A good day on the bike!

A dry day with some sun (at last!). Breakfast would have been funny if we hadn't wanted to get away in good time. The coach load of OAPs were queuing at the door before 8.15, but we're still enjoying a leisurely fried breakfast as we left.  Most hotels operate a buffet for cereal, fruit juice etc and some also do the cooked food this way - not the Sandringham! I am guessing that most of their guests can't walk more than a few yards without taking a breather and presumably couldn't manage a bowl of cornflakes plus their walking aids. As a result we were waiter-served bowls of cereal (presumably measured out last night) tea that was so strong it could have been mistaken for molten tar and cold toast.  Luckily we weren't looking for what appeared to be a heart attack on a plate to appear.  I just hope they all survived until their coffee stop......

Anyway we finally got going shortly after 9.00am and navigated our way out of Weston. Being so close to home the only parts of the route we weren't familiar with were the first and last 5 miles.  This made for a much faster riding day, although we had to go slower over the section round Bristol as we ended up with a tail of riders locked on our back wheels to avoid getting lost. Our first stop was Chepstow for lunch, which we had bought earlier. We sat in the centre of town watching the world go by and enjoying the sunshine. We had done 42 miles of relatively easy riding, although crossing the Severn Bridge in a howling wind was a bracing experience, especially for those who hadn't tried it before. The hills started in the afternoon, not too steep but lengthy with a steep descent from Symonds Yat down to the Wye valley and on to tonight's stop in Ross-on-Wye.  I had 'lost' my lowest climbing gear (careless I know but that's me I'm afraid) so we visited the bike shop there where a lovely young guy sorted me out while Chris hid outside..........

Everything we saw today was familiar, but the weather was kind, there were no mechanical problems and we didn't get even slightly lost - so in my book that counts as a good day on the bike, although I'm looking forward to something a bit different tomorrow (and I don't mean more rain!!) Tonight is one of two nights on the tour when dinner is not provided but since we are in a Premier Inn on a dual carriageway we will be eating in the Beefeater next door (there is a back road to the hotel for getting in and out luckily but nobody is planning to get back on their bike).

Photos are Weston at night, some shots of Chepstow and the Wye Valley, plus an iconic view of the first Severn Bridge