Saturday 28th June

Route: Bucknell near Knighton to Brecon
Mileage: 46.47 miles; 1168 miles so far; 332 miles to go (this seems low!)
Weather: Cloudy and strong head wind

Couldn't refuse the offer of a cooked breakfast, and by the time I left the Clare's it was around 9.15. Thanks for a wonderful stay and the book of your paintings, Peter. I'm also gratefu for your offer to drum up some sponsorship with your parish friends.

The road from Knighton involved a hard pull south out of town and the innocence of the next few miles fooled me into thinking this was going to be a doddle of a day. The wind, however, was quite strong and seemed always to be against me. The the hills and descents kept coming, incessantly so it seemed, and I realised I was far too optimistic in telljng Agnieszka, the Brecon Community Leader, that I could get there by 1.00 pm in time for their stall at St Jospeh's Church fete. This was tough riding and somehow much more difficult than Shap. The hill before Erwood looked impossible and when changing down to Granny gear the chain fell off, and I lost momentum so had to walk up the hill. Two cyclists, Jane and Rob from Erwood, caught me up and told me of the cycle path alongside the A470 which I decided to take rather than the direct route over yet more hills. When we got to the bottom of this steep descent into Erwood, I noticed the front tyre was devoid of air and realised I had my first puncture of the trip. Not bad considering. No sign of anything piercing the outer tyre, so perhaps it was just rubber fatigue. 15 minutes later I as on my way again and starting to feel the effects of the day, though glad to have taken the decision to change my route. It was about 3.30 when I entered Brecon and couldn't resist a stop off at the chip shop for what was a very late lunch, a text from Agnieszka having told me that there was no hurry as the fete was over.

I was mighty glad to get to Glasfryn, the L'Arche Brecon house in Llanfaes, where I was given a really warm welcome by the team there. Thanks, folks! It felt as if I'd been 70 miles not 46, but it's not surpising with the terrain and wind against me. Probably the toughest day's ride so far.