Linear Trip to Wales 2021 day 1. 31st August.
Or, My ride today
This was part of a longer trip to Wales but as a) my first longish non round trip on the Linear and b) the first trip with luggage, I thought I’d stick it on here.
I’d been considering this trip for months but not managed any decent length rides to prepare since April. However I thought I ought to just get on and do it.
Today is the day. I’d put it off a couple of times as the time wasn’t right. Set the alarm for sparrowfart though didn’t lift off until 0900. I hoped (maybe optimistically) to get to Montgomery, about 60 + miles, or even Newtown at 80ish miles if all went well. Despite a loaded trial run I ended up taking too much weight -rationale being if B&B failed, I could still camp. Not such a good idea as the legs ain’t what they used to be and I was soundly punished by the extra weight on the hills. Anyway, with a set of old Karrimor panniers and a Radical bag on the back with a “nose bag” on the front for a cape etc, I set off into a dull cloudy morning lit up by a glow of optimism. I intended to get to Nantwich via unclassified roads then see how the traffic was before settling on the route. The bike rolls well, and I take my time to warm up gently. Not hard to keep going, though wish I could maintain a bit more speed on the up slopes.
I get to Nantwich in good time with a slight following wind from the N and E. Overcast, but not unpleasantly cold. I take the Whitchurch road and continue to Whitchurch rather than to Audlem via Coole Pilate. Despite spells of heavy traffic with a lot of trucks they leave me alone and give me a wide berth and I make steady if unspectacular progress. I get to the series of bypasses around Whitchuch but due to the pressure of vehicles get diverted on to the Telford road and have to waste some time waiting for a gap in the dense traffic and a suitable place to turn back. Fortunately once on the A49 to Shrewsbury things settle down, a good wide road and steady but not frenetic traffic. The wide open landscape and following wind help a lot.
View attachment 608332
The A49 here has a good number of long hills but at this stage of the trip they are quite manageable despite the weight. At about the 20 mile mark I stop for a leak and a cold fizzy drink before continuing. There are some long sweeping downhills which are enjoyable but further along I find myself becoming uncomfortably hot on some of the too frequent uphills. Unexpectedly suddenly I find myself outside Shrewsbury where I stop at a convenient Burger King at 41 miles for a well earned fix of junk food. I take the lights and computer off and put them in my pocket. I had expected to get here by 1300 at 10mph but am slightly later than that. Added to this the electronic ordering system is throwing a tantrum and I am stuck behind a queue of other customers until the orders are sorted out. Having waited for my not-so-fast-food I get too comfortable and stay longer than I should, eating into my remaining daylight which at this point I still think I have plenty of.
My plan is to make for Montgomery via the direct route through Shrewsbury town centre which would give me a nice downhill ride to the river. It is 1430 by now which should have given the lunch time traffic time to disperse. I re attach light and computer and get under way. My legs had stiffened up but once under way they are OK. However I soon come up to a queue of traffic which I hope is just a temporary obstacle. After a mile or two it becomes plain that this is here to stay. It’s not such a problem to ride a recumbent bike in traffic as far as stopping and starting are concerned, even a great big long one, but you can’t nip through gaps so easily, especially with panniers on. I turn round and head back uphill to the roundabout on the A49 then take the next left.
Here I am pleasantly surprised to find a wide off road cycle lane so I take a chill pill and roll easily to the top of the mile or three gentle climb to the roundabout at the summit.
I notice that my speedo is giving high readings and spot that it is now reading in KPH. It is a fair bet that the wheel size has been reset too. I guessed that the light and computer had done battle while in my pocket and this was the result. That is annoying. I had hoped to have a new max speed record while plummeting down some hill in Wales but I can’t reset it without the instruction sheet. When I looked at it before putting in my pocket it was showing max 34mph. Nothing to be done about it now. I turn left for the town centre again and head downhill to the river.
