{"id":15030,"date":"2014-08-14T15:18:19","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T19:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=15030"},"modified":"2014-08-15T03:17:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-15T07:17:48","slug":"day-47-wednesday-august-13-gloucester-to-felton-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=15030","title":{"rendered":"Day 47. Wednesday, August 13 – Gloucester to Felton, England"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, we decided we would try the bike trail and get off the busy road. \u00a0We started off on a beautiful path lined with wild flowers and the wind at our back; \"DSCN2179\"<\/a>nothing wrong with that, except our direction. \u00a0We backtracked two miles and found our route along the canal (that leads to the River Severn)\"DSCN2189\"<\/a>passing the Kaskelot,\"DSCN2185\"<\/a> significance below.\"DSCN2184\"<\/a>It was not long before we were\u00a0out on delightful country roads.\"DSCN2197\"<\/a> \u00a0With the high hedges, we were temporarily protected from the “in your face” winds. \"DSCN2193\"<\/a>\u00a0As we came around a corner, we noticed a crowd gathering \"DSCN2205\"<\/a>and guys donning wet suits and carting surfboards\"DSCN2201\"<\/a> down to the River Severn. \u00a0All were awaiting”The Severn Bore<\/a>;\u00a0with less than a half\u00a0hour to the big event, we decided to wait as well. \u00a0It was crazy to see a tidal wave drive up a river, not to mention guys surfing it. \"DSCN2207\"<\/a>\u00a0Though it was only a two foot tide,\"DSCN2210\"<\/a> it has been known to be as large as nine feet (third largest in the World). \u00a0As we waited for the “big” event,\u00a0we 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. \u00a0\"photo\"<\/a>According to our storyteller, the devil keeps the 100th tree from reaching maturity! \u00a0We think the devil also had a hand in the wind in our face, today.<\/p>\n

Our country road continued past country churches \"DSCN2212\"<\/a>and through small villages.\"DSCN2215\"<\/a> \u00a0Our wonderful paved road ended as we crossed a pretty canal\"photo-2\"<\/a> and dropped onto a roughly graveled and narrow trail. \u00a0\"DSCN2224\"<\/a>We tried to embrace the peaceful scenery,\"DSCN2230\"<\/a> but it was 11:00, three hours after we’d left and we had only gone 18 miles. \u00a0We gave up our flat, scenic, albeit, very poor road for the main road. \u00a0Though 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\"DSCN2240\"<\/a> and that was it. \u00a0At 1:30 and 33 miles, we took a break from the climbing for lunch. \u00a0It was a nice and needed rest. \u00a0Back out on the busy road, the wind and climbing \"DSCN2243\"<\/a>continued and was non-stop. \u00a0The next 20 miles was an intense mixture of suburbs, city and exhaust as we made our way to and through Bristol. \u00a0Managed only one picture, when we stopped in the city to verify directions, but it perfectly depicted how we were feeling about our afternoon ride.\"DSCN2244\"<\/a> \u00a0Amazingly, we made it through the city with no mistakes or backtracks but still had eight more miles.\u00a0We climbed and climbed \"DSCN2248\"<\/a>and finally with nothing left to give,\u00a0found our stop for the night. \u00a0It was a tough fought 55 miles, but a nice stop \"DSCN2250\"<\/a>and a tasty appetizer \"DSCN2251\"<\/a>to get us back\u00a0to begin our food replenishment. \u00a0We should sleep well tonight.\"DSCN2256\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t