Big day today. Only 11 miles cycling, but from the Lakes down to Cheddar Gorge I drove over 330 miles, taking in a few climbs on the way.
First up was Dover’s Hill, from Weston-sub-Edge. An unusual name for a very pretty village built from lovely yellow stone. Yet again another National Trust car-park at the top.
From there I headed into Bristol, and the steepest residential street in the UK, Vale St. What an unbelievable neighbourhood where every road seems to either go steeply up or down. I saw what must be the fittest postie in the world, totting his bag up and down each street.
I managed the climb, but the street was so steep I had real difficulty standing upright at the bottom to take the photos!
On to Bath, and a brief stop for Weston Hill. I can normally go for it down each climb, but was held up by the slowest campervan in the world.
Finally, I arrived at Cheddar YHA. As it was shut until 5pm I jumped on the bike and climbed the Gorge. Last time I was here was last summer, with the Descender and the Beast, late in the day when all was shut. Today was a really sunny afternoon with lots of tourists and tour buses. I’ve wanted to climb it since last year and finally have-good stuff!
I was hoping for a blast back down to the village through the gorge, but turned to be confronted by a vicious headwind, which kept me below 30 mph.
Exmoor beckons tomorrow, and the two cyclists in my dorm reckon that Porlock Hill will test the triple! (They are currently JOGLEing, which brings back memories of last year!)
10.7 miles 548m
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