Day 3 Shipton to Ludlow

The weather looked dire again for day 3, massive stormy winds from the west and southwest, and heavy rain. I did get away nice and early and was on the outskirts of Bristol by 9.30am. Turning off down the first of many skirting side roads south of the city, I came across a car pulled over with the emergency services dealing with a thigh sized peice of tree wedges a few inches into the radiator...looked nasty and I would have taken a pic had it bean tasteful but the occupants of the car looked shaken (but unhurt). It was of course properly howling and there was plenty of debris all over the road!

It didnt take too long to follow a useful route a fellow CTC member had shared, and I was over the first bridge with no worries, there was a steel bern on my left all the way across that kept most of the westerly off me. The Severn bridge a bit further on was another story. ..will post a video when I can get a decent internet connection.

The ride across was frankly scary and really hard work, leaning in and requiring all upper body strength to stay on. I wouldnt say it was that dangerous as such, the worst that could happen is getting pushed into the divider seprating a the footpath from the road, but that didnt make it any less scary and I felt utterly pummeled when I finally got to the other side, arms were pumped with lactic acid...had my first carb gel to try and make up some lost energy.

After that, things got a lot better. For a start, I was in Wales! And nicely sheltered in a stunning valley called the Wye. The road had been recently resealed and wound its way through lush forrest above the flooded river, awesome riding. I saw loads of cyclists here and warned the strong looking riders /tried to put off the others about the wind on the Severn. I've not seen a single "lejog" rider since day one but seen plenty going the other way and had some good banter with them. One fellow CTC member was carrying a massive 50kg and camping the whole way - good lad!

Lunch in Monmouth. This was "superfood" pasta at a Wetherspoons would you believe it, with my customary 2 pints of liquid to try and stay hydrated, proper peddling fuel:

North of town it stopped raining and the land levelled out a bit, I blew off 50 miles in good time, hitting my target well in time for tea @ Ludlow. 

Weather looks good for day4, another century on the cards. Had some amazing support on facebook and thank you so much everyone, sorry I cant reply faster.  Day 3 summary: