LEJOG day 6

Today's route should have been a bit flatter than previous days and Tracy was looking forward to having an easier day in the saddle. Sadly, things didn't quite turn out that way.

The day started well, relatively flat and mostly uneventful. So dull in fact that we put music on our headphones for the first time. Tracy commented that that neither the scenery nor her own thoughts were particularly interesting, so time for some tunes.

We did have to cross a railway on a gated pedestrian level crossing. Tracy got a bit scared about crossing, with my blase attitude not helping. Turns out she was trying to tell me that the sign said that we were supposed to phone for permission first and there's me with my it'll be alright attitude and my inability to read prominent signs. I blame Tracy for her poor communication skills!

The level crossing where we narrowly avoided death by about 15 mins.

Anyway, we arrived at Leominster, our coffee and cake stop, in one piece. Tracy opted for a vanilla slice.

What this phone box needs is a crochet hat 

We continued north, to Ludlow, where we paused at a viewpoint above Ludlow castle. We started what was going to be our last climb of the day and I have something to get off my chest. It's about houses with names not numbers - if you call your house Hillcrest cottage, make sure that it's actually at the top of the hill. I know that it sounds better than '1/3rd of the way up the hill at best cottage" but false advertising for tired cyclists!

Ludlow castle

Anyway, Tracy and I were discussing both how quickly local accents had changed and also how people seemed less friendly than previous days. Then we met Rob who singlehandedly blew those thoughts out of the water. He's a local artist who we passed at the top of our "last" climb. He was super friendly, full of questions and positivity for our trip - Thanks Rob!

Shropshire hills

Tracy and I were a bit concerned about the next bit of our route - on the A49 between Craven Arms and Church Stretton. Having crossed it earlier, it seemed like a busy and fast road. We decided to stay on the minor roads, which added 1000ft of unplanned climbing. (Tracy comment - it was like being back in ruddy Cornwall. I was not happy!). Tracy ended up with low blood sugar and some words were said, followed by not many words at all. I went into the "break glass for emergency sugar mode"  - some full fat coke and a lemon drizzle cake at a cafe managed to stabilise her. 

Tracy's lemon drizzle cake. Devoured too fast for photographic evidence

Crochet hats are popular in this part of the world

No, I'm not sure either 

The rest of the route was mostly downhill to Shrewsbury. We arrived whilst they were preparing for a flower festival next weekend.

Crossing the river into Shrewsbury 

Apparently our bikes have taken us back in time to the early 1980s

It being Saturday night, the city centre was full of revellers, though not the sort to attend said flower festival. Seems like the city, rather than being the quiet agricultural hub that I was expecting, was actually party central. Our hotel, as it transpired, was at the heart of the revelry, with the whole bar packed with drinkers and live music on until 11pm. We weren't up for the party, so managed to find an empty Mexican restaurant and hide in the corner. Food was excellent. We then went and hid in our hotel room until morning. 

Distance travelled: 63 miles 

Elevation: 3993ft

Cake of the day: Lemon drizzle cake

Tracy whinge factor 5/10 (got the silent treatment)

Total distance: 384 miles