A night to remember… Not!!

Our night just outside Lichfield was not the best. I spent half the night on the loo and by morning was exhausted and not keen to spend too long away from one!

Unfortunately our accommodation was booked that night, so we had to pack up and cycle on.

After 7 or 8km of cycling I actually started to feel much better and so we decided that the closest hotel on our route where we could guarantee getting Tilly stored was of course a Premier Inn in Stoke… 40km away .

Linda says I’m an optimist but I think our friend front our last blog who said we were F’in mad was probably right on this one.

Don’t try to cycle 40km on no sleep, no food and when you think any wind passing moment could be highly embarrassing.

Anyway, fool that I am, we ventured on, only to get our first puncture right outside a church where one of the congregation then came over and asked if we needed anything. I refrained from saying a loo.

Naturally the puncture was on the rear, so the chain tensioner, Rohloff gear connector and chain all have to come off, but surprisingly we got the tube changed in record time and headed on to a cafe for a cup of tea. My first proper drink of the day.

I knew I needed something to eat but really didn’t fancy anything, my stomach sending a telegram to my brain informing it there could be dire consequences if I did. So I ordered a doughnut. Off my trolley sometimes.

I did enjoy the tonnes of sugar and jam and we plodded on to our next obstacle a private road closed to cyclists by the landed gentry land owner.

I was losing the plot by then and could have happily just curled up in the ditch for the day so it was amazing to have a guardian angel cyclist stop and offer to show us a route through the ‘Get Orf My Land You Pleb’ estate.

Andy (our angel) even gave us a tour guide commentary pointing out all the Private Land keep Orf signs which he duely ignored and said he’d done so for years.

He took us back onto our route actually bypassing a big hill too, and then said he may as well cycle on with us for another 5 km. What a star. It was great to have a companion chatting away and he was a lifesaver that day.

Once he’d gone we ended up on the canals again which were surfaced well and headed to Stoke. By the time we arrived it had rained and got cold, July? Really? And we checked in leaving Tilly at the head of a table in a meeting room and went to our room where I sat down.

I’d run out of doughnut and Linda came and took my hat off as she said I didn’t look like I could remove it!

I showered got in to bed and was asleep and snoring 5 seconds after my head hit the pillow according to Linda at 4.30

I woke up briefly when Linda went our for tea on her own, but slept through to 8.30 the next day solidly in more ways than one!