Straight out of the door in a slightly overcast, cold (60°F) and windy morning, we were communting on a very busy highway with no shoulder.  For five miles cars and trucks screamed by us, not the most relaxing way to start the morning.  As we were biking past Worcester, we could see this in the distanceand could not resist the stop.  The Worcester Cathedral was amazing, every pipe of the massive organ was playing as we entered……it does something to the soul!   The quick tour of “The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester” was a well worth it. The ceiling (sorry for the angle, but it was the best way to see it),

 the stain glass, the many tombs were incredible. Finally tore ourselves away from this incredible testament to the architecture and faith (built between 1084 and 1504)and resumed our ride, but now on less hectic roads.  We definitely prefer the country roads, though we still had traffic to deal with.

The winds were persistently in our face and it did not take long for them to start gusting to 20-30 mph; oddly, the gusts swirled, occasionally offering very brief boost to the back.  The roads had a slight roll, but the wind was giving us such a workout, we really could not tell an up from a down.  We crossed the River Severninto Tewkesbury. The Duckies decided it was time for a spot of tea and maybe something sweet to eat.  As we left our “sweet” break, the winds blew in a quick shower, we didn’t even have time to put our rain jackets on.  With our earlier stop in Worcester, all we could manage of the Tewkesbury Abbey was one photo, though parishioners have managed to stop (and pray) here since the 7th Century.

Back out into the country to face the gusting winds for our final 12 miles. Another quick shower came through, but the wind was so strong we never got wet.  Our ride through the town was colored with beautiful architecture and centuries old buildings. We strolled through the town and St. Michaels’ Gateand passed the home of Beatrix Potter’s “Tailor of Gloucester”.But the main attraction in this city is “Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity”, more commonly known as the Gloucester Cathedral.  Upon entering, the voices of the choir filled the immense edifice, once again stirring the soul.  The history, the tombs (King Edward II), the detail of architecture were amazing.  Most of the church has been restored and it was very obvious what had not been touched.  The streets are charming and the city is rich in English history and though we took this photo strictly for it’s charm, it holds a certain history to the monarchy.Between the ride and walking all over the city, it was time to replenish and then go to bed.

Today, we decided we would try the bike trail and get off the busy road.  We started off on a beautiful path lined with wild flowers and the wind at our back; nothing wrong with that, except our direction.  We backtracked two miles and found our route along the canal (that leads to the River Severn)passing the Kaskelot, significance below.It was not long before we were out on delightful country roads.  With the high hedges, we were temporarily protected from the “in your face” winds.  As we came around a corner, we noticed a crowd gathering and guys donning wet suits and carting surfboards down to the River Severn.  All were awaiting”The Severn Bore; with less than a half hour to the big event, we decided to wait as well.  It was crazy to see a tidal wave drive up a river, not to mention guys surfing it.  Though it was only a two foot tide, it has been known to be as large as nine feet (third largest in the World).  As we waited for the “big” event, we learned a lot about the local lore as well and the “story” of May Hill; a clump of 99 trees in a perfect square on top of this hill.  According to our storyteller, the devil keeps the 100th tree from reaching maturity!  We think the devil also had a hand in the wind in our face, today.

Our country road continued past country churches and through small villages.  Our wonderful paved road ended as we crossed a pretty canal and dropped onto a roughly graveled and narrow trail.  We tried to embrace the peaceful scenery, but it was 11:00, three hours after we’d left and we had only gone 18 miles.  We gave up our flat, scenic, albeit, very poor road for the main road.  Though we had a bike lane, traffic was heavy, wind was in our face and the climbing increased, so a picture of the dark clouds heading our way and that was it.  At 1:30 and 33 miles, we took a break from the climbing for lunch.  It was a nice and needed rest.  Back out on the busy road, the wind and climbing continued and was non-stop.  The next 20 miles was an intense mixture of suburbs, city and exhaust as we made our way to and through Bristol.  Managed only one picture, when we stopped in the city to verify directions, but it perfectly depicted how we were feeling about our afternoon ride.  Amazingly, we made it through the city with no mistakes or backtracks but still had eight more miles. We climbed and climbed and finally with nothing left to give, found our stop for the night.  It was a tough fought 55 miles, but a nice stop and a tasty appetizer to get us back to begin our food replenishment.  We should sleep well tonight.

