TO SHIRENEWTON - SUMMER RAIN
26/06/04
The weather was terrible all day, with heavy rain and winds, but the forecast looked good for that Saturday evening. I cycled to Newport City to meet Nick outside Maindee fire station. Nick had forgotten his keys, so he went back to his house to get them whilst I cycled out of Newport on the main A48 road. As I past the M4 motorway junction I encountered a heavy shower. After about 8 miles I stopped in a bus shelter and waited for Nick, he arrived in about 10 minutes. We turned off this busy trunk road and took the lane to the tiny village of Llanfair Discoed. From here it was a pleasant climb up the hill to ShirenewtonI. It had stopped raining and the dampness had brought out all the usual summer smells. This narrow road is short and sweet and before long we were in the picturesque Shirenewton, which stands on a ridge overlooking the Severn estuary. We then took a lane we had only cycled on a couple of times it did not matter as it was nice and quiet. We stopped to look at a church and then found ourselves on the road to Itton which is a few miles outside of Chepstow. The air was damp as we climbed up to Itton and beyond, we were cycling up into the mist and before long it was raining again. The road to Newchurch beckoned, at 21:00 hours it was still light with another hour of daylight left, so we had a fast ride in the wet to Usk. Here we took on provisions from the Spar shop. With our lamps lit we had a good ride along our ‘traditional’ route home via Prescoed and Coed-y-Paen. The rain did not let up, but it did not spoil the ride, in fact it added to the atmosphere. Croesyceiliog was made by 23:00....42 miles.
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