Well todays effort turned out tp be an absolute corker. I had the van booked in to have a towbar fitted in Bristol, and figured while they had it I'd do the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, and maybe have a look at the Two Tunnels Greenway.
The weather forecast was less than ideal, and I set off from Westfalia's workshop at 0845 (after a 2.5hr drive to get there) in light rain. Finding the Bristol to Bath Railway Path was easy, it's very well signposted, and as I discovered, very busy during the rush hour! I've never seen so many bikes, it was like a motorway but pedal powered, absolutely brilliant! The path seemed to be a gentle incline for the first few miles, and given the rather rubbish weather I had my full wet weather gear on and just got my head down and got on with it. After about 10 miles the rain stopped, and the wets went into the pannier. The oath was much quieter away from Bristol, and I paused briefly at the Avon Railway for a snack and pic
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Bath arrived quicker than expected, and Cycle Route 244 led me towards the Two Tunnels Greenway. By now it was a quite pleasant 16 degrees, and humid with it. The first tunnel was over in a minute, but the second was much longer. Got freaked out halfway down it, aside from it being very cold and misty, there were some thingies set into the walls playing tunes which threw me until I figured it out!
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After the 2nd tunnel I continued, planning to stop at the Dundas viaduct but somehow managed to miss it..Not to worry, onwards to the Avon Canal path to return me to Bath. I thought this would be a nice route, but to be honest I wished I'd turned round and gone though the tunnels again. The towpath was very wet, muddy, rough and closed in 3 places with poor for cycling diversions (albeit well signposted). Still, back in Bath I started the hunt for food, though not before stopping for this pic. My wife & I sat on the riverbank here eating paties on our 10th wedding anniversary.
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Bath was busy, and the rain started again
I chanced upon a Greggs and a very nice young lady was happy to serve me whilst I waited outside with the bike, so with 2 hot sausage rolls stashed in the bag it was time to find somewhere to eat. Unfortunately the towpath was shut (again), so after another rubbish diversion I found myself back on the B2B Railway Path, so paused to eat and have a breather. Those sauage rolls didn't last long
My trusty steed, just over 2500 miles in the last 15 months with this and a comfy commuter
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Shortly after this the rain came on in earnest, so back on with the wet weather gear. By the time I got to Warmley it had stopped, and I was really starting to feel the miles (about 36 miles by this point), so stopped at the 'railway' café for coffee and cake. I'd have loved to use the infamous Tardis toilet, but it seemed to be having some repair work done, judging by the man waving his 'sonic' screwdriver at it
. The 2 ladies here were very friendly, good laugh too. Coffee good, coffee cake excellent
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Suitably refreshed, the last 7 miles seemed a little easier. I brief stop as I had to get a pic of this fella, and it was too wet on the way out.
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Arriving back at Westfalia with 43 miles done, I was quite pleased, my biggest distance this year. The van wasn't ready, so rather than sit about I thought I'd add a couple more miles, which turned into why not try for 50 miles? SO after doing a bit of the B2B path again, I finished the day on 50.8 miles, my biggest ride ever
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2 hour drive home, and I'm shattered now. Thing I'll drive to work tomorrow
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