Last Tuesday rode to Lampeter in mid/south Wales, to visit a specific landmark- had a great night there in a town centre. Next day was a swift cross country ride to Hereford, superb, uncluttered and generally well maintained roads to Hereford. Passed through many times (on the dreadful A49) this time the intention was to stop at the Cathedral to see the Mappa Mundi - of which I'd seen on the TV and was well worth seeing the rea thing. Free parking at the Cathedral's car-park, worth every penny of the £6.00 entry fee. Next step was to Great Malvern for another over-night stop. Beautiful place, well worth the visit and the re-visit. Stepped down in bad weather to near Basingstoke and stayed with family there, then a longer trip to Rye in East Sussex. This leg was awful. Bad weather around London, stuck in traffic on the A3 didn't help, there was rain/hail and floods ! My excellent water-proofs eventually succumbed sand I became rather soggy. Passed though the ULEZ (bike is exempt of course) into Surrey and East Sussex. Not the best of roads, but Rye was a delight, met with a friend and had a few beers and a meal with him. Next day was the shortest leg of 40 miles to Canterbury to the Cathedral to see the Gormley stautue (which I'd read in a book "Watling Street" and decided I must see it.)
Last leg was home to north Wales, naerly 200 miles, A2 initially and then the M2/M25 - Dartford
Crossing - dreadful queue/M1/M6/M54/A5/A483/A55 - a good if rather boring ride, fiiled up in Canterbury and managed to get to Shrewsbury where fuel was marginal to get home so tanked up there. I have a little bit of doubt that I didn't have enough to get home ! - Paid inbeween £1.51(very rural Wales) and £1.60 for fuel - long day yesterday, but no real issues...786 miles in all ! Bike didn't miss a beat - faith restored.
Last edited by: R.P. on Sun 3 Sep 23 at 20:56
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Sounds a lot of fun, apart from the heavy/slow traffic sections.
These days I drive few long distance trips...mostly to and from walking weekends where public transport takes too long, so Scottish lowlands ( Innerleithen) Dumfries area or the coast north of Berwick ( St Abbs).
Previously I regularly participated in the Malvern Marathon, a 26m LDWA event, so a long weekend in that part of the world. Very different from the Dales but lovely nonetheless.
Talking of bike trips, 3 weeks ago I was walking Settle > Long Preston on the Pennine Bridleway...one of my regular circular walks from home. Lots of bikers, cyclists with tents etc...got chatting to a lovely young French couple from Briancon, who were consulting their map. She was a tiny slip of a girl with a ( to me) huge BMW 650 GS motorbike on knobbly tyres and large steel panniers. Chatted for 25 minutes and I was only too glad to point out the higher routes in my part of the world...Dent station over to Garsdale, Kingsdale, High Bentham to Slaidburn through the Trough of Bowland. Nice that they were visiting here rather than touring Austria, the Dolomites or further afield.
Out of curiosity, what mpg does such a touring bike return ?
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Epic (ish) road-trip. - legacylad
