Didn't get to sleep very early :-( The Falcon Hotel need to make up their mind if they are going to be a hotel or a disco....
I did have a descent cooked breakfast at 8 :-)
After breakfast I dragged the bike out of the car and cleaned/lubed the chain, the bike was looking pretty damn dirty after yesterdays off-road shenanigans.
I ended up setting of at 8:40, after some very quiet and pleasant lanes I turned onto the Stratford-on-Avon Greenway
It would have been perfect if it wasn't for the ridiculous obstacle courses at every junction.
After the Greenway the route followed the Canal into Stratford.
The cycle routed skirted the edge of Stratford, after Stratford it was a reasonably quick ride to Redditch and lunch with Russ :-)
I gave him a call and he came over to escort me to his mansion :-)
2 Bacon Sarnies and 2 Hot Cross buns later and I was off, I stopped and gave Clive a call when I was 7 miles from Bromsgrove...
After what seemed an age I finally met up with him at the top of a hill, and we were off, he set off at a fair lick and I was quite happy to maintain it :-)
Clive escorted me right through the centre of Birmingham and got me onto the canal path on the way out....Then we parted company and I continued on the Canal.
It was interesting, the Stratford Canal was very scenic and pleasant to ride down, the Birmingham Canals had a completely different feel.
It seemed like a very long drag from Birmingham to Walsall, and I have to admit not very pleasant :-(
I was quite happy following the route to Lichfield and then...
Great...they just closed the path, no diversion no redirection...just closed :-( I followed the main road and managed to rejoin the path about 2 miles down the road.
The cycleway followed a canal for a short stretch before heading down a path, and I encountered yet another cycle friendly feature :-(
Once I had got to Lichfield and the end of NCR5 (It restarts again near Stafford) I joined the A51 and had the fastest ride of the past two days to the night stop.
When I got to the night stop I was able to use a hose pipe and a brush to wash of the Dawes, it was in a very poor state.
The Garmin had the ride as 102.75 miles in 8 hours with an average speed of 12.8 mph, route here...
I am starting to see the cycleways with mixed emotions, some of them are fantastic and a credit to Sustrans and will help promote cycling, some are a safe alternative to major and dangerous roads and some I just cannot explain the motivation for them!
4 comments:
Set off at a fair lick? I thought I was trying to keep up with you?
Really enjoyed it mate and I did an amazing 28 miles, a new record for me!
Good luck for the next few days eh?
Wow you say 102 miles like you have strolled down to your local shops I am impressed mate I struggled to do 12 miles the other day
I remember cycling some of those canals round Brum when I lived in Smethwick. I remember getting to one tunnel and it being very dark inside, no view of the other end, no railings and a very pot holed path. I turned back at that point. I had a colleague who used to run along the towpath and got shot at by some kids with an air rifle once ! You had a lucky escape.
@Clive...nope you definitely set the pace...I just maintained it :-) It was good to meet up with you...and find you are normal :-)
@Les....100 miles is NEVER easy, it just sort of becomes normal :-) In mid summer when the average speed is back into the 17-20 mph it actually doesn't take that long....on the hybrid with crap terrain it takes for ever!
@Rich...It was interesting to see how the mood of the trails changed with the countryside, the canals at Stratford were very picturesque and pleasant the ones around the more city and industrial area's were definitely not nice..
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