LeJoG Day 2 - 2 people, 4 wheels, of course we're a vehicle!

The intention in planning our first two days was to average 300km a day, and to put in the biggest stint on day 1 so that Day 2 was less of a challenge and a bit of recuperation. I'm not sure we were totally successful.

As I tweeted at the time "there comes a point on a multi-day ride, that there is an inevitable trade-off between miles on the road and sleep". On the morning of Day 2, sleep won.

Following the post 4 a.m. collapse into bed, we deliberately set the alarm for an 8:30 get up rather than for our intended 7:30 departure, and I will admit that it got snoozed a couple of times even at that. Resting pulse rate on waking was a worrying 90+ compared to a normal level of about 54, further evidence of the previous days heat excesses. Ray was suffering similarly, so there was a tacit agreement that this would not be a day of pushing it.

Once we finally surfaced onto the road at 9:30, this was proven by a very slow start over the Severn Bridge into Wales, where we discovered a very strong southerly wind. The first 8km took 25 minutes as we were leaden legged, and even at that point we then stopped for 20 minutes to answer the furnaces need for fuel. After a day of sweet stuff the day before, I knew exactly what I needed, and Tesco's obliged with Ham & Mustard sandwiches, something vaguely meat-like wrapped in pastry, and a half litre of orange juice, nature's own sports drink.

Back into the traffic, we left Chepstow at 10:20 and were soon tanking along the road to Lydney with a full-on following wind.

I had changed the route for this section at the last minute, and it worked very well, adding a couple of kilometres to go through the middle of the Forest of Dean from Lydney rather than climbing over using the hills from the Spring Sportive. With this benefit, we pushed on well up the gentle climbs, and gained time all the way to Ross-on-Wye, arriving there just 90 minutes later than intended. We even managed to restrict ourselves to our intended 45 minutes break despite having to hide from the sun under the columns of the Market Hall. A few people came over and took interest in what we were doing, including one who had seen "a bunch of cyclists all in the same kit on the A38 near Gloucester." The 'opposition' were still around, and we seemed to be gaining on them.

It was again getting hot, evidenced by the disappearance of an entire bidon of water in the first 10km after stopping. This was in a very laney section trying to avoid the A49, which can be busy between Ross and Hereford. Unfortunately, it also included a lot more climbing than I had bargained for, especially up to Brockhampton where we were rewarded by the days stunning view. I cannot claim credit for this library photo, I was too busy looking for my lungs to be interested in the camera.

Once down from the escarpment, we crossed though sleepy Herefordshire villages, emerging onto the A49 just before Leominster. We had planned to keep off this road where possible, but a combination of better surfaces and a following wind kept us out of the towns, and on the edge of the main road. We did bundle onto the B road as far as Ludlow, where our stop at Leominster proved to have lost 15 minutes of our previous advantage.

The A49 was the only serious option after Ludlow where it was the only road not offering stupid amounts of climbing. Thankfully, whilst busy, it didn't have stupid amounts of traffic either. Another mid-section stop in Church Stretton in the shadow of the Long Mynd took up more unplanned time, but the heat was again a problem, and the first of several ice creams was consumed.

Church Stretton to Shrewsbury is a gentle net downhill and was a cracking time trial, keeping at an average 27km to the outskirts of Shrewsbury. Ray caused the first real assessment of our achievements at this point with the "Me Mum wouldn't believe I could cycle from Lands End to Shrewsbury in a day and a half" comment. I'm not sure I believed it either.
Time made up to Shrewsbury, can be quickly lost. No amount of map planning can ready you for a one-way system. They never go where you expect, and even with GPS (non-direction finding) you can be foxed. Cue walking along pavements where you can't cycle on the road. Whilst we only lost 10 minutes, it seemed like an age.

Wem came and went, Whitchurch finally arrived. We rolled into the Tesco's car park at 20:53, still 1:45 down on plan. Lights went on, and we set off quickly on the 64km to Haydock, almost all of it spent on the A49. Eminently forgettable.

Once night falls, I always slow, and we still found ourselves just 10km short of our hotel as 23:30 arrived and, with it, the Midnight Bonk thirty minutes early. Food was needed quickly, but at that time of night, what chance?

The lights of a Burger King Drive Through pierced the night. What chance getting served? Maccies will NOT serve cyclists at the drive-thru "for insurance reasons". We convinced the night staff that anything with 2 occupants and 4 wheels must be a vehicle, and 2 Angus meals were procured. Revived, we rolled into the Hotel at 00:32, exactly the 2 hours down that we had left in the morning. How's that for planning?

Day 2: 250km in an elapsed 15 hours, only an average of 16.7 overall but holding our 21.7 moving average. 'Only' 2411 metres of climbing. Slackers!