Offa's Bike, Day 2

Leg 2: Bromyard to Cardiff…

After 110+ miles, a good curry and a couple of pints the day before, day 2 of the Chester to Cardiff cycle dawned all too early. Looking out the window over Bromyard made everyone want to go back to bed too – the hot sunny weather of the previous day had given way to an ever so slightly damper outlook! Nonetheless everyone was soon up, out and ready to go, partly due to the anticipation of the Cardiff lash and ladies (a mere 83 miles down the road) but mostly due to a mysterious overnight buildup of toxic gases in the house… Raincoats were donned and we were soon underway in pretty good spirits, despite rumours of mountainous Welsh terrain ahead. All of us were feeling the effects of the day 1 exploits, so progress wasn’t as quick as it had been the previous day. Steve especially was suffering, having picked up a niggle somewhere in the hills of Shropshire.

By the time we were approaching Hereford, it became clear that Steve was in some pain and that it wouldn’t be wise for him to continue. Given the turn of the weather and the injured team member, a democratic decision was taken to try to catch a train from Hereford. Steve could then get all the way to Cardiff without worsening his injury, and the rest of us could get off somewhere en-route and have a shorter cycle, leaving a bit more energy for the coming evening. As we walked up to the ticket desk in Hereford station, however, we were greeted by a sign displaying three words that strike fear into the heart of even the most hardened of London commuters…. ‘Bus Replacement Service’. There were absolutely no trains going to Cardiff or even vaguely in the right direction. After much discussion (and generally blaming Leon for any sort of train related problems) we came to the decision that Steve would stay in Hereford and try his luck at getting his bike on a bus, while Leon, Martin and myself would have to keep pedaling. From Hereford the route went southwest towards Abergavenny. This trip had now ceased to be a just a bike ride and was entering the realms of ‘endurance test’. The weather was still pretty terrible, but the three of us made very good progress. Perhaps it was the promise of a decent lunch when we got there, but sticking to the main A465 route certainly helped too.

After a well deserved lunch stop at Wetherspoons Abergavenny (involving lots of strange looks from the locals and some big bowls of pasta) the remaining three were once again heading for the open road. By this point I think it fair to say that we all wanted to get to Cardiff as soon as possible, so it was agreed over lunch that we’d stay on the main roads to avoid navigation problems. Unfortunately the road out of town was a little bit too open for our liking, being a 70mph dual carriageway! Not to be deterred we pushed on through the wind, rain and spray to the Heads of the Valleys road, but soon encountered a hill of epic proportions. It just went on for miles, with a new and seemingly steeper gradient appearing round every corner. After what seemed like hours (and probably was) Martin and I finally crested the hill and found ourselves on flat road, oblivious to the fact that Leon was no longer close behind. The hill had proven too much for Leon’s bike, which had suffered (what was later found to be) a freak catastrophic failure of all the spokes on his back wheel. This left Leon well and truly stranded on a derelict petrol station forecourt… Meanwhile, myself and Martin had our heads down in the rain and were still pedaling for Cardiff. After about a mile or 2 it became clear that Leon must have stopped. By this time though, we were on another 70mph dual carriageway where turning back was a risky option to say the least. By this point the situation was dire. So dire in fact that all thoughts of quaint tea shops had long since evaporated. It was chucking it down and the wind was gusting.

Steve had been left injured in Hereford, last seen working out how to sweet talk a local bus driver into to taking a bike. Leon was stranded on an unknown forecourt somewhere with as yet unknown technical problems, while myself and Martin were on the hard shoulder of a dual carriageway in the pouring rain with dead/dying phones! Eventually, due to a mixture of cold and risky location, Martin and I decided to continue, leaving Leon to find his own way to Cardiff. Definitely not the best thing to do in hindsight. From there on, progress towards Cardiff for us remaining two was fast, as it was pretty much all downhill. It must be said though, that it was probably the scariest part of the ride too. As we charged down the dual carriageway at well over 35 mph, blinded by the rain and spray from the cars whizzing past, the bike felt like it was skating over the tarmac rather than gripping it. There was no chance of braking or swerving if anything went wrong! Eventually we came to the end of the dual carriageway and Martin managed to navigate us onto one of the old valley roads in search of the Taff trail. This was something of a mixed blessing though, as we soon found ourselves lost in a number of dead ends, usually at the bottom of a big hill! Eventually we made it onto the Taff trail – the final push! Cardiff was not far now. Unfortunately, the Taff trail wasn’t entirely paved… Fine on a mountain bike I’m sure, but a nightmare on a heavily laden roadbike. This took it’s toll, with my back tyre soon going flat. Now being desperate to get to Cardiff and less than 10 miles away, the tube was changed in record time. The final bit of the trip then went without incident for myself and Martin. Arrival at the Gaunt residence was great, as Steve and Leon arrived shortly after. Steve had come back by bus, picked up his car and gone back for the stranded Leon. After an epic couple of days it was a huge relief to arrive with all 4 of us in one piece. Lash ensued, once we had all got cleaned up and fed. It was certainly a hazy night by all accounts – The Leaf would have been proud!

Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Gaunt for their hospitality.

Day 2 Stats:
Miles: ………………………………83(approx)
Casualties: …………………………1
Breakdowns: ……………………….1
Punctures: ………………………….1
Trains: ……………………………...0
Forecourts ………………………….1
Quaint Tea Shops ..............................0
Haziness Rating:…………………….9.5
MMX Training Rating………………8/10 – Plenty of miles. Character building…..
Useful Phrases:
Weobley (that’s wee-ob-lay, not woe-bley by the way!)
Fourcourteen…..