I travelled over to Bristol by train the day before and what should have been a relatively simple trip was delayed by cancelled and delayed trains due to staff shortages and line side fires as ‘Britain basked’ in its summer heatwave (strange to have staff shortages on a Friday when the weather is so nice….). The 1.5 hour delay does not come close to reflecting the additional stress and hassle of travelling with, and rebooking, a bike on crowded British railways at rush hour. Still that was all forgotten as I caught up for food and drink with Steve, an old friend from my time in Hong Kong and saw interesting street sculptures in Bristol.

Today was the longest day, not only for daylight, but probably for distance and duration, which made it a bit daunting. It was also potentially the hottest day of the year, which would make it even more demanding. As  such I left my accommodation early for the 11 mile cycle to the (old) Severn Bridge to meet Alex, an ex-work colleague, but more relevantly a fellow runner and cyclist, who would be joining me parkrunning and cycling today.

The parkrun was good. It started on the bridge, crosses into England (the only one to extend across 2 countries (and 3 counties, apparently)) and then finishes in the ‘street art’ tunnel, which is very good if it rains, of course.

Having completed my first Welsh parkrun (and my 6th country for those of you who follow the 5K App) in just under 25 minutes Alex and I set off on the bike @10am following EuroVelo 1 / Sustrans Route 4 on quiet, well surfaced and well signed backroads down to Newport. It was hot and would get hotter but a few light showers helped to cool us down.

Starting late we decided against a coffee stop in Newport in favour of cracking on to Cardiff Bay mainly adjacent  to the A48 to make up time. It was overcast and humid. The Bay area was busy as it was the day before Cardiff Triathlon, which is a great setting for the event.

After a much needed lunch we cycled along Cardiff Bay barrage before Alex returned to Chepstow and I went climbing up into Penarth. I then continued through to busy (and noisy) Barry Island. The only other time I had been there, I thought that I’d found a £50 note on the floor (and I do have a good track record of finding money), but unfortunately this one was a copy stuck to the floor, much to Cissy’s amusement. It hasn’t put me off.

My route then took me down into the very pleasant Porthkerry Country Park, famous for its impressive viaduct, and a steep climb out.

Lucky for me (but not for Alex) I started to feel a bit of a tailwind which helped propel me from Rhoose through to St Athan and Llantwitt Major (where I stopped for a Greggs tea and Belgian bun for just £2.75) to Bridgend, along undulating country lanes.

Arriving at Port Talbot @6.30pm I was able to see the sun setting on the British Steel Industry. “Exporting British jobs; Importing dirty steel”.

That just left another 10 miles into Swansea. After passing through the very lively and noisy Wind Street, reminding me of Benidorm, I eventually arrived at my hotel @ 7.30pm with 103 miles done and the great news that I could keep my bike in my room (you probably have to be a cycle tourist to appreciate what good news this is). It had been a hard but satisfying day with some nice cycling and sights and (diplomatically) some less nice cycling and sights, but I knew that would be the case.

Dinner was a takeaway pizza from PizzaExpress, supplemented with some drink and sides from the adjacent Tesco’s, watching the Oasis evening on BBC2. Perfect end to a hard day.