Day 5 - Withington to Maerdy

Friday 6th August

Distance - 100.03 miles (overall 376.95 miles)
Max Speed - 39mph
Time on bike - 6h 59m 05s
Average - 14.3 mph

Stoked On The Goat

Awoke early to the sound of birds singing, wasn't as nice as it seems though. In our attempt to camp in the most secluded place available we managed to camp the width of a small hedge away from a bird Avery the size of a house. We weren't complaining as we woke up fresh and the weather was on our side. Decided not to have a cooked breakfast but munch a few cereal bars instead and stop later. We were on the road at 08:00 am feeling good about the day. Feet felt so much better, we felt like our bodies both physically and mentally were adapting to the continuous pressures of cycling all day, eating whatever we can whenever and not sleeping in the most desirable or appropriate places. It was all good though. It was a quick 14 miles up just past Leominser where we stopped at a Truckers Cafe in the middle of what seemed to be an abandoned industrial estate. Both ordered a massive full English with toast and some sweet coffees, also we realised we had been wearing the same T-shirts for 5 days! This now became a challenge to see if we could keep this going the whole trip.

5 days on, still good

Our breakfasts at the Truckers Cafe outside Leominster

This sign was awesome

Back on the road we felt refreshed after our breakfast we headed directly north up the A49 to Shrewsbury, this felt great as we were covering the most latitude per mile so far. The roads and cycling was going really good. Stopped a few times for stretches and photos. A few stops stuck out in my memory, one where there was a sign at the side of the layby warning of a fine with a max penalty of £1000, this is normal I know but the funny thing was there was no reason given for the fine, just a warning of a pending £1000 fine. Another stand out from that road was an road side cafe, no normal road side cafe. It was an old fair ground ride named the 'Star Rider'. It had been placed at the side of the road and turned into a diner, I personally thought this was amazing, unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't visit.  The only time I thought this section of cycling was laborious was when we were plodding along up a massive steep hill where a felt myself drifting more and more into the aggressive side of cycling and enjoying it less. This however quickly disappeared at the top of the hill, not so much as the ascent was over more the fact that at least 10 Volkswagen Camper vans drove past, kitted out to the max. They seemed to go from the oldest model at the front the newest at the back, this cheered me right up for some reason. I had the same feeling you get from shouting really loud, kicking a football super high or throwing rubbish from a distance and it landing in the bin first time. From this new feeling and also the big downhill we were now on which increased it so I started singing out loud mostly a song by The Chemical Brothers called 'The Salmon Dance'.

The Star Rider pit stop cafe, which was unfortunately closed

When we arrived up at Shrewsbury we stopped at a Dobbies for a bowl of soup and a sandwich in which we were charged an arm and a leg for but we were in need of food.  Our legs felt really tight off the bike again but a few stretches later they were good. Feeling really good today, we had done 56 miles and it was only 01:00pm. We headed up the A5 up to Oswestry and stopped at a supermarket in West Felton. This was no ordinary supermarket though, it was like walking into and normal local supermarket except 30 years ago. Everything was old school, from the Decor to the smells to the clothes fashion of their current clientele. I loved it, I could of spent the whole just walking round fully stoked on just being there. It reminded me of going to my local Co-op with my parents when I was young, when supermarkets were the biggest places you had seen and doubled as a playground. We had a cycle to complete though so we focused and stocked up on some essentials and we were back on the road.  I have written in my notes 'I can remember falling of bike but cant remember where', this is frustrating because for the life of me this memory no longer exists in my head, and I have a feeling it would of been a good one. 

The most non appealing meal ever, but scoffed the lot

We were definately finding the zone today, the kind of place where rain, road surface, hills, wind and exhaustion don't phase you and you in a kind of day dream state where all you know is to keep going. This carried on until just before Llangollen where we stopped at a chip shop. Normally I stay clear of chippers, not because any healthy eating reasons but the fact that I cant stomach that kind of food, however cycling 90 miles does funny things to your appetite. Logan ordered fish and chips like a pro and I stood looking at the board clueless to what was on display trying to act as if I know what I'm doing. Then I heard the cashier ask"what would like to order?", giving up on the board I asked for a chicken pie supper and got a look like I asked her to marry me in a mental asylum, she took our money and ran it through the till. There was obviously a communication breakdown as what I got was not a pie, it was a chicken right enough that had been cut in half and cooked, that's it. I was too hungry to complain so scoffed the lot, although it was disgusting.

We were feeling surprisingly good after our meal so we decided to go for our first gnarly camp, meaning cycle till we cant maybe getting as far as Betws-y-Coed. The weather had turned and it was now raining heavily, this now had all the ingredients of a crap cycle but strangely there was something addictive and enjoyable about cycling into a headwind, when its dark and raining with no idea where or how far your going. This was stopped short at 98 miles when Logan got a flat so we fitted a new tyre and new tube at the side of the road and got going again.

Logan less than impressed with another flat

Somewhere we passed this, I cant remember where and don't know what it says, but its ace

Just a few miles later we passed a nice homely looking B&B 'The Goat Inn' in Maerdy, Corwen where we decided to stop due to the rain. They gave us a small outhouse with basics, like a shower room and a few beds, however this was luxury for us. There was pub there also so we had a quick shower then headed over to the pub which had a charming feel to it, more of a old school lounge feel than a pub. Sat down on the big comfy chairs to start our notes and sample a few local ales. It didn't take long to fill up and before we knew it the place was packed and there was a middle aged dude setting up a karaoke and playing keyboards in the corner. A young Lancashire couple with their kids sat beside and were amazed by what we were doing, this was the first time we really talked about we were doing since we began. There was also a young lad who nervously took to the mike and started singing Delilah in the best Tom Jones voice Iv ever heard coming out anyone but Tom Jones. With all the excitement though, exhaustion caught up on us so decided to call it a night, I tried to us the whole bed and remain stretched out as far as I could all night, just because I could.

Stoked on The Goat

Today was our first 100 miles, it felt really good although it was a cold day our legs felt good while cycling. Another good day done. One thing we noticed by this point is that no matter how much planning and trying to stick to a routine we do, no day is the same which we both found a massive bonus point. This meant that each day was fresh as there's only so much looking at a road you can do before your mind wanders and leads to boredom. Also, we eventually found out the problem with Logan's gears, his handlebar pannier had sheared of the mount for his gear cable so it was no longer taught and making gear changes on his front cogs impossible. If this wasn't fixed soon this would cause a major problem. Looking forward to tomorrow as we will be finishing the first of four legs by climbing Snowdon.