To Abergavenny

August 16, 2022

Seven Stars B&B presented us with what might be the most cramped lodging we’ve experienced on this trip. Other than the bathroom/shower there’s just a small rectangle mostly filled with the fairly narrow bed, with a chair in one corner. There’s barely room on either side of the bed to cram the panniers and our other junk. Rachael especially resents not having an end table next to her side where she can place her phone and a glass of water. Her solution is to prop her phone in her shoe where she can reach down to it in the middle of the night.

It’s fine for a single night though of course, and the place redeems itself with one of the best breakfasts we’ve been served up in Britain. It even includes fried toast, a treat we haven’t seen before but I’d be happy to see again before we cross the Channel and swap the Full English for croissants, cheese and a bit of meat to start our days.

Cozy! This actually works pretty well, sitting by the window with my feet propped up on the bed. Fine enough for one night.

We’re gaming the weather forecast again today, and it looks like we’re in luck. Checkout time is at 10, which coincidentally looks perfect for today’s conditions. The morning’s light rain has just ended and it looks like with luck we have about four hours before it’s due to return. The streets are damp but the sky is dry as we bike out of town.

I probably spoke too soon yesterday when I said it felt like we were biking out of Wales and leaving the high country behind. I forgot about Gospel Pass, the large obstacle in our path on today’s ride to Abergavenny (rhymes with penny). We’re on the climb almost as soon as we leave town and turn off onto the singletrack we’ll follow all the short distance to Abergavenny, only 24 miles to the south. The ride is intensely front-loaded, with a 1,500’ ascent to Gospel Pass in the first five miles, followed by nearly 20 miles of gradual descent.

I worried about this ascent when I thought ahead to it, wondering if we’d be making it in the rain or whether if with my rubbing derailleur issue it would be too steep and I’d be spending a substantial part of the climb pushing. So it’s a relief that it’s not raining, and that the climb is well behaved. There’s one short stretch that justifies pushing, but for the most part it stays in the manageable 5-10% zone, with the steeper sections alternating with plateaus that level off and let you recover.

What I hadn’t anticipated is how wonderful this ride would be and that it would be one of our favorite outings of the tour. I started to wonder if it might be something special though when I noticed yesterday for the first time that the entire ride would be on this very quiet sheep-strewn road and within Brecon Beacons National Park. You’d think I’d have been aware of this, but the ride was a very recent addition to the plan. Originally this day was to be a crossing to Brecon, but we cancelled that stop to free up two days for the four nighter we’ll enjoy in Abergavenny. I didn’t really study the route that closely other than to confirm that it looked safe and viable.

Climbing toward Gospel Pass. After a mile or so we’ve broken out of the oaks and beeches. We’ll have sheep-shorn slopes and open skies the rest of the way to the summit.

And will have sheep as our primary company. An occasional car will crowd past, and one or two other bikers; but mostly it’s just us and the sheep out here today.

The visibility’s not the best, and the distant hills fade out into the mist. It makes for very comfortable riding though, a nice contrast to the heat wave we’ve just come through.

This looks like it could be the remains of a Neolithic stone circle.

You don’t have to look out far at all before the hills start fading into the clouds. It creates an evocative, moody air.

Know your sheep! I’m not doing very well so far, but maybe these are Welsh Mountain Sheep? We’re in Wales, we’re in the mountains so it seems likely enough.

In Brecon Beacons National Park. It doesn’t quite have the dramatic ruggedness of Snowdonia but it’s a fantastic landscape, wonderful to cross at a slow speed. Wonderful walking too, I’m sure.

Speaking of walking, here we are crossing Offa’s Dyke Path, the 175 mile long walking route that follows Offa’s Dyke - constructed in the 8th century to separate King Offa’s land from what is now Wales.

Oh, and it’s not just sheep. There are also free-range Welsh ponies grazing up here. splendid animals.

Approaching the summit, still a mile off in the far gap on the left.

Another Welsh Mountain Sheep? Streaking mascara, likes bracken - are those good identification clues?

I’ve been enjoying seeing the details of this formation gradually fill in as I slowly approach it.

I’ve fallen well behind Rachael and am starting to feel guilty about it, but I can’t help stopping often to look around. I’ve been imagining her impatiently waiting at the summit, maybe getting cold. I needn’t have worried though because when I approach I find her in intense conversation with a biker coming the other way - Helen Littlejohn, a fascinating woman with wonderful stories to tell of her life and her varied travels around the world with extended stays in New Zealand, Nepal, Thailand, and Morocco among other places. She has what sounds like a dream job now, working for Forestryengland encouraging outdoor adventurism in various forms. A great encounter to have standing by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. She’s a Warm Showers host, so if you’re in the region you might look her up.

The ride down is as we hoped it would be - fast, relaxed, and mostly dry. We get misted on here and there and have a few small rises in our way but nothing of consequence. Mostly just a beautiful, gradual descent through a national park on a largely empty road.

Descending from Gospel Pass. Note that Rachael has her jacket on, for maybe the first time since we arrived in the UK. It’s chilly and damp, and her hands start stiffening up. We’ll probably be missing summer when it’s gone.

Video sound track: Heavy Cloud No Rain, by Sting

Well, not completely an empty road. A few cars pass us, and then there’s a weary-looking bikepacker pushing his bike up toward the summit on a ride from his home in Exeter to Anglesea to catch the ferry to Dublin to visit his brother. He observes that Wales is quite hilly, and we agree.

And then there’s this mammoth agricultural vehicle that pulls out just in front of me and swallows the road. He’s going slowly - maybe 8 mph - but passing him is out of the question because there’s no margin on either side so we just follow along behind, listening to the rattling of his rig as it bounces down the mountain.

And then it stops. And we stop, and wait. And then he starts inching ahead, very slowly. Ahead I can just see the cause - a small passenger car, backing up to the nearest pullout spot. Finally she’s there, and the monster edges past it ever so slowly. From my perspective it looks like there can’t be more than two inches of clearance.

The answer to whoever it was that asked what happens when two vehicles pass each other on these roads. I smiled and gave a thumbs up to the driver as I biked past. She waved back, with a relieved expression on her face.

We make it to our apartment almost exactly at two, just as our host drives up to greet us and just as it starts lightly showering. Perfect! It looks like a great place to stay, one we’re really excited about and will say more about later. For now though the main order of business is the bike - I coast back down to Gateway Cycles, leave the bike with them to look at when they can fit it in, and walk back to the apartment. They understand our situation and time constraints, so hopefully it will all have a good resolution. We’ll know soon enough. In the meantime there’s nothing to be done but relax, enjoy an Italian dinner, and see what’s on Netflix.

Very nice. You’d probably like to see the nice Italian mains too, but it’s important to remember this HPA, a pale ale from Wye Valley Brewing. Have another? Wye not?

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Ride stats today: 25 miles, 2,200’; for the tour: 1,893 miles, 109,800’

Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 1,892 miles (3,045 km)

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Gregory GarceauI liked the sequence of pictures you took as you gained elevation. I think it was Timothy Leary who said, "the higher you are, the more you can see." I don't think he was talking about the gradual decrease of view-blockers though.

Anyway, in my opinion, the last couple of weeks have been the most scenic places you guys have been.
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1 year ago

Jen RahnSo great that you got to chat with Helen Littlejohn. Love that last name!
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Gregory GarceauThe scenery has been remarkable alright, really ever since we came to the North York Moors. The whole last month has been one Wow and Ow day after another.
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1 year ago