Sunshine, Marmite and a Chopper

This was not a long day, so we left our Travelodge in Sutton Coldfield around 9.30am under clear blue skies. It was going to be another scorcher. We rode through Sutton Park and past the place were we’d picnicked on the grass the previous evening.

Picnicking in the park had been a relaxing way to end a hot and bothered day in Birmingham, marred only by Morris’s attempts to engage Katheryn in a conversation about animal droppings amongst the grass near to where we were sitting. I struggled through my Camembert & salad roll whilst he chirpily announced “these are definitely horse”, poking his finger into the grass and flicking something. Soon they were engaged in a “Rabbit .... no sheep” …. “or maybe goat” debate. “Morris” I told him firmly, “Stop talking sh*t will you?”. And I’m glad to say that was the end of the matter.

We really enjoyed today’s cycling – bright sunshine, a light tail wind, long flat roads, straight and easy. Mostly up the A38 today, the temperature touched 29 degrees Centigrade. In places the tarmac was melting! It was like riding through Provence, but without the vineyards, sunflowers and lorry-drivers relieving themselves by the roadside. The other differences were the signs to places with names like “Uttoxeter” and “Lichfield” and although the local accent is changing, it can hardly be mistaken for French.

I’ve had loads of people asking about the "Mr Angry and the slobbering Rottweiler" incident in Birmingham yesterday. Please don’t worry, I did not have to resort to using the FCA Teddy Bear-sacrificial-dog-decoy (attached to the front of my bike for emergencies). For those of you who are concerned: even if I had resorted to using the Teddy on the Rottweiler, we carry a stock of Teddy Bears in the support car, sufficient to satisfy a small/medium sized pack of large dogs (yet another sign of how well planned and professional this whole Cycle Challenge has been).

Today we stopped off in Burton on Trent, where they make Marmite (that’s me savouring a Marmite Cereal Bar outside the famous Marmite factory no less!)

Having some time on our hands, we wandered around Burton for an hour or so, picking up some new drink bottles from Halfords (as I’d worn 2 out on the trip so far). The good news is that Morris was fortunate in making a new friend. We were not only very impressed with this guy’s chopper-roadster bike, but also his keen sense of fashion. Like nearly everyone we’ve met here, he’d never heard of Lands End or John O’Groats (which would be due to them being so very far away no doubt).

All in all, a perfect Cycle Challenge day on the road North. Tomorrow we visit the Derby Office, then a long and probably hilly ride up to Leeds. The weather is predicted to be getting cooler.

Daily Statistics:
Distance = 42 miles
Maximum speed = just 26 mph (it was very flat)
Average speed = 13 mph
Temperature = somewhat scorchio!
FCA Teddy Bears eaten by Rottweilers = none so far

Quote for the Day:
"For my part I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move, to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly, to come down off the feather-bed of civilisation and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints." Robert Louise Stevenson.