Day 2 - Exeter to Monmouth

Some emergency repairs to Ben's bike (having fallen off yesterday) meant we set off at 9.30am from Exeter. The day was dry, but there was a North-Easterly wind, which was very unwelcome. We headed up towards Bristol, and met Toby just south of the city, in Churchill for lunch. We pressed on to Bristol, along Clifton and avonmouth to the old Severn Bridge. It was a bit of an optical illusion in that it seemed to get further away from us as we cycled towards it, taking about an hour to get to it after we had spotted it. Going over the bridge was fantastic, and then from Chepstow to Monmouth was great - up the wye valley through Tintern. We met up Toby in Monmouth and then headed to Matt's parents house near Hereford, for a welcome shower, meal and wine. The day was dry, but the wind was a pain. In total we cycled 119 miles at 15.5 mph average, with a total of 7hrs 31mins in the saddle.