Day 66, km 2656

"Behave yourselves boys, they're from the colonies" he declared in his thick Welsh tones. Former colonies, I thought to correct him. The one that got away. The regulars had just arrived. It was at this canalside diner tucked away amongst the twisted trees of the Welsh mountains that we took the time one cold and misty morning to have our first proper English Breakfast. A "jacket" (baked) potato filled with beans and cheese. Lucy had the more traditional and omnivorous "full breakfast"(bacon,sausage,egg.hashbrowns,beans,toast). Either way they juiced us up for a good 7 hours of riding, only stopping for a piece of cake(that Linda so graciously packed up and gave to us for free) after a mountain's worth of uphill at what probably would have been a breathtaking view had we not been amidst the clouds. After a good 45 miles we arrived at our destination, a cattery campsite, just in time for showers and dinner before the sun signed off and things got cold.
(Nate trails off...lucy starts writing)

Our days in western England and Wales have been mighty beautiful, hilly, rainy, miraculously cloudless, and friendly. The cycle path we took from London to Bristol was very peaceful and quiet-only occasionally a pleasant interruption from some friendly passersby. One father and son who lived in the area and were cyclists told us a bit of history around the county we were in--apparently the Devizes castle was deemed the most beautiful castle in the days of its birth. We also learned that the county was the least populated in Britain. The next man we stumbled upon was an......
AMERICAN!
We had yet to meet any americans on our trip, let alone cyclists! He was a funny old man-seemed he spent nearly all of his days cycling between winters resting up in Las Vegas. In typical American form he rattled off all the places he had seen-horribly mispronouncing every French place, and asking us very few questions ... It was great to meet someone from 'home' though.

We passed through Bath after a few nights spent at small farms/B and B's where we ended up being the sole campers. The ride into Bath was the most impressive of all. A misty morning slowly clearing and leaving the bright green hills in its place. Lovely old houses hovering over the village center. Mm. I liked western England.

It's funny, every new country we enter seems a bit strange at first. We just got used to the accent/language/culture/grocery stores of one place and then bam, you are now in Wales! We do slowly warm up though. In England we started off cursing the traffic and hills but found it lovely after London. Wales was a bit different. As we crossed the majestic white 2 mile bridge into the country, exactly halfway across it started to rain. It wasn't bad rain though, it was beautiful big sunset sky misty rain -and then it stopped and the sky cleared. We spent the next 2 days in sunny bliss before the day Nate referenced at the beginning of the blog. The character of Wales has continued to elude me, people here are so friendly, but apparently some western Wales folk can be a bit exclusive to foreigners. It supposedly rains all the time..but we've had some incredible sunny skies and wonderful rocky coastal views. And get this-they have more of an Irish accent than English, I would have expected more ties to Britain but who knows. Either way, I have really enjoyed my time here, I doubt I would have ever gone out of my way to see Wales if it weren't on our route...but I'm really glad I did.

I think I'll end with a (now) amusing story. It's called the day Lucy and Nate lost each other. Perhaps it is not a story, but really..how do you lose someone you are cycling with for 2 whole hours!! It was no one's fault really, just a case of good old timing and 'bad' luck.

I was cycling along, pushing hard up a hill when I did the occasional look back to see where Nate was. He wasn't behind be at the top of the hill so I waited a few minutes while I caught my breath. Hmm, I thought, maybe he is resting down there somewhere. I went back down the hill to see and he was nowhere to be found for the next mile. I frantically asked a man if he had seen a cyclist and while we conversed, I realized I might have missed a sign posted route 4 (the cycle route we are following) sign before the hill. I raced back up , heart pounding with anxiety and aerobic speed, saw the sign I missed, and took the turn. In my head, Nate must have been ahead of me so I must hurry!
What happened was this: Nate took the proper turn, didn't see me ahead and turned back and went up the hill to see if I kept going. Meanwhile, I was already back down the hill looking for him. Long story short, mapless Lucy kept on route 4 hoping to see Nate ahead. Nate rode in circles around the same spot that we lost each other for an hour, recruiting help from another cyclist and ultimately using a gas station attendants cellphone to call me. Alas, we picked a point to meet and found each other. I have never felt like that before-completely alone and really with nothing (no wallet or tent ) in a foreign country on back country roads. Gave me a fright for sure. Now it's just funny that we could have lost each other. OH DEAR! What a trip this has been.

We are now on a ferry to Rosslare, Ireland. About 3 days riding from our final destination, Dublin. We are spending a few days exploring (by foot) the Wicklow Mtns and staying at a bed and breakfast for Nate's Birthday (the 19th). We have arranged a stay with a nice couple in Dublin through Warmshowers and we will pack our bikes and fly home next Wednesday. Only after we properly sample lots of guiness and hear some Irish pub music. Shouldn't be too hard.

Take care and see you soon Americans!

N L