Joined: 02 Mar 2009
Posts: 1
Bike:
| In 1999 several of us did a charity ride from Anglesey to Chepstow. In fact it was really a weekend out for us but we got sponsorships and raised several thousand pounds for a very ill child of a friend of ours. We called it Bridge to Bridge and decided to do it over four days ... about 220 miles ... and on the final day some chap from the Post Office cycling team (or was it Royal Mail?) did the whole thing in one day and finished off before us.
We did it around September, so the weather was pretty good. It was fantastic trip and there's no better way to see the country. I can still remember the thrill of rolling along the coast in bright sunshine just south of Barmouth, with the sea stretching away forever.
We arranged sponsorship through Ford Motors to help with transporting of stuff at the end of the day, and then also arranged accommodation for each of the three nights. Bodalwyn Guest House, a very nice place in Aberystwyth, and run by friends of ours, put us up on one of the nights.
We had planned to stick to the Sustrans routes, but a couple of times diverted onto the main roads if we were falling behind schedule.
Going through the centre of Wales, as we did, is the shortest route, I suppose. But it also means climbing over a damned steep hill ... Aberhosan, I think, just before Llanidloes. But there are compensatory good views from the Wynford Vaughan-Thomas memorial.
Plan it well. I would imagine Sustrans has much better maps and facilities now, and Youth Hostels are great along the way.
We're looking to do a West-East trip soon.
Vimal
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