"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Fosseway 100k - December 2025 - Avon & Wiltshire

A few things have to come together for me to get myself out on a long ride. The weather has to be safe (no ice), I have to be fit and healthy (in an era of endless rounds of respiratory illness) and I have to have space between all those other commitments - race organising, book distributing, meditation classes, you name it! Everyhing came together on a Saturday between Christmas and New Year, so around 20 past 7 in the chilly darkness I was out on the ring road cycleway heading for the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.

A sudden turn to northerly and easterly winds had brought temperatures close to zero, but not too close, so I was layered up in jerseys, baselayers and windproofs but not having to worry about anything slippery. The sky was lightening gradually over deserted cycleways and roads as I GPS'd my way through Frenchay & Fishponds to join the B&B Cycle Path just by the Fish On Its Nose sculpture. I remember that being a new feature - now, as public art tends to do in Bristol, it's acquired a few layers of paint from street artists. I have mixed feelings about spray paint - in the right hands, it's profound and genuine art, but too often it's just the graphic equivalent of someone wondering around shouting their name to get attention. In Bristol we have both extremes.

Soon I was in the first of three long tunnels, the straight and well-lit one that carries you out of central Bristol and towards the ghostly walls of Old Mangotsfield Station. Forking right there, I was making a pretty decent pace on the way to Bath. There were a handful of other riders out and one or two runners, but the pervading atmosphere was of post-Christmas slumbering silence. I paced myself against a couple of other riders, trying to hold on to their pace, and managed pretty well. Just before the centre of Bath I took the footbridge over the river to the start of the Two Tunnels Greenway and climbed up to the famously long and atmospheric tunnels themselves. Both were dimly lit and the silent, solo ride through them had the usual trance-like feel. I had planned a route on BikeHike and saved it to my Wahoo, but I hadn't really checked it out before the ride. This meant each turn came as a surprise once I was off the Greenway at Midford. The first new experience was the climb of Midford Lane - a new one on me. It was long, medium-steep and on a pretty poor surface - but the lane was flanked with gorgeous woodland with a low winter sun glinting through the trees. I was happy for that climb to go on and on, but it soon had me crossing a main road and weaving my way on lanes towards Bradford on Avon. A long descent to the canal and river was followed by another steep ascent, but soon as I was cruising on a decent road towards Bradford, hopefully my first stop. Here I was way too early for the Bridge Tea Room, but there was a cafe open with artisan pastries and posh coffee, so I took advantage of that to refuel.

The second leg of the ride, which was 100k in total, was through the lanes and B roads that led into the Cotswold AONB. These were mostly unfamiliar at first, taking me north-east through Bradford Leigh and then past the amazing manor at Great Chalfield - a slice of the well-preserved mediaeval. Very Wolf Hall. Looping back round from there I found myself on the ancient Fosse Way, mostly straight as you'd expect but winding in and out of steep valleys now and again, past the old RAF base at Colerne and through numerous woodlands. I love the Fosse Way, like all ancient tracks, and this was an enjoyable section with virtually no traffic and lots of Cotswold Silence. I crossed the A420 at the curiously named village of The Shoe then came the ups and downs of more valleys that cut across the route of the Fosse. Some other riders joined the route just behind me and I pushed hard to stay ahead in an imaginary race. Finally I was in Burton, my planned second stop, only to find a sign outside the Farm Shop Cafe to say they'd decided to close between Christmas and New Year. I stoppped anyway, to munch a Decathlon bar or two and drink some very cold water, then I was back on route and heading west towards Bristol with the wind behind me.

Soon the roads were old, familiar friends - through Tormarton and Dodington then Codrington and Wapley. I tool the quiet lane route past Kendleshire and stopped for hot chips at Winterbourne. After that  brief stop, sitting on a bike rack as there were no benches near the chippy, I rode the last few miles into Filton on Beacon Lane and Gipsy Patch Lane.

That was a great day out, nice to be back up at 100k and enjoying crisp winter weather, silent roads and enchanting forest.

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