Thursday 13 June 2013

All Stretton to Chester

62 miles total ascent 782 metres

Today started with a porridge and banana breakfast with coffee cake..hmmm...anyway. the rain has been falling heavier but I decided to get on with.booking up the hostels for the next three days before setting off. Two minutes after the off o went left on route and kev went right...off route...I'm guessing to the cycle shop in church Stretton.

Last night the two ladies in the hostel with us were nice enough . Lesbian couple . They were the drivers of the car that was almost forced off the road by an arrogant merc driver yesterday making them have to reverse into... U guessed it...me. some drivers really are numpties.

We got going about 10.30 am and headed to Chester. The sky looked bad with a big B.

Thankfully the wind was favourable and I was flying along hoping to get some miles in before the heavens opened again. Just as I tooknoff my.jacket to cool down the rain arrived....hard...cold and horrid.

Today's ride was about heads down and get there and sod the scenery. The gusting wind and rain just went from bad to worse and I was getting cold as I shorts on. We were just talking about how at least the wind was behind us when ...the wind changed direction.

We took a breather from the 62 mile dash in Ellesmere..but there was nowhere to keep warm so I decided to keep riding through the rain for the last 25 miles ish just to get there and to keep warm.

Finally Chester arrived. Just another town really. It has a Roman amphitheatre with a class of bored kids and a bald man dressed as Spartacus...Zzzz.

The GPS route took us directly through heavy traffic, potholes, moron drivers to the hostel. The hostel had closed sometime back and relocated to the other side of town. Yay, I got to ride across Chester in the rain twice.
But eventually the sky cleared a bit and after a warm shower in the bunkroom hostel I felt almost human again.
I spent an hour or so chatting with katelin from Perth who is backpacking around the uk, then I walked into town to feta pizza dressed in tights!

I can tell I'm getting further north as tonight the accents of the locals have changed...eh upp!

I didn't take many.pictures today because it was so wet I had to keep my.phone inside my rucksack. Besides all I saw really was a rain covered GPS screen and my wheels spinning through puddles!

So here I am on.the sofa slobing  out and just happy to be warm ans dry for the first time today. There is something really good about that feeling when you have been riding in conditions like today..it's all the better for having earnt it.

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