7 September - Bristol to Gloucester

56 miles Bristol to Over (near Gloucester) - NCN 41

£12.45 pub lunch at The White Hart, Littleton upon Severn

I woke in the morning resolved to leave all my camping gear at my brother's and change the week's campsite bookings to B&B. The tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, Trangia stove and fuel were all adding unnecessary weight to the bike, and I'd discovered how much delay there can be in putting everything away after a night's camping. Also, the forecast was for the weather to change, and putting a tent up in pouring rain after a 50 mile bike ride wasn't something I relished the idea of.

So, I re-packed the panniers and found I could manage with just the rear ones and handlebar bag. I was still carrying weight, but nowhere near as much, and the bike was easier to handle without front panniers.

My sister and niece came over to wave me off, and my brother rode out with me as far as the M5 bridge on the edge of Bristol. It made a change to someone to ride with along the traffic-free route out of town, and started the day off well.

The first part of the ride was dominated by motorways - Vaughan and I rode on a cycle way beside the M5 on the bridge outside Bristol, the Severn Bridge with the M4 featured strongly in the landscape for at least an hour, and I rode on bridges crossing the M5 and M4. Alongside these motorway views and sounds, industrial buildings and warehouses highlighted how I was moving into a very different part of the country.

The route was very flat and, with only rear panniers, I was making good time. Unusually, I started to get hunger pangs at lunchtime. Before, I'd made it through the day by snacking regularly on cereal bars, but for some reason on this day I desperately wanted a proper lunch. Looking at my map, I could see that I was about to go through a few villages so decided I would find a village pub and have a proper stop and lunch there, since the riding was proving so easy and I'd therefore make good time.

The first village I came to had exactly the pub I had in mind, but there was an enormous wedding party there as it was next to the village church. I decided the wedding guests probably wouldn't want a sweaty Lycra-clad middle-aged woman amongst them, so took a quick tour around the village in the hope it had more than one pub.

It didn't.

It did, however, have a bench on a strip of grass, so I stopped there and ate the Mars bar that I bought the previous day. It wasn't what I'd had in mind, and wasn't really sufficient for the hunger I was feeling, but I decided that it would have to do.

Riding on, I discovered the absolutely perfect pub in the next village, Littleton upon Severn (I passed through several "upon Severn" villages, as I was cycling on a road parallel to the river). It was in fact better than the first as:
- it wasn't next to a church where a bride and groom were having their big day;
- it had outside seating easily accessible from the road, so I could have my bike right next to me;
- it offered a good range of food.

I stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the middle class families enjoying their Saturday afternoon (this wasn't a cyclist pub as the prices were too steep and it was all a bit chi-chi), but that's never bothered me. The Gloucestershire ham ploughman's lunch hit the spot perfectly and it made a change to have a proper lunch stop and people watch for a while.

Continuing on my way, I'd left the industrial areas around the motorways well behind so I was back on country lanes. To be honest, the flat terrain was a bit boring for me, even though I'd been cursing hills only the day before, and I smiled to myself as I passed through a village called Hill, I guess because there was a very small pimple of a hill next to it, and it stood out amongst the rest of the countryside.

As I came into Gloucester I gave my friend Sheila a call. She'd offered to meet me and take me to stay at her daughter's for the night in Ross-on-Wye. I'd explained to her that I didn't want too much of a detour to meet her, so we'd chosen Over, just on the edge of Gloucester, as our meeting place. Coming into Gloucester on the canal tow-path made for a pleasant approach to the city, then I found there was a good cycle path alongside the A40 out to Over. Sheila had been worried that I'd have to cycle on this busy dual carriageway, but I could see from the green line on my Sustrans map that there was a cycle path so had known I'd be OK.

I felt very naughty as we took the front wheel off the bike and loaded it into the back of her car. It looked like I was about to 'cheat' and get her to drive me somewhere on my route ... Though no-one in the pub car park we met in knew I was on my epic journey, or would have cared if I was getting a lift for part of it, to be honest.

We were both glad there was a big pub to meet at, as Over, which appeared as a place on road and cycle path signs, doesn't really exist as such. I only knew where it was because a landmark Over Bridge was on my map. The pub and a farmer market shop next door was all there was to it. Strange.

Sheila and I happily chatted and caught up as she drove west to Ross on Wye. I was welcomed warmly by her daughter and son-in-law when we arrived and I had a lovely shower in a very swanky electronically controlled shower in the guest bathroom. The house was impressive (bought to be renovated, it's a project and half the house is now beautifully decorated in wonderfully good taste, whilst the other half still has dubious 1970s wallpaper and oppressive colour schemes) and my bedroom was like one out of a top class boutique hotel. I felt thoroughly spoiled.

A delicious meat fest of barbecued venison burgers, chicken kebabs, and sausages with lots of fresh salads meant my protein needs were well catered for and after chatting and laughing across the dinner table for an hour or so I made my excuses and went to bed, leaving my hosts to continue their Saturday night relaxation downstairs. Too tired to make use of the wi-fi before sleep, I decided I'd do it in bed with a cup of tea in the morning - luxury!


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