Day three - Bristol to Ludlow

Start

After a night of fitful sleep due to shouts of "AHH cramp", random light switching on and the Bristol nightlife outside of the window all deciding this was a good place to laugh, shout, cry have a sirens blaring car chase we made breakfast at around opening time of 8am.

In the corner was a man carrying a can of Fosters who had obviously had an enjoyable night in one of the above categories.

Given the above and the adventures of day 2 the mood was generally a little downbeat as you can see from the before and after photos of Mike below.

Day 1 vs Day 3

It was apt then that day three started as day two had ended.  Near Bristol airport.  This obviously needs some explanation so we had decided that after our hour long one mile trip around Bristol the night before we would take the van and make sure we were on the right A38 within the town centre which would then see us pretty much all the way to Gloucester.

The first sign of the issue is when the road sign read A38 Taunton, but this was calmed by Richard with the excuse that we were going to a ring road and it would take us back.  When we got to the next junction and it not only said Bristol airport straight on but we started to recognise the route we realised we were aiming in the wrong direction.  But fortunately in the van.  Apparently this comes down to Bristol having an airport at Felton and Filton!

We then headed back to find the A38 in Bristol which again proved more difficult than expected even with the aid of a sat nav, normal map and google maps.  Eventually we did find the A38 and started our day and ride away from Bristol albeit a little later than expected.

Severn bridge in the background

The ride to Gloucester was fairly uneventful although we were relatively cold and hence all set up in our rain gear. We generally made good progress and by the first stop the temperature had increased to be quite a nice if not breezy day.

Pain....

Sadly, Mike suffered with his knee leaving Gloucester which meant he had to have some time in the van icing it and trying to reduce the pain/swelling.   Overnight he is having a lot of ice/heat treatment in preparation for tomorrow and walking around the travelodge with two towels on his knees.

To put this into context we had done about 250 miles in two days when this happened...this is apparently equivalent to running three marathons on consecutive days. So some pain is to be expected. Sadly.   However waiting for the van did mean we were stood next to the sign below which caused some amusement.

Apparently this is an "attractive horse"

Lunch

Lunch was next on the horizon at around 40 miles and this is where the day took a slight downward turn. Lunch has been experimental on the two days...first day not enough and too small a stop, second day about right and third day we tried for a pub lunch at one of the en route pubs.

We probably should have worried when we were asked for the name when placing the order despite being the only people in the bar except for a party sat around the corner.

An hour or so later, lunch still hadn't arrived.  When it did arrive, to say it was underwhelming would be an overstatement.  But the more major problem was the hour and twenty mintue stop meant we were now under pressure to make our six o'clock dinner with our families and had also cooled down and started to ache again.

"Yes the name is Williams."

As one quick footnote as were leaving two lads walked into the bar and looked at the two for £10 offer on the menu.   "Not in any rush to get back are we?" said one.  If they had a second course they may still be there.

The afternoon was tough. We had cooled down, ate in a rush and now it started or climbs for the day. These are nothing compared to the climbs in the first two days but the toll on our legs amongst other body parts was beginning to tell.

The view over Hereford was stunning and at points we did find ourselves tracking along nicely at thirteen miles an hour.  This pace is not fast but it is steady progress and we were proud of ourselves. Especially once we turned into the wind and the heart rate was higher automatically.

It doesn't help us to then see another group doing the LEJOG fly past at well over seventeen miles an hour. But they are looking at doing it a whole day quicker than us so are at a different and very impressive level.

Richard returns for his drink

Revival

Now you may see that the general mood of today is a lot more positive than yesterday.  We met up with our families at the end of today and were able to speak with them, share stories have a hug with wives and children.  The tension from the group visibly lifted, mood lightened and instead of us sitting staring at the plates in front of us we all ate the meals with a good appetite.

This is why we are doing this overall so that other people can have some of the moments that we shared this evening with their loved ones and just that thought alone makes me far more optimistic for the next few days.