I’ve recently returned from a short trip to Wales with Pete. It was a bit of a last minute affair and I will confess that I paid less attention than I should have to the planning stage. And the financing the trip stage. Pete assured me that there was the odd hill involved – he mentioned something about a power station, too, which I ignored – so I left him to it, and immediately logged off the interwebs to merrily dream of soaring green mountains with desolate stretches of smooth, neverending tarmac threading their way towards the sky.
Since Pete had done all the planning all that remained was for me to pack my saddlebag and sort out my bike. Whilst the saddlebag is a sure bet to make most hardened ‘roadies’ (read bike snobs) cringe, I find them rather useful for trips such as these, enabling one to carry the small amount of clothing and spares needed for a 5 day trip. No camping this time – youth hostels, B&Bs and parental accommodation.
Day 1 began after we eventually got on a train to escape London, before we set off on our 100 mile first leg to Pete’s parents’ house. Unusually hot summer weather was promised for the entire week, and we baked for those 100 miles, with the company of screeching Kites as we leisurely peddled our way through the Chilterns.
Oliver & Ottavio 