Aravis
Putrid Donut
- Location
- Gloucester
This is Friday's ride. I think I was in bed by 9pm.
With a well-forecast window in the unsettled weather, this was the day for the century a month challenge once again. The route and profile are here:
As usual I'd paid inordinate attention to wind direction when choosing a route, though to be honest it was hardly necessary yesterday. However, I'd completely forgotten about the direction of the sun, and for the first 25 miles or so it was a real problem.
Never mind, by the time I reached the top of the Cotswolds, venturing into a part I hardly know, the sun had risen quite a bit and glory of the landscape was revealed. I'd picked a quiet-looking route through some small villages, my eventual target being the descent at Chipping Sodbury. Anyone wishing to see the full glow of Westonbirt's autumn spetacular will need to wait a week or two, I think. At the moment it's more of a subtle change of tone. Approaching Badminton I made a refuelling stop. I could gaze at this prospect forever:
The watercourse in the field is the river Avon of Clifton Suspension Bridge fame, near its source. It heads eastwards for a while before turning round and carving its imposing course through Bath and Bristol, marking the southern end of the Cotswolds.
A bit of a rude shock as I rejoined main roads down to Chipping Sodbury. Wanting to head westwards towards the Severn Bridge, I broke new ground once again, heading up through Wickwar and Cromhall, on a B-road threading its way through the many huge stone quarries. It was fairly busy but aggro-free, certainly much better that fighting through Yate. I find the ascent into the Cotswolds via Chipping Sodbury useful, so I think this is a keeper.
Over the bridge into Wales and a different world - Badminton and Westonbirt absolutely reek of wealth. It's a long time since I'd taken the standard route to Tintern past Chepstow Racecourse. Absolutely stunning as always, but a word of warning: on the descent to Tintern there a couple of long traffic-light controlled sections where there is a danger of rock falls, and they look as though they're going to be there for a while. Descending, no real problem, but heading southwards, cyclists are going to struggle to clear them in time. There a signs warning motorists to beware of oncoming cyclists, which is helpful but doesn't remove the problem. There is an alternative route from Tintern to St Arvans which is quiet, not too arduous and has a lot of advantages - so worth considering.
Before the big climb out of the valley I stopped for essential refulling. The sunshine and blue sky had gone, leaving a pleasant subdued light:
The climb out of the valley from Redbrook starts steeply but soon relaxes. It's good to know that when you start! Just before reaching Newland there is a campsite which has always been too close to my home to consider using; I often think that it's situation, not least for a fixed-centre cyclist, must be one of the best in the world.
At this point there is a little-used byway heading back to the main road coming up from Monmouth at Staunton. I remember from long ago that this has a severe sting in the tail, but I still wasn't quite prepared.
A long breathtaking descent to Parkend, another sharpish climb and then a gentle run down to the A48 at Blakeney. From there, a really useful hill-avoiding loop via Awre to Newnham, where surprisinging I set a Strava PB on the ramp up into the village. I was getting positive feedback from my legs - they seemed happy to do whatever I asked them to do (apart from going fast of course) so I was able enjoy the final miles along familiar roads, hitting my target of 127 miles on the nose
With a well-forecast window in the unsettled weather, this was the day for the century a month challenge once again. The route and profile are here:
As usual I'd paid inordinate attention to wind direction when choosing a route, though to be honest it was hardly necessary yesterday. However, I'd completely forgotten about the direction of the sun, and for the first 25 miles or so it was a real problem.
Never mind, by the time I reached the top of the Cotswolds, venturing into a part I hardly know, the sun had risen quite a bit and glory of the landscape was revealed. I'd picked a quiet-looking route through some small villages, my eventual target being the descent at Chipping Sodbury. Anyone wishing to see the full glow of Westonbirt's autumn spetacular will need to wait a week or two, I think. At the moment it's more of a subtle change of tone. Approaching Badminton I made a refuelling stop. I could gaze at this prospect forever:
The watercourse in the field is the river Avon of Clifton Suspension Bridge fame, near its source. It heads eastwards for a while before turning round and carving its imposing course through Bath and Bristol, marking the southern end of the Cotswolds.
A bit of a rude shock as I rejoined main roads down to Chipping Sodbury. Wanting to head westwards towards the Severn Bridge, I broke new ground once again, heading up through Wickwar and Cromhall, on a B-road threading its way through the many huge stone quarries. It was fairly busy but aggro-free, certainly much better that fighting through Yate. I find the ascent into the Cotswolds via Chipping Sodbury useful, so I think this is a keeper.
Over the bridge into Wales and a different world - Badminton and Westonbirt absolutely reek of wealth. It's a long time since I'd taken the standard route to Tintern past Chepstow Racecourse. Absolutely stunning as always, but a word of warning: on the descent to Tintern there a couple of long traffic-light controlled sections where there is a danger of rock falls, and they look as though they're going to be there for a while. Descending, no real problem, but heading southwards, cyclists are going to struggle to clear them in time. There a signs warning motorists to beware of oncoming cyclists, which is helpful but doesn't remove the problem. There is an alternative route from Tintern to St Arvans which is quiet, not too arduous and has a lot of advantages - so worth considering.
Before the big climb out of the valley I stopped for essential refulling. The sunshine and blue sky had gone, leaving a pleasant subdued light:
The climb out of the valley from Redbrook starts steeply but soon relaxes. It's good to know that when you start! Just before reaching Newland there is a campsite which has always been too close to my home to consider using; I often think that it's situation, not least for a fixed-centre cyclist, must be one of the best in the world.
At this point there is a little-used byway heading back to the main road coming up from Monmouth at Staunton. I remember from long ago that this has a severe sting in the tail, but I still wasn't quite prepared.
A long breathtaking descent to Parkend, another sharpish climb and then a gentle run down to the A48 at Blakeney. From there, a really useful hill-avoiding loop via Awre to Newnham, where surprisinging I set a Strava PB on the ramp up into the village. I was getting positive feedback from my legs - they seemed happy to do whatever I asked them to do (apart from going fast of course) so I was able enjoy the final miles along familiar roads, hitting my target of 127 miles on the nose
although the headwind meant I had to put a bit of effort in to keep above 20 mph 
but at least it had stopped raining.
