£51.30 for B&B at Flornorvan in Kinver, West Midlands
£2.50 for five postcards in Coalport China Museum shop
£16.95 for two course dinner and two bottles of local ale in YHA Coalport cafe
£12 for dormitory bed in YHA Coalport
I made full use of my en-suite facilities and in room tea making equipment when I woke in the morning, and had a three course breakfast of fruit compote, porridge, and cooked breakfast as I guessed that part of my exhaustion the previous day had been from lack of nourishment throughout the day. I can't remember ever having such a large breakfast, but I guess I was burning lots of calories on the bike, as it slipped down quite easily alongside lots of orange juice and tea.
I left the B&B at 10am, having looked at the day's route and discovering that my destination was relatively close. What a treat, compared to the previous day's ride .... of course that all depended on me not taking lots of detours or getting lost!
I set off in rain as I navigated my way back to route 45; I certainly didn't want to ride any of the roads or canal paths I'd struggled along the previous evening. I decided this would be a good test of the various waterproof pieces of equipment of clothing that I'd brought with me - panniers, gloves, jacket, hat, as well as waterproof stuff sacks inside the panniers (just in case!).
Having rejoined my route without incident, I discovered I was on the Mercian Way and took a lovely path with sweeping bends through trees alongside the Severn river. As I was crossing the river and getting my camera out for a photo, a couple walked past so I asked if they would take a photo of me with my bike. They'd been out cycling on route 45 the previous day and advised me to avoid a certain off-road section that was really only suitable for mountain bikes; the man had broken a spoke and lost a mudguard and he didn't want my bike to end up damaged just because I was determined to stick to the Sustrans National Cycle Network routes.
As I cycled off along the path that nestled between the Severn and a steam railway track, I considered their advice. I really wanted to do this journey on Sustrans routes, but the B road detour that the couple had told me about seemed sensible and straightforward. Struggling up a steep rocky incline with my bike might put an extra 30 minutes on the day's ride, and I'd discovered how these delays can turn a pleasant day's ride into and irritating challenge.
By the time I got to the junction where I had to make my choice, I'd decided that my month's cycling was challenge enough without being unnecessarily purist about the Sustrans routes. As I set off on the B road the rain stopped and the sun came out, as if to bless my decision!
When I rejoined route 45, I came across some route markers and took a turn down a lovely little lane with grass growing in the middle. I'd ridden several roads like this over the previous week, and knew this was a sign of a little used lane that could be a delight to ride. I soon came across another way marker that directed me down an off-road section. I was in such a good mood that I blithely followed the sign, finding myself slipping and sliding down a loose rock path. I'd only got to the bottom and started to struggle up the other side when I realised that this part of the route was, according to my map, on road. I checked the simple compass that's part of my cycle bell and realised I was going in exactly the wrong direction ... so was riding in the opposite direction along the very path that the couple on the bridge had advised me to avoid.
Sighing at my stupidity I turned the bike around and pushed it back up the gravelly hill. Whereas my SPDs had been a nuisance on the wet brick slopes of the canal paths, they were ideal for this kind of terrain. Getting to the end of the grass-centred lane, I turned back onto the road that I'd been travelling along before and continued on the way I should have been travelling all along.
The final part of the day's ride into Coalport was along a wide path next to the Severn, which had formerly been a train line along the valley. Although the going wasn't particularly fast as the path was quite rough, it was flat and became smoother the further I got. After six miles of this, I emerged to cross the Severn on the Coalport bridge and I knew I was nearly at my destination. I phoned the hostel as many don't stay open for check-in all day, so was preparing myself for an afternoon of sightseeing in Ironbridge. The hostel was open though, and gave me directions for the final half a mile.
As I cycled through Coalport, a van pulled up alongside me and the driver started talking to me through the open passenger window, asking if I was in Ledbury the day before. I was suspicious, so said I didn't know as I was passing through so many places (though I knew I had NOT been in Ledbury). He explained that he'd never seen a Roberts bike before, so had noticed it, and my Bright yellow panniers were very distinctive too. I felt it was a little strange that he would almost drive me into the gutter to tell me these things, so I was glad when a car came the other way and the van driver had to drive off, leaving me behind. I'll never know if he was genuine or not, but whilst I'll happily chat to fellow cyclists I'm nervous of car drivers showing a pronounced interest in my bike or where I'm going.
Despite feeling that I SHOULD go sight seeing in Ironbridge with my free afternoon, I chose instead to stay in the hostel for the rest of the day and evening. It was quiet in the lull between school holiday bookings and school groups in the new term so I had the lounge to myself, lying on a sofa in the sunshine. I also had free wi-fi as a YHA member and could make myself as many cups of tea as I wanted in the self catering kitchen. I opted for dinner and beer in the hostel cafe too, so only poked my nose outside to go to the Museum shop to buy postcards. Even though I hadn't scheduled rest days into my itinerary, the afternoon in the hostel did the trick setting me up for the next few days of cycling up towards the Lake District.
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