The sky was dark, with a couple of patches of blue sky to give us hope that we might have sunshine today.  Fifteen minutes later we donned our rain jackets and zipped them up tight; it was going to be a good one.  This was no quick shower, the rain came down heavier and heavier.  Even in the dark canopy of trees, we could feel the torrential rain and watch the rivers grow as we slowly pushed up a particularly long climb.  By the time we crested the hill and cautiously made our way down, the flash flooding was just beginning.  Cars were stopped in both directions, allowing us to slide through and ride the ridge of the road (only a foot deep) to get past.  Would have loved to take a picture, but it was still pouring.  Though we were still rolling up and down the hills in the rain, the flooding had backed up the cars, so for a few miles it was quiet.  The rain eased, but the hills did not.Even with the bad weather and tough terrain, we were making good time; Duckies had a Spa Day they did not want to miss.  So when we pulled up to our B & B (early check-in had been prearranged) and he said he’d overbooked and we didn’t have a room……let’s just say it was not good news.  Thankfully, we found another (better) inn just down the street that offered us their honeymoon suite, now we’re talking!  We dropped our bags and biked Duckies back to where they were born several years ago.  We got a tour and they got the works.  During our short visit at the shop, a feisty thunderstorm rolled through, but stopped by the time we headed back to our hotel.  Though we’d only biked 28 miles, it was lunchtime so we grabbed a small bite and a beer.  Needless to say, we were happy to finally be under roof and dry. Not much to see in the town,but we were happy to relax and not have to sightsee; the three mile round trip for the Duckies tuneup was enough.  The clouds were still threatening but we were in for the evening, so they’d have to wait until tomorrow.  Somehow, by dinner time we managed to gorge ourselves again, a healthy salad then another fabulous Steak & Ale pie.  Not much time left to taste them all.

Loved this church in the morning light as we pedaled from the Inn that rescued us yesterday.  We had to meander our way around the market just getting set up and almost lost me at the bread tent.  But Jerry had the wallet and was too far away to yell, so onward into the beautiful countryside.  It seemed strange to be biking east into the sun (in both respects) but we were happy to have it, as well as the quiet country road.  After much agonizing, planning and last minute changing, our navigator gets a star for this one……except for the hills.  But without rain or wind in our face, we could not complain.  Okay, maybe a little; the rolling hills seemed to roll more up, than down.  On one such hill, we stopped for a quick bite to eat.  Little did we know, that the worst part of this particular climb was just around the corner from our cafe.  With no rolling start and our tummies full, we labored to get to the top, that went on for a couple miles.

The little villages were charming,at least one church in each, but every one required a long climb, after a short downhill.  Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of our Inn without a drop of rain hitting us today.  The town of Mere is quite small with a couple pretty churches and Castle Hill.  The “hill”  was only steps from our hotel, but it closely resembled the climbs we’ve done for the last month and a half, so we declined.  All was not lost, as we had this darling and very affectionate, kitty cat to greet us when we returned.

We usually try to taper our eating as we approach the end of our trip, but where else can you get a Ploughman’s Lunch (Brie, Stilton, Cheddar and Goat cheese, plus the extras) like this (taste ferries were doing cartwheels on my tongue) and a plate of pasta to die for.  And in closing, just to give you a perfect example of the non-bicycling challenges we face (almost) daily,,,…this is the door to a room in a 16th century coach house.

Dark, threatening clouds awaited us as we pedaled away on peaceful country roads.  As we settled into our rolling hills, a girl on horseback yelled out, “Hope you had a hearty breakfast this morning, there is a big hill ahead.”  She was not the first to inform us of the very steep mile climb we were about to reach.  They were all right!  It was a bugger of a hill, once again requiring stops along the way to find our lungs and legs.  Of course, the view from the top was stellar; not to mention the sun was starting to make headway on the hills.  The rest of the morning was up and down gorgeous hills, this time the downhills equaled the effort of the up. The villages we passed we always tidy and in one, all the homes had thatched roofs.It was a planned short day, based on accommodations for a Saturday night; but Salisbury is a good place to spend a few extra hours.  A lovely coach house pub along the river, many squares filled with cafes and churches everywhere……perfect.  Of course, the Belle of the Ball is the amazing Salisbury Cathedral (we encourage you to click on the link for the history).   Superlatives abound with this cathedral.   Every inch of the jaw dropping immensity is filled with incredible detail and the ornateness of the effigies, incredible.One of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta are housed here, but it was closed by the time we worked our way to that part of the building.  But we did find this monument along the way, which we thought quiet poignant.A pretty stroll back along the River Avon and back to our hotel for the evening.

Chester to Salisbury, England

286 Miles

3 Days with Rain

The town was quiet as we left, but even the peacefulness could not brighten the gloomy, windy day, as we headed out on the busy highway.  The silver lining is the wind was at our back.  There was not much to see on our heavy trafficked dual carriageway; and feeling a bit under the weather, it was all we could do to maintain our narrow space on the white line as we rolled up and down the little hills.  On a couple occasions we would pull offfor a picture and a break from the zooming traffic, but mostly it was head down and get there.  We had a quick afternoon shower somewhere in the mix, but thankfully not a soaker.  A last minute change in direction treated us to a small ferry from Gosportto our destination.  The quick four minute ride allowed for only a few pictures of the very scenic Portsmouth Harbour.  We had a quick ride through town and past rows of homes that lined the streets along the park, facing the water.  Even with the tail wind, we were tired from our 50 mile paddle.

We did manage to find a nice little Italian restaurant for some replenishment of body and soul.  An early turndown tonight and hopefully the Duckies will rally tomorrow.