London to Cardiff

After 2 weeks off in London it was a bit of a shock to the system to be back on the bike (my quads are still hurting after 10 days and >800km back on the bike), but here’s how I found the ride from London to Cardiff via Stonehenge and Bath.

I left London on a quiet Sunday morning, riding west out of town following quiet roads and cycle paths. I headed past Heathrow towards Reading.
Here’s Rhys (who I stayed with for a week) seeing me off.

I rode near Slough where I saw some guys flying model planes, then Windsor Castle.

I’m starting to get used to the crazy lengths Sustrans go to keep motorbikes off their tracks. You’ll see more photos of these later! Needless to say, they’re a pain in the ass for a loaded touring bike like mine, especially with the low-rider front racks.

The first night I made it to Reading where my friend Jo lives. It was good catching up (it’s been a few years since we really saw each other), and she even sewed up my shorts that had been ripped since the first week of the trip! Thanks Jo!!

It was raining on and off the next morning as I headed south towards Stonehenge. In between the rain I got a photo of one of the many Tank Crossing signs I passed. It appears that this area is a pretty big military practice zone.

I made it to Stonehenge late-ish in the afternoon. It was raining and I had to leave my bike unguarded in the carpark, so I kinda rushed around the site. It was good to go there, but I didn’t find it super-impressive really. Maybe it was the weather.
And there were still a heap of people there, even with the weather!

I stayed in a nice campground nearby, although it was expensive it had good free wifi. The following day was heading back to the National Cycle route #4 that goes from London through Cardiff. I hit it at the Kennet and Avon Canal, by the Caen Hill Locks, an amazing piece of engineering where the canal heads up a big hill. Apparently the record for heading all the way through is 4 hours!

Further down the weather cleared into a sunny day beside the canal.

I made it into Bath that afternoon. After checking into my hostel I wandered down across the canal to an evening session at the Roman Baths.

The evening session was great for some HDR photos around the pools. I found it an interesting thing to visit, especially because of the great audioguide.

After a day off in Bath processing photos and doing some work I rode to Cardiff the next day. Bath to Bristol was along the nice smooth sealed tree-lined rail trail.

On the other side of Bristol I was sitting outside a bakery having lunch and a nice woman started asking me about my trip and detailed questions about my gear. Turns out she is a kiwi, and is planning to cycle back to NZ in the next couple of years. Small world huh!
As I got close to the England-Wales border I could see the bridge I had to cross across the Severn River (the border). It had a nice wide cycle path on both sides- big enough for a car to fit!

I hit Wales and its nice hedgerow lanes and country roads.

Conveniently on my way to Cardiff I went near the village of Christchurch, which was the home of my great-great grandfather who moved to New Zealand- the first of the Collett name.
I stopped at the pub, and found the grave of my great-great-great-great grandfather.

I stayed in Cardiff for two nights, one night with my friend Ainslie and her partner Ian and the second at a hostel with my friend Josh who came across from London to do some riding in Wales. More about that in the next post!

So yeah, it was 4 good days of riding from London to Cardiff. My legs felt it a bit though, especially with the rolling hills and the new considerably wider tire on the back, which is noticeably slower and more effort (but it does make for a nice and comfy ride).