8 - Bolton to Shrewsbury

Stats for the day:
Distance: 125.5km (78 miles)
Elevation: 494m
Saddle time: 5:23 hrs
Total time: 6.54 hrs

Punctures 1/4

Average 
Speed: 23.3 km/hr
Heart rate: 100 bpm
Cadence: 76 rpm

Maximum
Speed: 42.5 km/hr
Heart rate: 133 bpm

Elevation profile



Tyre change

Today had most of the ingredients for another tough day; thunderstorms forecast, fully loaded bags for the first time & busy A roads. It was already raining when we left Bolton & within a few minutes we hit roadworks with a bridge shut we had to find a detour. However it turned out to be quite fun, the rain was only light & the lack of hills made the going easy.

In a change from the original plan we headed for Nantwich at which point Nick left us to head back to Warwick - an impressive 133mile ride for him. A fairly uneventful morning with just a quick puncture stop for Nick which tested his tyre change times in the rain. 

The lunch stop cafe was an example of the small world we live in. The jovial owner, in his 50s, had been sacked from his first job as a fifteen year old having been caught in the stockroom with a shop assistant in Camp Hopson, the local department store in Newbury where Sean & I grew up. 

how not to hide your bunker



Another of the highlights of B road travel is the small towns and villages you get to pass through that would never ordinarily cross your radar.  Today for example we passed by the delightfully named Cinnamon Brown and the more bizarrely named Preston Gubbals. 

Not much else to report, as you can probably tell from village names being a highlight rather than any scenery. We motored into Shrewsbury for the earliest finish yet at around 5pm. Pre trip we thought we'd be finished by 4 or 5 every day, although we so thought we'd be leaving between 8 & 9 - which as it turns out is the exact time to serve breakfast by the B&B rule book, along with an offer to do it earlier in such a way it's obvious they don't want to get up any earlier. 

And then there were two..

Thanks to Bernard for his evening companionship & reducing the load we had to carry, and even remembering to turn his phone on occasionally.  

Thanks to Nick for coming up with the idea in the first place and being a constant source of entertainment, despite a slight obsession with Germans and showers. Happy Birthday!