What a brilliant day that was!
Last night we watched Man Utd beat Schalke and then headed off for an early night. The Park Inn had generously given us 2 bedrooms which was great. Breakfast at 8am and then we went down to meet the Day 6 crew.
Today we had Stephen Handley (Capgemini) and Harvey Potts (Fujitsu join us for part of our ride. You can also see the Park Inn Telford Manager Lucja Leonard in the pic.
We set off broadly on time and headed along the A442. After a few miles, a tractor went past us. Harvey and I quickly tucked in behind it and used it as a large windbreak. For 4 miles we sat there and averaged about 18mph, with virtually no effort at all. How lucky.
We continued to make good progress and chatted as we went along. The wind was against us, but it was much lighter than it has been and we ate up the miles. Although we were mainly on A roads, they weren't too busy most of the time and the scenery was good. We had one blast down farmtrack type roads which was fun. Harvey set off back as he had meetings to attend in the afternnon.
We carried on and stopped for lunch at Whitchurch. Ian had said he needed to sort his front wheel as it was out of true due to hitting too many potholes. As we spotted a cafe, a bike shop appeared. How lucky!
We had lunch in Juan's Cafe. I realised I hadn't worn my cycling glasses (needed as insects in the eye at 40MPH are not much fun. I went to the bike shop and bought a new set, which you have to admit, do make me took super cool. I also bought some spare brake blocks as ours are wearing down at quite a rate.
Stephen stayed with us for a few more miles and then set off back home. It was good riding with Steve and Harvey - thanks to all our "cyclo-tourists", we are on our own now.
A few miles further along the A49, we saw the sign for Bunbury and pulled off. Over breakfast at the B&B in Crediton, we'd chatted to a pleasant family who asked what we were doing. They said they lived in Bunbury and that we'd pass near their place. So this pic is dedicateThanks for the chat and encouragement (and the blog comments of course).
Ian went into the Co-Op there and I started chatting to a delivery guy. He'd just started cycling and when he heard what we were doing, he gave us £1 towards the charity. "Sorry its only a pound" he said. Ian and I really appreciated that - as it isn't the amount that people give; it is the thought that goes with it. Thanks mate if you are reading this and good luck with your cycling.
We took our undershirts off as the sun had come out and set off again. The ride so far had been very good, but the rest was absolutely brilliant. We were flying. I wondered if the wind had turned but we think it was just that the wind had really dropped, so we could cycle normally.
The miles passed quickly and then we hit Warrinton, we ended up riding through the pedestrianised centre and nearly rode down a set of steps! We were having the time of our lives and I was so pleased to see Ian riding quickly and with a big smile on his face. What a change from Day 2.
We arrived at the Park Inn Leigh before 4pm (after Ian had stopped at Tescos to get a cheap T shirt). I waited with the bikes and saw to my surprise there was a watch repair kiosk there. My watch had needed a new battery for a while. How lucky!
So, a brilliant day. Possibly our hardest day to come tomorrow though. Stay tuned :)