Not a good start as the Iron Donkey (bike) isn't all that flash, so much for being an upgrade. And then the chain fell off so I had to get thebloody thing back on...grease everywhere. I should have packed afew rubber gloves as suggested by Bruce Colbert! But of course I didn't.
The route was very tricky to follow and I took quite a few wrong turns, one that tookme out onto the busy freeway which was scary and I thought I was going to get knocked off. I managed to get off the highway and back tracked.
The map and route directions didn't list all of the places and signposts were missing, which made it tricky. I was lucky to have another cyclist stop and he rode with me to show me which road to take to get to Longleat Estate (where the mad Lord Bath resides) and then another guy helped me cut through the back tracks to get into the estate. Both were very helpful and kind and I would have taken a lot longer to get there by myself.
The roads in places were quite steep which made it difficult to ride. Hopefully it will be a better ride into Salisbury on Monday. Tomorrows ride is a few choices of circuits around Heytesbury but will see what the weather is like as all the options are quite long. I may just ride to a few places and come back, just to keep my legs working.
Some of the places I did stop at include the ruins of a castle but it was closed, so I just took a few pictures then continued on.
The major stop was at Longleat. The estate has a mini zoo, a theme park for kids, magnificent gardens and grounds plus the house itself. WOW! The house was incredibly excessive - paintings, artwork, rugs..you name it, it was there. It was worth a look and I really needed to get out of the sun and have a chance to hydrate and enjoy a break.
The ride out was a hard slog and eventually the roads evened out a bit. I navigated easily the last part of the ride, thank goodness.
The owners of the B and B, called The Resting Post, are lovely and said that lots of riders get lost out of Bath as the route was very complicated. A few have even turned back and refused to go any further! I felt a bit like this too!
After a much needed shower and throwing my drenched clothing in the wash, I went down to one of two pubs for some refreshments and a meal, which was lovely.
Now to relax and hopefully sleep in and to plan my next ride. Fingers crossed it will be a better ride.
