Day 9 - Shrawley to Stow - 67 miles

Damp and grey is how I'd describe the view from our window onto the Severn this morning, it looked like the waterproofs were going to see some action today.

Adrian, Lee and I met for breakfast at half past eight after watching the weather man on the news to see if he'd changed his mind about the forecast for the day - he hadn't, so off we went for breakfast, down all the stairs and along all the corridors. Lee and I seem to be getting the furthest room away from the car and our luggage without fail.

Both Adrian and I had the full English, although he opted for a poached egg instead of fried. Lee had two poached eggs with beans and toast, as he was first up today.

We demolished the food, which was average compared to previous breakfasts but not bad, and then set about loading up and getting off for what we thought would be a relatively easy day.

Lee and Adrian headed off and I followed. Neither of us had checked any maps, and I soon had to pull over, realising I had little idea of what turns I needed to take. On consulting the map I realised we were all heading in the wrong direction - in our enthusiasm to start today we had failed to drop back onto the main road before turning right. A phone call soon came informing me that the GPS wasn't working again.

I gave instructions to get the riders back on track and soon we were all on the right roads again, albeit having increased the length of the route a little.

The climb chart for today showed a handful of cat 5 climbs before flattening out for a stretch, then a cat 4 into Stow. I think it's fair to say we all underestimated the terrain based on this - there wasn't a flat bit in sight. Lee and Adrian were either going up or down, and the down bits were too short to provide suitable recovery for the hill that inevitably followed, so they had a very tough first 20 miles, which tested them both and set the tone for the day.

After a long and sweaty (but dry) two and a half hours we reached Bromyard - a little further away than expected, but a perfectly placed stop as this is where we used to holiday as kids at our Nan's static van. Lee and I both have many happy memories of being here when younger - we'd go down with Nan for a few days before Mum and Dad arrived, and we'd spend our pocket money in Mr Fenton's shop (usually on small plastic gliders that were propelled by catapult and always ended up in the river behind the van).

On the day Mum and Dad were due to arrive we'd head out of the park and wait by the bridge crossing the river to watch out for their car, so this bridge is where we spread some of Dad's ashes today.

After the ashes I swapped sandals for clippy cycling shoes and headed off in the direction of Hereford, with Adrian following.

While still hilly, it was now much easier cycling and we made good progress. Most of the route was B road, so it was nice and quiet, which meant we could concentrate on getting on with the job in hand - it was already gone noon and we still had nearly 50 miles to do.

We soon hit Ledbury, where we found Lee asleep in the car, so Adrian knocked on the window on the way past to make sure he realised we'd gone past. We then turned a sharp left up an incredibly steep hill. At this point we were circumnavigating the Malvern hills, with this part of the route touching on the edge of the hills - meaning more climbing. After a couple of cat 5 climbs we hit the top and dropped down to flatter ground, heading for Tewkesbury. The next 15 - 20 miles promised to be easy, and so it seemed to be as we sped our way back into Worcestershire from Herefordshire. A couple of miles before Tewkesbury we found Lee in a layby who'd been to refuel the car and buy some sandwiches for lunch.

After a slightly slower changeover than usual, Lee and Adrian headed off into town. I followed soon after, using the GPS to clock how many miles I'd travelled as we had 24 miles left before Stow that we needed to try and split down the middle.










We met up again at a Spar shop just before the start of the climb into Stow. It was while waiting here that I decided I'd found the best looking roundabout I'd ever seen - funny how the tired mind works while idle.

After a changeover, Adrian and I headed up the day's cat 4 climb into the rolling Cotswold hills. Adrian was suffering a little from the previous 57 miles now (and the breakfast that 'bit back' after upsetting his ulcer), so he wasn't confident he'd make the last leg, but with half a sandwich, an energy gel sachet and a good slug of Gaviscon from the Spar shop, he at least felt like giving it a go, wanting to see the day through.


While we were gaining altitude, Lee was back in the car park, where another £5 stranger donation arrived.

After a 2.5-mile cat 4 climb we started to relax, thinking we'd done all the hard work, only to be met with hill afer hill - it turns out that Stow-on-the-Wold is quite high up, and other than a mile of descent in the middle there was no let-up. The last 10 miles therefore were a real trial, but we pushed each other on and finished in good time, rolling into The Limes guest house at about 4pm. We locked the bikes to the rack and walked the short distance into the centre of Stow for a couple of well earned beers at The White Hart while Adrian's wife, Gemma, made her way across Oxfordshire to collect her somewhat sore husband after his monumental 67-mile ride today.

I had a pint of Arkells 3B to start with, which was what I'd call a traditional style bitter, followed by a Wiltshire Gold, also an Arkells beer. I preferred the second, though both were very palatable; the Gold had a slight citrus note and was light in body. The beer was
well kept and, from the menu, the food looked good too so I planned to return with Helen for dinner in a couple of hours when she arrived.

Once we'd waved Adrian and his family goodbye, I headed back for a shower and Lee headed to the Chinese takeaway - he had an early night planned to try and get on top of the tiredness he was feeling today.

On his way back he went into a pub for a quick pint and, after a chat with some 'Southenders', he acquired another £20 stranger donation - still no sign of the donations drying up and they now total well over £100!

Helen and her bike arrived courtesy of our friend Sarah and her new estate car, and the three us went back to the White Hart for dinner, where we made short work of 2x risottos, a burger, Eton mess, pear and apple crumble and the obligatory chocolate brownie. The food at the White Hart was indeed excellent, so take note if you're planning a trip this way.

NEXT STOP: Ogborne St. George - another 67 miles