Back on the bike and back to the sunshine..
Trip Start
Jul 08, 2008
1
12
16
Trip End
Jul 25, 2008
Hereford,
England,
United Kingdom
Sunday, July 20, 2008
It was a late start as a result of the very comfy caravan and unlimited tea and bacon butties. It was then made even later by Carl getting his first puncture of the day. Matt and Kim were still on hand to help with the repairs before we set off down the road to meet up with a very refreshed Phil...very refreshed after really splashing out on a top hotel and dining 5 course meals for the last few days.
It was hard work getting back on the bike after the routine of standing around the tent with tea and porridge, pack up and get going that we had been doing for the last 10 days but felt good once we were underway again. It was amazing how I started to feel things like my bum and how hard some of the hills when the same thoughts wouldn't have even entered my brain when I was in the zone a few days before. The hills were especially hard for the 1st 10 miles as my rear brake was rubbing since I had put the new rim on. After that we were flying again. At least we were until Carl got another puncture...and then another...I think 16 stones on 1cm wide tyres might be an issue...plus all the peanuts carl cycles with may be affecting things as well...
Punctures aside the trip down to Hereford was rather uneventful...the roads were wide and sweeping with few hills which made things rather fast
Carl avec peanuts
. The other thing that sticks in my memory was the amount of road kill we saw...it must be the return of the dry weather that has brought all the badgers, rabbits, foxes and hedgehogs out to play on the raods.So we ended up camping (yes, back in the tent again) 4 miles north of Hereford...would you believe that the campsite had a sitting room in a Portacabin complete with free wifi...that's a first for me anyway!!
Day 12
Whitchurch to Hereford
Miles 70.25
Average 14.9
Hours on bike 4.42
Max speed 32
Total distance 752.02
