Day 4 Ludlow to Haydock

FIRSTS

Today has been a day of many firsts.

Barry made a cup of tea for Richard and Mike and also spoilt the habit of a lifetime (well four days) by following the directions on the Garmin and staying on course. Success!

In fact the only time we were off course was for lunch at a great little cafe just outside of Whitchurch. This coincided with Mike the driver using the find my I phone app to locate us and then ringing thinking we were lost.  How ironic as this was the first time we deliberately strayed off the course albeit by around 400 yds.

Actually the quality of food today has been much better. We started at church Stretton in a small cafe as the Ludlow travelodge doesn't have breakfast facilities. This was after having done the first hour riding on some frusli bars and was a nice way to do it as it made the day feel a bit shorter.

Breakfast Cafe

We then pretty much headed up the A49 to Shrewsbury. One considerate moment came from Richard when a truck was trying to pass us and he pulled into a junction to allow the lorry time to get past.

When complimented on this he said "I thought it was trying to draft me!".

Shrewsbury

Navigating Shrewsbury can be a challenge as there is a big hill with cobbles in the middle that would not have made pleasant riding today. However, at risk of being controversial Shrewsbury council has done a great job with cycle lanes all around the by-passes such that we could navigate with no trouble whatsoever.  

Shrewsbury cycle lanes

I know lots of places struggle with space but this part of the ride felt excellent as we went through a busy town separated from the traffic at a good distance.

They knew we were coming

NEARLY HOME

We then passed very close to our houses in Wrexham and for me personally this part of the ride was tough. Perhaps because the road was familiar, perhaps because home was just a left turn and twelve short miles away, perhaps because there were no real climbs or descents just repetitive rolling road, perhaps because we had stopped on "sequals better than the original movies" at Godfather II and the Empire Strikes Back.

Meeting Nia for Lunch

It did help greatly though seeing some friends for Lunch and then also at our last drink stop.  It is quite humbling that people would go out of there way to come and just say hi and it means a lot to us.  Chris actually just got onto the A49 and drove with a view that he would go as far as Warrington.  He caught us about 5 miles before we got there.

Lockview cafe.  We recommend all sandwhiches

The remainder of the day was smooth and steady progress with us now having found our pace (one step up from pedestrian) we made it to the end of the route in good time.

The Warrington Wolves stadium

Tomorrow we face Shap. Ho hum.