Cycling UK Forum

lc142 wrote:Sympathies to all other women of our size struggling to find a comfortable fitting tour bike.

I'm about the same height as you, and I *love* my Thorn Sherpa which I got 'nearly new' from St John Cycles in Bridgwater, Somerset. It is truly a joy to ride a bike that fits properly - don't give up hope, it is possible!

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/index.html

Your trip sounds fun. I had a lovely few days cycling part of the southern portion of the England/Wales border this summer. It was my first 'proper' tour. I'd love to do more of it at some point - definitely got the bug. The ride across the Severn Bridge at Chepstow was particularly memorable! I camped, and used YHA hostels. I thought the hostel at St Briavels was so lovely that I've already been back for a second stay. It was pretty fab to wake up in a castle!

What a marvellous thread! I had trouble picking just one photo, but I've picked this one which I took from Carn y-gorfydd on the little road linking Llanfoist, just outside Abergavenny, with Blaenavon. I'm looking towards the Forest of Dean on the far horizon.

I had a lovely time cycling around the Forest of Dean, and South Wales. I spent the night before at YHA Abergavenny (a strange but welcoming place, ex-convent and current education centre, with the hostel business on the side). I rode on to Blaenavon where I spent an enjoyable few hours exploring the National Mining Museum (free entry, and fascinating) before pootling down to Newport on Sustrans Route 492.