Tuesday 19th July 2022, 133.30km, 1,352m

Rolling out of Mortenhampstead on day 3 I think we were all a little naive about what awaited us. The first couple of minutes were a gentle downhill and then it got serious. 2.9km and 130m of climbing before we’d really got warmed up. Worse was to come after the morning brew stop as the road pitched up to over 20% on a climb that is now just referred to as ”the climb”. This one was a beast, the only good thing was that yesterday’s heat had gone and it was now just a pleasantly warm day. We made good pace to lunch.

Lunch at the York Inn was great, Cornish pasties went down a treat but as we set off it started to rain. Still too warm to go for the rain jacket into the rain we rode. It was lovely, particularly because the roads were quiet and we could just roll along with the rain cooling us down. I was now in my happy place and was quite happy to sit on the front.

Like most things on this ride, this was not to last. As we approached Glastonbury we rode back into the heat. It suddenly got oppressively hot again and I could feel my fatigue growing. It is a horrible feeling when this happens, it’s a case of just keep turning the pedals.

Wells provided some much needed rest from pedalling as we admired the Cathedral and the Bishop’s House and posed for the group selfie. We weren’t far from the finish now and I was very grateful to see the Wookey Hole hotel.

I felt terrible once the ride was complete. I really struggled to eat at dinner and ended up making my excuses and heading back to the hotel in need of sleep. I was hoping I was just suffering a bit after another hot end to the day and would feel better in the morning.