tonight at the Swan, a colorful pub/restaurant with a few rooms. Ours, a small one with twin beds and all the facilities down the hall, is up on the top floor overlooking the street. It’s warm in the room but quickly turns pleasant when we open the window and let the fresh air rush in. It’s not long before we walk 150 feet down the street to an Italian restaurant, which is far enough - neither of us is inclined to explore the town and are happy we’ve booked a table at a place so close by the room.

We get a sinking feeling when we return to the hotel, as we see a man lugging in sound equipment. It’s Saturday night at a live music venue and we’re getting a free concert with the room. It doesn’t start up until 9:30, but we get our money’s worth as they continue on until midnight. They have various qualities, but the most pronounced one is loudness. It makes us glad we’re on the top floor.

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Ride stats today: 36 miles, 3,000’; for the tour: 2,006 miles, 119,900’

Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 2,005 miles (3,227 km)

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Rich FrasierThose dang musicians…
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