Traffic is still clogging up the town centre but eventually I cross over the Severn bridge and begin the climb up the Montgomery road. It is uncomfortably steep and at one stage I get off and push. I haven’t left Shrewsbury yet and here I am pushing! I estimate that I have about 20 miles to go so ought to get there by 1700. There are some steep climbs before Shrewsbury has done with me but I feel I am making reasonable progress, without a reliable speedo to check with.
Heading in the direction of Westbury the traffic is travelling fast on this narrow winding road and passing space is limited. The tyre noise gives plenty of notice of approaching traffic but something about the surface gives it a very harsh sound. When I see a turning to Montgomery with a sign (avoiding low bridge) I take the turning in the hope that the traffic might be less. Initially it is a network of narrow lanes but comes to a TJ with the A488. Turn right for Pontesbury and Minsterley then no more signs! I ride round the confusing one way system in Minsterley until asking a random dog walker gives the vague information that there is a turning off the Bishop’s Castle road. The other alternative is to go back towards Shrewsbury and start again.
I continue on to the A488 Bishop’s Castle road and pass many junctions but none signposted as I’d hoped. Eventually I come across a group of walkers who give some directions up an unsignposted lane. There are many undulations which I cope with better than expected and which eventually come out after some confusing meanderings on to a route with names which I recognise.
By this time a reddish tinge is spreading over the evening and the light is starting to fade. It's a glorious evening if only I had time to appreciate it. I had added unwanted miles and used up indispensible time. I swap my shades for clear glasses. Every so often I come round a corner to be confronted by a short sharp hill and find that my legs are lacking in go, and once or twice push the last few yards. I am following a route with a turn off ahead for Chirbury and Montgomery. I stop and put my lights on, though I can still see well enough.
Finally the turn for Chirbury and Montgomery arrives through the gloom. The undulations become more severe. It seems as if having turned off, the route is no longer going along the valley, but across the grain with related ups and downs. The tiny hamlet of Chirbury looms out of the dark and disappears again. The road seems darker afterwards and dips and rises. I’m definitely walking up the last part of the inclines now. My legs have stiffened up so it’s hard to dismount to push with only an unsupportive hedgebank to lean on.
Montgomery is a distant light on a hill. I swoop down dips in the dark then struggle up the other side. I can’t see far enough ahead on this unlit road to risk getting up enough speed to rush a few yards further. Just as I think I’ve gained some height, I zoom down again and have to struggle back up. At one downhill a barn owl swoops down, ghostly white in reflected light from my headlamp, before silently overtaking me and turning away.
The distant light gets gradually closer but I can see that it’s all uphill now, no more dips and I run out of steam and stop for a rest. I end up pushing doggedly on autopilot to the top of the hill where there is a square. Here I manage to get something to eat and drink, and sort out somewhere to stay. I am totally bushed, but perk up surprisingly quickly after something to eat and a couple of cold drinks. I feel pretty good now I’ve got here. It’s the furthest I’ve travelled on a bike for several years, and certainly with luggage. I’m feeling a bit dubious about covering my planned distance tomorrow. Probably my own fault for making my destination a town beneath a castle on top of a humungous hill.
If not for getting lost, I would have arrived in daylight and things would have looked different.
According to Mapometer I did 73.22 miles, Ascent 2012 feet. Descent 1628 feet. Max speed recorded on the speedo before it reset itself 34mph though I’m sure that it would have recorded higher since. Average unknown.
The Linear performed fine throughout. The power unit was what caused any shortfall, and if I’d booked somewhere beforehand I could have travelled lighter. Certainly after removing the panniers to unpack, the bike felt light and stable on the stand. Even with the full load, it felt surefooted and stable once the undercarriage was up. Fitting the Schwalbe Big Apple to the front was one of my better moves.
After thoughts: should have taken more photos. Should have squeezed in more miles before this trip. Should have pruned down the luggage.
I got a buzz out of knowing that I’d pedalled it quite comfortably through the counties of Cheshire, Shropshire and into Montgomeryshire.
![20210907_110614[1].jpg](https://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/20210907_110614-1-jpg.608176/ "20210907_110614[1].jpg")
