Leaving Wales

Immediately after I left Hay the toughest climb of the day was waiting for me, the Gospel Pass of Capel-y-ffin. On the ascent it started raining and the conditions above 500 m altitude reminded me of the Bealach-na-ba. There were sheep after all. Just the color scheme is heavy on green tones instead of brown. The descent however was not at all enjoyable due to bad road conditions in general and lots of mud in particular. Best consumed dry, probably.

Several steep but shorter climbs later I closed in on the Severn estuary I had a chat with a roadie from Gloucester who caught up to me while we rolled up the Severn bridge. Hilariously, he began by apologizing for th weather! The bridge itself was closed for road traffic on account if the toll booths being removed. Thus I had the unique opportunity to walk around on what would be a busy road on any other day.

By rolling down the bridge I left Wales and re-entered England near Bristol.

Bristol

Bristol is pretty and pretty hilly. It being situated on the coast I expected it to be much flatter. Far from it.

Someone must habe realized the appeal for cycling because in the city center an actual bike race was going on. To my advantage large parts of the city were closed to traffic so I managed to pass the city rather efficiently.

Eventually I left the city behind and passed into Somerset. With just ten kilometers to go I had minor situation when I hit a patch of moss while braking to evade one of those annoying bike path entry barriers. This caused the front wheel to slip and ended in a fall at low speed. Thankfully I landed on the left brake lever which I managed to bend back. I suffered only bruisesand managed to reach wells with only a small delay.

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