Day 2 - Tiverton to Leominster

As I was leaving the Travelodge at 4.30 I realised that my rear LED light was out of batteries, which was a worry because I was setting out in darkness, and anyway liked to keep the back light flashing even in daylight when on dual carriageways and busy A roads.  Luckily the night porter found a few AAA's in his cupboard which seemed to work.

Getting outside I was hit by the low temperature, showing as 7c on my computer.  This forced me to ride fairly briskly for the first few miles just to keep warm, and I was soon crossing the border into Somerset.  

The terrain was flat and I made good speed until I reached a very long hill south of Bristol which seemed to go on forever.  Once over this, I approached the outskirts of Bristol, where I got lost in the one-way system for 20 minutes or so, going round in circles.  Finally I found my way to Avonmouth and then up to the Severn Road Bridge, where I was met by a disembodied voice from the control room telling me which way to go to the cycle-path.

Over the bridge and into Wales, I headed north through Chepstow and onto the very pretty road which follows the river through the Wye valley.  I met a couple of heavily-laden cyclists coming the other way - they are on the 18th day of an end-to-end going south and have had a tailwind every day but one!  So my loss is at least their gain.

The hills pick up as I continue up through Hereford and back into England, and by 3pm I had reached my destination of Leominster (today was the shortest day at just 125 miles).  There was a sign on the door of the Youth Hostel saying it didn't open until 5pm, so I headed into town to do a bit of shopping.

Back at the hostel I was given the keys to my private room, which was basic (to put it politely).  After making up the bed I realised that there would be no relaxing bath, or even a shower, for me that evening as there were no towels supplied.  With nothing to do and not even a chair to sit on, I wandered up to the TV lounge - a bad mistake, as I encountered a very talkative Welsh woman who spent a solid hour telling me about the tribulations of walking in the countryside (being attacked by cows and getting tangled in barbed wire).  I didn't even get a chance to watch the news on TV as she was looking at a soap opera she had recorded whilst out.  Vaguely depressed I headed off to bed, vowing not to stay at a Youth Hostel again.

STATS:

Depart:       4.30am

Arrive:        3.00pm

Distance:    125 miles

Ride time:  9.05

Av. speed:  13.8mph

Temp:         7 - 16c

Wind:         10 - 25mph ENE (headwind)

Weather:    Sunny morning, cloudy afternoon

Total distance so far:   265