Cycling Day 4 - Ross-on-Wye to Sale

Across the West Midlands

A cool breeze and grey sky, more March than August greeted us this morning but at least it was dry and with a light breeze, good conditions for cycling. A day of varied cycling lay ahead; from the winding roads of Herefordshire and the steep climb and spectacular views of the Malvern Hills, to the busy urban dual carriageways of the Black Country and the Potteries, the edge of the Peak District and Posh Manchester.

As seems to be the emerging pattern, the first leg from Ross-on-Wye to Malvern Link was the toughest and after that the cycling chums settled into a good rhythm. The second leg included a call at Tesco Worcester. This turned out to be abortive but undaunted we continued northwards on the A449, meeting a local cyclist at the next stop on the Kidderminster road and stopping for a third time just outside Wolverhampton. Dan and Rob pulled well ahead of the support team through the city and it was only at the A5 junction that Sandra and I caught them up. The next 20 miles took us to the north side of Stafford and shortly after the 4th break, Rob had a puncture in his back wheel and Faye and Stephen in the Volvo quickly changed the wheel to keep the pair on the move.

By now we had travelled from the South Wales borders to the edge of the North of England and were soon to enter our 5th county of the day. Before that, however, the 100 miles (102 miles more accurately) mark for the day meant a final stop in the car park of the Bleeding Wolf about 5 miles short of Congleton. A regular sitting outside enjoying his beer in the sun that had emerged from between the clouds, told us about the origins of the unusual name – apparently it dates back to a hunting accident involving King John.

The target for the day was 120 miles and this was completed with the final session through Congleton and Wilmslow and the finish on the Altringham Road. Having covered 450 miles in 4 days, the guys have already entered unchartered territory. No matter what happens, they have done incredibly well to achieve what they have already achieved.

One disappointment during the day was the news that Rob’s old school buddy, Peter Crouch was not going to be able to meet us as planned at Tesco Sale as a result of England duty. We hope to see him later on in the journey but nevertheless we continued in car and van to the store where we were met with some wonderful hospitality by Mark Stanley and his team who had laid on a splendid buffet and we all enjoyed an unexpected feast at the end of a good day’s cycling.

Another nice surprise for Sandra and I was to see David, Ann and Jennifer Rawnsley who had come along to see us. David had walked with me for 2 days last year – sadly one of his nieces is seriously ill with aplastic anaemia. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, Joni.

David kindly drove Sandra and Faye to Piccadilly station; they will both be back with us later in the week. In their place, we have been joined by James Blackely – ace sports masseur – for 2 days and tomorrow morning by my brother Chris who has checked out the route from Sale to Edinburgh and down to Wetherby, so he’s the only person who knows where we’re going for the next few days. Without a female presence, it will be interesting to see how the journey progresses?!