The UK has thousands of miles of cycle paths, and one of its longest, National Cycle Route 4, runs from the centre of London to the shores of west Wales, following old railway lines across flat plains, country lanes up steep valley walls, and main roads through urban settlements over many hundreds of miles. In late August last year, I set off on a cycle ride that lasted for almost two days, with about 20 hours of my life spent peddling over a distance of 100 miles. While my original goal was to ride from my home in South Wales to the city of London, I reached my limits just as I was approaching the city of Bath in Somerset. It was perhaps the most trying experience of my life, and yet one of the most rewarding, and is one that come next summer I am eager to repeat and exceed. Naturally, I took plenty of snaps to share with you as I relay the trials and triumphs of my time on the trail.

The route from Newport to Chepstow was by far and away the most painful part of my first day on the road, perhaps because it was the most disappointing. Looking at a map, one sees that the land between the Usk and Severn rivers is very flat and mostly occupied by farmland. For a lazy Daicyclist like me, flat = good. However, as my friends in the Midwestern United States can surely attest, flatter land = fewer obstacles for wind. Now, so long as the wind is coming from the west – the prevailing wind direction for the British Isles - that works out perfectly! Care to guess where the wind was coming from on my ride? ;-p

This picture was taken at one of my many stops along a poorly maintained agricultural access road, as many equines came to examine the sweaty, panting, knackered canine who dared to stop by their gate to gulp down some water. Perhaps they were concerned, perhaps they thought the food I had was for them, or perhaps they were judging me in their own horsy way. I eventually made it to Caldicot, the last town before Chepstow, just as night was falling, and by the time I arrived at my hotel in Chepstow the streetlights were my only guiding lights, brightly illuminating the long, steep, insufferable hill I had to climb to get to my destination. Yeah, I’m not doing Port Talbot to Chepstow in one day again. ^__^

Hope you enjoy!