Day 4; ride number 3 in Wales. I’ll talk as positively as possible. I wouldn’t recommend the route I took, especially if you include some of the places I went through. I’m sure there are nice places out east, but they were in short supply this time.

The highlisghts:

Just after leaving Cardiff the road climbed steeply, up to the height of wind turbines. It’s unusual to see them from this angle.

Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal including the 14 locks canal.

Really nice after Gwent and Newport to be quiet again.

Getting off the main road near Cardiff back to big, open views.

Low parts:

Gwent.

Newport; especially trying to find the national cycle route to take me put of it. Why are they so badly signposted. They appear and disappear, even with a route to follow on the cycling computer. I find them stressful whenever I use them to cross a town or city.

Look what Newport does to castle ruins, build a dual carriageway in front of it.

I had high hopes for an interesting experience when I past the Newport Transporter Bridge.

I couldn’t wait to get out.

I guess I may have been influenced by ride one, it was so very good. I was incredibly upbeat after it.

Today though, was mosly a suburban grind. It started so well with coffee at Coffi Lab and as mentioned above, the incredible views so close the Cardiff. I was also looking forward to eating in Magor. The first cafe ignored me when I entered. The second didn’t have much to offer dispite what their website suggested, and good Google reviews. Again the staff just didn’t seem bothered. I had a coffee and too much cake in an effort to cheer myself up. It just made me feel sick for the rest of the day.

Luckily there was a cub scout pack having lunch to help me find the path that lead to the canal. It came at the right time to rescue my mood.

Like yesterday the Garmin app had a sting in the tail waiting for me with less than ten miles to go.

Two climbs that had me pushing the bike. The first one was almost impossible to walk up, nevermind riding it. The cycle computer often showed mid to high teens as a percentage. It once hit thirty.

You can see my reaction to this ride by the lack of pictures and enthusiasm for it. Just grateful that it was over.

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Wales 2025 Part 3