Small fish in a big river

Distance covered so far: 637 miles

I awoke thus morning to the pitter-patter of raindrops on my tent. Unzipping the front I could see the surrounding hills shrouded in thick cloud and a steady stream of rain bouncing off the ground. So ensued my first morning of wading through the mud, packing my soaking tent into the panniers and putting on my warm cycling gear.

Progress was slow to begin with. A maze of windy lanes spread out all over the hills, some leading to villages in various directions, others to farms, more than a few to nowhere in particular. Once again there was a lack of signs, and with no mobile phone signal to speak of, Google Maps was useless. Stopping to check the map every few minutes really slows your progress and after an hour on the road I’d only managed to cover 8 miles. The previous evening I’d drawn out what looked the shortest route to Carmarthern (where it would be necessary to pick up the A-road for a while), but at a convenient point on the map I decided it would be fruitful to carry on down to the main road rather than save a mile or two navigating my way down another rarely used lane with grass growing out the middle.

I’d spent the best part of yesterday climbing hills so logic dictated that I’d be coming back down on the way down to the coast today. After joining the A40 I’d lulled myself into thinking this would be a quick and easy ride to Tenby, after more or less freewheeling all the way to Carmarthern.

I didn’t much fancy the 10 mile stretch of dual carriageway to St. Clears, so I took a fork across country on a road that would bring me further down the A40 leaving only a short section of the horrible road to cycle. What I discovered though was a brutal route up and down the surrounding hills, comparable with the gradient I’d tackled outside Bath. Although the rain had dried up some time ago and the sun was now blazing, the road was still wet and I struggled to make my back wheel grip as I put as much torque as my legs would give into it. The lack of clipped-in shoes after yesterday’s incident didn’t help matters.

I’d originally planned to take a longer but more scenic route along the coast through Pendine and Amroth, which would have been a pleasant ride in the evening sun, but with time dragging on and the back muscle I’d pulled yesterday playing up, the sensible but disappointing option was to carry on the main road among the lorries travelling to Fishguard and Swansea and the tourists.

So now I’m in West Wales, the weather prospects look good (touch wood) and I have only a short ride to Cardigan tomorrow followed by another rest day to get me ready for the tough home stretch.

Location:Tenby