We got the bikes out of the dustbin shed. We had been told the hotel was 4 or 5 miles from the campsite in Monmouth. Well it was 8.79, but a lovely road along the Wye valley so we kept up a good pace. We didn't stop at the campsite and carried on through Monmouth where we stopped quickly to extract money from a hole in the wall.
The first half of the day was the usual down and steep up, some were the steepest yet and the Stoker was puffing like a steam engine behind. But she didn't decided to get off. We stopped for coffee at a lovely hotel, the Bell Inn at Skenfrith, where they grew their own organic produce and were, as we are finding everywhere, very friendly. We wished we could have stayed there.
Then the "fun" started. It started to rain. What we hoped was a shower at first, then torrential downpour for 2 hours. At least when you are completely soaked you can't get any wetter. Little did we know. No pictures for a while as a) it was raining and b) the camera isn't waterproof.
Ian from BA was sweeping and caught us up and rode with us. Being an expert tandemer, he gave us tips and tricks about how to cadence the ride, and we had a great conversation and suppport from him which meant we had to keep thoughts of giving up and taking a bus to ourselves.
It stopped raining and we pulled into another Bell Inn at Credenhill for lunch. Again friendly staff (the landlady's son cycles) and good pub food, though I did regret my pie and chips later. Martin Roberts (ex teacher and now gardener) came into the public bar where we were attempting to dry out, and we heard some of the local news form him. He kindly donated 5 pounds, to which Ian added another 5 pounds given to charity when he stopped at the post office earlier by a pensioner.Ian's riding routine is to have a break every 1 hour to 90 mins and a quick snack to keep the energy levels up, so he persuaded us to have tea at Sally's Pantry in Pembridge. It started to rain again just as we entered the cafe. Sally's caramel and cranberry slices were wonderful. Cherry availed herself of the Pembridge facilities and reported they were in excellent condition. It continued to rain again, but it was 4:45 and we had 30 miles to go, so we slithered int our rain gear but we couldn't stay any longer so put our heads down and gritted our teeth. Well that doesn't keep the rain out, and by now the water running down our legs into our wtaerproof socks meant our feet were in a pool of freezing water. But at least the terrain was more tandem friendly and we upped the pace from the mornings slog. It didn't stop raining for the next 4 hours. Lovely countryside of the welsh borders, and we now know why it is so green. The roads were awash, rivers were flooded, and even hail by the roadside. Some of the others were caught in a torrential thunderstorm and the hail, and said the temperature dropped to near freezing. That explained my feet.
We arrived at Wentnor, and Ian pointed out our hotel, up the hill on the right. Nothing for it, just one more hill we thought. Well it was a 1-in-5 half mile. What a way to end the day. The Crown Inn was a country friendly pub with accommodation. We left our wet shoes in their boiler room, and draped our clothes on the heated towel rail. After thawing out in the shower we got down to the bar for dinner at 8:45, just before they stopped cooking at 9:00. There was a tramp in the corner with a beard and straggly hair who looked familiar. The barlady said it was Pete Postlewaite who lived locally. It was.
We slept like damp logs do.
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