I’ve seen a lot of weird place names on my travels but Aston-juxta Mondrum is the current winner.
Today started at ironbridge with a pretty steep climb up out of the gorge, but after that it was very flat with a tail wind. Gps said 51 miles, ctc route says 57. I had the gps on battery saver mode and it lost reception a few times in the rain. Either way, 3h44 pedalling, 1h lunch, and 30mins sheltering from rain. Arrived at bnb at 3pm, all admin done by 5pm and i’m having a relaxing time. The weather forecast was spot on – rain in morning, dry at lunch, heavy rain later. I arrived just as the later rain started, phew. Rain at the end of the day is a big deal because you have to dry all your gear overnight.
I just checked the map, and i’m nearly at the top of wales! Tomorrow’s map page is full of colored ink – manchester and motorways everywhere, but hopefully that’ll keep the traffic off the wee white roads i ride on.
Day: May 17, 2009
Into Cheshire
Well, it rained pretty hard until i reached Market Drayton after 33 miles. In some ways, stopping to shelter was a bad plan because you stop generating heat and it’s unpleasant to start again. One small benefit of foul weather is it stops you thinking about tired legs! Definitely gives you motivation to grind away and keep the speed and heat up. I needed google maps to get through Market Drayton since i entered through a massive housing estate that my road map didn’t show. The sun made a brief appearance, enough to dry out a bit on the way to Nantwich, where i’m having a pub lunch. Some bumpy farm trails today, but also some more manicured countryside too. All the raindriven pedalling means i’ve done about 45 miles this morning, even with a late start due to late sunday breakfasts. So only 15 to do after lunch up to Wimboldsley. Gps says 417 miles done in total so far.
Ironbridge
Iron bridge in Ironbridge. And then it started raining, and hasn’t stopped. Currently huddling in a bus shelter at Great Bolas having something to eat and trying to guess if the weather is going to get better or worse.