South Wales Tour 2023

From central Bristol, I joined the Bristol and Bath railway path, meeting my outbound route at the old Mangotsfield station, with its distinct triangular island platform.

Shortly there after another thunderstorm rolled in. I'm not usually prone to feeling cold, other than when I'm tired - and with over 100Km behind me today and not much in the way of food-stops, I was definitely that. I found myself hiding beneath old stone bridges to don my rain jacket, and subsequently to grab a snack and a few moments respite from the sharp cold of the heavy rain droplets.

I had been debating whether to continue on route 4 or take a more direct route back to Chippenham from Bath. The lightning on the horizon settled the question: I wasn't going to take a route that passes through a hilltop golf course during a lightning storm. After Bath route 4 joins the Kennet and Avon Canal - the old tow path, is extremely rough.

The vibrations induced by the sharp rocks made me hyper concious of my rattling gear, as the canal is lined with canal barges where people live. The surface also made for much slower riding, and before very long, my wrists were complaining at the tension. The scenerey, evening light and wood-smoke from the stoves aboard peoples' barges, were all very pleasant, but the general tensions and discomforts of trying to handle the heavy bike on the rough track were mountain.

I took the canal as far as Melksham, where I joined regional route 403 - which takes backroads to Chippenham and journey's end. By the time I left the canal, I had put 140Km and 9 hours of travel behind me today. It was a releif to be away from the terrible washboard surface, but the last 15 Km were an exercise in fighting fatigue, ignoring my fairly empty belly and worrying about whether my light batteries would last.

I arrived home around 22:00, tired and wet; both the bike and I were covered in grime from the canal path. Naturally, the only thing to do was to order a pizza and take a shower to cap off the trip and around 450Km of riding.Read more