D
Danny Colyer
Guest
This RR is available with pictures at
<url:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/cycling/ridereports/severn06/index.html>
Judith might be interested in the video of what her brother got up to on
the Severn Bridge.
The Bristol Juggling Convention is held on a hillside overlooking the
Severn Estuary. Both Severn Bridges are clearly visible, making the
cyclepath across the old bridge a tempting target for unicyclists.
A few years ago three of us decided to ride to Wales, not knowing that
the bridge crossed a peninsula before making landfall in Wales. With
one of our number knackered, and another desperate to get back for show
rehearsals, we turned back once we were over land and only discovered
later that we hadn't actually made it to Wales. So this year, when I
heard early in the week about a planned ride to Wales on the Thursday, I
wanted to go along. It also seemed like a good opportunity to try out
the Big Apple tyre that I had just fitted to my Muni.
We arranged to meet at 11:00 at my tent. Five of us set off at about
11:20, heading North-West along the footpath that runs for about a mile
from the site to the Tockington road. Turning right, we headed through
Tockington and Olveston until we picked up the NCN Routes 4 & 41 signs
for the Severn Bridge. In Olveston we found a road covered in conkers,
one of which caused Dave to UPD.
The last mile to the bridge was along the B4461 - not the most pleasant
road to ride along. The only vehicle that I felt passed dangerously
close was a Carlsberg lorry. Carlsberg, probably the worst drivers in
the world.
We debated whether to stop at the services to allow Darren (the only one
of our number without a Camelbak) to get a drink, but decided instead to
stop on the way back. So, after a short break while Dave recovered from
a dramatic UPD, we continued over the bridge.
It's always windy across the Severn Bridge, so Dave sensibly stopped to
remove his hat. Unfortunately he did so just a few seconds too late, as
his hat was carried over the railings to the sound of expletives. I
then took my cap off and tucked it into my Camelbak.
At the English end of the bridge there is a sign, alongside the
cyclepath, saying "Welcome to England". We had hoped to find something
similar at the Welsh end to pose under, but in a demonstration of the
stereotypical Welsh antipathy towards the English there was none.
Shortly after leaving the bridge Plumsie spotted a sign on the far side
of the motorway. I then rode another few hundred yards and spotted a
sign on the A466 exit of the roundabout at the top of the motorway slip
road. This was shortly after a "Cyclists Dismount" sign on the same
post as an NCN sign and alongside a set of barriers. The Welsh must be
as **** at cyclepath design as the English.
So, we crossed two roads and got our photo to prove that we'd made it to
Wales.
The return journey was into the wind, making it much harder to leave
Wales than it had been to enter. But leave we did, stopping for a snack
and drinks at the service station on the English side of the bridge.
By this time Dave and Clare were flagging, with Clare talking about
calling a taxi. But we carried on, reaching Olveston during the school
run. The others had planned to stop at the pub in Olveston for the
afternoon and evening, staying for dinner. I chose to press on back to
the convention to spend time with my family. (It turned out that the
pub was shut, and the other riders left Olveston soon after I did).
I missed a turning by The Swan in Tockington, but only rode a couple of
hundred yards out of my way (thinking "this doesn't look right") before
spotting the convention on my right, knowing that it should be on my
left. I turned round and rode the rest of the way back to the
convention without further mishap. Well, I say rode, I actually walked
most of that last mile uphill back along the footpath.
I finished the ride with my computer reading 14.10 miles, but with the
knowledge that it wasn't calibrated for the new tyre. After
recalibrating the computer, the corrected reading was about 14.4 miles.
The Big Apple tyre was lurvely on tarmac, combining with the KH Velo
saddle and my 125mm cranks to make the Muni the most comfortable
unicycle that I had ever ridden. It wasn't so good on the off-road
bits, where I missed the Gazzaloddi that I had just removed.
--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
<url:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/cycling/ridereports/severn06/index.html>
Judith might be interested in the video of what her brother got up to on
the Severn Bridge.
The Bristol Juggling Convention is held on a hillside overlooking the
Severn Estuary. Both Severn Bridges are clearly visible, making the
cyclepath across the old bridge a tempting target for unicyclists.
A few years ago three of us decided to ride to Wales, not knowing that
the bridge crossed a peninsula before making landfall in Wales. With
one of our number knackered, and another desperate to get back for show
rehearsals, we turned back once we were over land and only discovered
later that we hadn't actually made it to Wales. So this year, when I
heard early in the week about a planned ride to Wales on the Thursday, I
wanted to go along. It also seemed like a good opportunity to try out
the Big Apple tyre that I had just fitted to my Muni.
We arranged to meet at 11:00 at my tent. Five of us set off at about
11:20, heading North-West along the footpath that runs for about a mile
from the site to the Tockington road. Turning right, we headed through
Tockington and Olveston until we picked up the NCN Routes 4 & 41 signs
for the Severn Bridge. In Olveston we found a road covered in conkers,
one of which caused Dave to UPD.
The last mile to the bridge was along the B4461 - not the most pleasant
road to ride along. The only vehicle that I felt passed dangerously
close was a Carlsberg lorry. Carlsberg, probably the worst drivers in
the world.
We debated whether to stop at the services to allow Darren (the only one
of our number without a Camelbak) to get a drink, but decided instead to
stop on the way back. So, after a short break while Dave recovered from
a dramatic UPD, we continued over the bridge.
It's always windy across the Severn Bridge, so Dave sensibly stopped to
remove his hat. Unfortunately he did so just a few seconds too late, as
his hat was carried over the railings to the sound of expletives. I
then took my cap off and tucked it into my Camelbak.
At the English end of the bridge there is a sign, alongside the
cyclepath, saying "Welcome to England". We had hoped to find something
similar at the Welsh end to pose under, but in a demonstration of the
stereotypical Welsh antipathy towards the English there was none.
Shortly after leaving the bridge Plumsie spotted a sign on the far side
of the motorway. I then rode another few hundred yards and spotted a
sign on the A466 exit of the roundabout at the top of the motorway slip
road. This was shortly after a "Cyclists Dismount" sign on the same
post as an NCN sign and alongside a set of barriers. The Welsh must be
as **** at cyclepath design as the English.
So, we crossed two roads and got our photo to prove that we'd made it to
Wales.
The return journey was into the wind, making it much harder to leave
Wales than it had been to enter. But leave we did, stopping for a snack
and drinks at the service station on the English side of the bridge.
By this time Dave and Clare were flagging, with Clare talking about
calling a taxi. But we carried on, reaching Olveston during the school
run. The others had planned to stop at the pub in Olveston for the
afternoon and evening, staying for dinner. I chose to press on back to
the convention to spend time with my family. (It turned out that the
pub was shut, and the other riders left Olveston soon after I did).
I missed a turning by The Swan in Tockington, but only rode a couple of
hundred yards out of my way (thinking "this doesn't look right") before
spotting the convention on my right, knowing that it should be on my
left. I turned round and rode the rest of the way back to the
convention without further mishap. Well, I say rode, I actually walked
most of that last mile uphill back along the footpath.
I finished the ride with my computer reading 14.10 miles, but with the
knowledge that it wasn't calibrated for the new tyre. After
recalibrating the computer, the corrected reading was about 14.4 miles.
The Big Apple tyre was lurvely on tarmac, combining with the KH Velo
saddle and my 125mm cranks to make the Muni the most comfortable
unicycle that I had ever ridden. It wasn't so good on the off-road
bits, where I missed the Gazzaloddi that I had just removed.
--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
