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the section from Stow to Newent has to be the longest 55km I've ever ridden, hated every minute of it!
+1
Actually Newent-Chepstow was even worse - felt like one continuos hill with a very strong headwind. If I had passed a train station I would've gone home. At the Tesco I chatted to a guy who has been doing the ride every year since 2007 - said it was easier from there. A couple of krispy kremes and that piece of info helped me to push on. The rain wasn't pleasant, but at least there was some tailwind... Feel like I've been hit by a bus today though.
CangaCeiro
frank9755
Like you, was considering DNS but had a hotel booked. I thought maybe the weather would change and I'd be annoyed I hadn't started. Got the train home at Chepstow, which I was pleased with given that from about 60km I was thinking of stopping at Newent. the section from Stow to Newent has to be the longest 55km I've ever ridden, hated every minute of it! Couldn't face another 150km of cross winds. A friend completed in 14 hours (very experienced rider) but he said the section past the white horses was "heinous" but there were a few "magic bits" on the way back. He got rained on for 2 hours so I'd have been looking at 5-7 hours of rain. I was totally miserable apart from through the Forest of Dean which was beautiful, and a welcome distraction. My arms hurt almost as much as my legs today.