Day 3: Cullompton to Chepstow

Total: 88.36 miles
Time in saddle: 5 hr 56 mins
Average: 14.9 mph
Max Speed:  Unknown
Cumulative: 230 miles 
Chafing score: 2/5 (uh-oh)

"Never go to Wales, Baldrick. It’s a dreadful place. Gangs of tough, sinewy men roam the countryside terrifying people with their close-harmony singing."

(Edmund Blackadder, Blackadder the Third)

But surely Wales had to to be better than the A403 through the Chittening Industrial Estate leading to the Severn Bridge. This road proved to be the last straw for a couple of riders who almost launched a a mini rebellion regarding DiscoverAdventure’s route planning.

We started off with instructions that told us to turn right out of the hotel. This meant left. Most of the morning passed on the misty A38, perhaps a nice road to drive but not to cycle. The rain yesterday had upset my computer which refused to work (the stats above came from Vajrin, who finished with me) which made pacing quite tricky. A few riders pushed on ahead, but the majority of the group decided to stick together for safety in numbers. John and I were roving shepherds, reeling in any breakaway riders and asking them to slow down to regroup. It was not a safe road to ride alone. I incurred the jeers of the group for taking 2 pit-stops in the first half hour. I shouldn’t have had that second coffee.

The route took us through Taunton and North Petherton, where we had a water stop, and Bridgwater. Everyone we meet is so polite and helpful to the group and jaws hit the ground when they hear what we are attempting. Yesterday, a cyclist pulled up alongside Philip in Exeter and said, ‘I’m just heading to the running track. How about you?’ And he said, ‘We’re just heading to John O’Groats.’ The cyclist just said, ‘Oh’. We had more of the same today.

Most drivers have been as polite as the passers-by we have met, giving us a wide berth, sometimes honking (but not in a Deptford way) and replying to our waves. The same cannot be said for the driver of the COFAST van who deliberately soaked the line of riders as he shot past. I have emailed the company to inform them that the group contains 21 riders raising in excess of £70,000 [postscript: the total exceeded £95,000 by the end] for a variety of charities and, perhaps, as a way of saying sorry, they may like to make a donation to one of them.

When we finally escaped the A roads we crossed some beautiful countryside on the Somerset Levels. At least, I think it was beautiful behind all that mist.

Between Wedmore and Shipham (photo by John)

Regroup at Wedmore

The constant slow pace of the group had me fixed on the wheel in front and quite mesmerised for a while, thinking about family, especially my wife and son. Like drink, being under the influence of a long cycle ride can make you a bit earnest. I thought long and hard about them and all the other good things in my life. I was really missing them. The incessant rhythm on the flat terrain also left me wondering why I was feeling so uncomfortable in the saddle until a regroup stop and the word spread that everyone was coming down with a condition known as numb-bum. This was cured (temporarily) by a long steep hill up from Cheddar to Shipham for lunch.

All the stop-start riding left me feeling cold and tight by lunch time, so I pushed on in the afternoon with Colin, Craig, Vajrin, Philip and Don. We were joined at the tea stop by Nick who, as predicted, is getting stronger and quicker each day. By the end he may show us all a clean pair of heels.

Don, Vajrin, Craig, Nick and Philip at the afternoon water-stop presided over diligently, as always, by Lahcen from DiscoverAdventure

We had a wonderful hour cruising at about 22 mph until we hit the crossing over the Avon. A tortuous route round a council estate, behind some garages and up by the bins took us up onto the Avonmouth Bridge, an ugly construction made even uglier by the sodden weather and the deafening traffic.

Avonmouth Bridge

After a quick photo-stop we then hit the A403 to head to the Severn Bridge. What an awful road, the worst I have ever ridden. I have no idea why the organisers thought we’d like to run the gauntlet of the massive trucks rushing through peak hour in a faceless industrial estate whose only landmarks were the flowers beside the road for the victims of accidents. It was ugly, windswept and unforgiving and not what you need when you already have 80 miles in the legs.

The A403 (daredevil on-board camera-work by John)

Best moment of the day for me was seeing my nephew Alex beside this road, camera in hand, snapping away as we approached. The other riders all waved not having a clue who he was, although I had mentioned he was hoping to be there. I am glad he didn’t bring his bike as planned. That was no road for me to be worrying about my nephew on. I peeled off and had a chat and then jumped back on the bike expecting to go the rest of the way alone. But this group of people is one of the nicest I have ever been associated with, and 100 metres up the road there were the other 5 cyclists in the group waiting for me. No-one is ever left alone on this ride.

Respite: Severn Bridge cycle road (photo by Vajrin)

Nick crossing the Severn Bridge

We crossed the Severn Bridge, alarmed at the way it moves around as you ride. We are staying in a magnificent hotel in Chepstow, all relieved the day is over. 

St. Pierre Hotel, Chepstow: an oasis after the A403 (photo by Vajrin)

We all had a chat with the organisers about the route choice and then relaxed a little. I sat in an ice-cold bath to ease muscle soreness and read the map for tomorrow. We might take a slightly quieter route in places.

John arrived later, with the group he had been guiding, to find his wife Lynn and two daughters were waiting for him in Reception. They had been waiting there for 3 hours and could only stay another hour before heading back to London as it was school tomorrow. What a nice touch.

I had a lovely phone call home hearing all about the 2 main courses and 5 desserts my son had at the Chinese restaurant in Orpington. This cheered me up no end, but I’ll have to get him out on his bike when I get home if he's going to keep eating like that.

Big day tomorrow: 99 miles. We have all vowed to ride up and down the drive a few times to get over the ton.