Day 4

Thursday 7th August 2008

Cheddar to Bromyard. We were sent off with several of Mike and Ians friends gathering at Gordons, including Nigel and Helen on their tandem. Once out of Cheddar our 1st stop was Clevedon where we were to be treated to a full English breakfast. Unfortunately when we arrived we discovered that this type of breakfast as only available at weekends, so with buttered tea cakes we remounted to take on the challenge of both the Avonmouth Bridge and the famous Old Severn Bridge. Access to both were made a lot easier for us by the scouting work done by both Gill and Phil.

An indication of our improved confidence on the tandems was the way that Mike and Ness passed the camera between each other to take photos of the team whilst crossing the Severn Bridge. Once through Chepstow we travelled up the Wye Valley. This was one of the high points of the journey so far as we had the wind behind us, the rolling road and the view. The total distance covered was 91miles.

Everything was going splendidly until we had just 3 miles to go when we turned the corner to see the wall of tarmac that we had to climb. ½ mile to go we saw the welcome sight of Phil who directed us down the hill to ‘The old cow shed’ only to then find out that we had to climb back up the hill the following morning.

Within 10 minutes of arriving the heavens opened. Luckily we just had time to pack the bikes away and get the bags inside. Once in the house we were offered a pot of tea with hot scones and jam which was very gratefully received and devoured in a mille second. Helen (the owner) then recommended a local hostilely for out evening meal at ‘The Three Horseshoes’.

Distance: 91.39 miles

Riding Time: 6 hrs 35 mins

Weather Good – dry and cloudy

Beer of the day - Wye Valley Bitter.

Overnight at - The Old Cowshed, Bromyard.

Cumulative Mileage - 281 miles