A bright, but cold morning required a lot of layers, but was otherwise a perfect day for a trip into the land where they used to have a rugby team. Although it may appear an odd choice to some, the A40 is pretty quiet on a Sunday morning, particularly once you pass Huntley, and with a good surface and some moderate climbs made an enjoyable and fairly speedy route to Pontshill. Some confusion after the Kerne Bridge, where RWGPS had snapped to an unintended minor lane, which led to the dual carriageway, split the peloton. I must have ridden every lane from Goodrich to Llangrove, and they are all steep and covered in red mud. However, once Llangrove was behind us, things improved for the fast descent into Monmouth and Mitchel Troy.
Two of us ordered carrot cake, and the waitress decided to cut the last piece, which was probably three portions, in half, resulting in an excellently large piece of cake. After refreshments, the hills started in earnest, with two long climbs, either side of the Redbrook Bridge. We were all pleased to reach the familiar territory of Bream. Tired legs were in evidence climbing out of Parkend, and at Flaxley, we had a most unusual mechanical failure. A bidon split, and I doubt it was due to UV degradation from our recent trip to the mis-named Costa Del Sol!
71 miles, 5,200′ ascent @ 15.0mph
