Distance: 73.85 miles

Time: 6:25

Elevation: 2024 feet

I’d already booked my evening’s accommodation at the snazzily titled Travelodge, Warrington Gemini, and it took the pressure off, knowing that I didn’t need to spend half the day considering where I should spend the night. According to Google Maps, it was 72 miles, and being a Travelodge I could check in at any time, so for once there was no rush.

Knowing I had so far to go, I gave the gears a check over before I set off, many of them had ceased to work in yesterday’s deluge. Satisfied, I rolled back down the gorge to the village and had a bacon roll and Oreo-speckled piece of rocky road. By the time I was finished, it was already 12 o’clock, so I thought I had better get cracking.

Being at the bottom of a gorge, it was no real surprise to find that there was a stiff climb up to the main road north, but it looked like it might be the only significant climb all day, so I might as well get it over with. Having already breakfasted, I opted to bypass Telford completely, picking some main roads on the map and deciding to power through the 25 miles to Market Drayton.

Then, just before the town, I spotted the Fordhall Farm organic shop and cafe, so turned in there instead. I had a beef and horseradish baguette which was very pleasant, but the main star was some very fine organic apple juice. Preparing for the restart, I had the first casualty of the trip, when my sunglasses disintegrated in my hands.

Deciding to bypass Market Drayton, I turned onto the A529, enjoying 10 gloriously rolling miles to Audlem. The sun had emerged, and for the first time all week it was starting to feel like summer, just the kind of time when sunglasses might have been handy.

Heading onto a quieter road for the 8 miles to Nantwich, I was happy with progress and went in search of ice cream in the medieval town centre. Renowned for its fine examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture, I couldn’t help but think that it seemed a shame to preserve an ancient building to turn into the Nantwich branch of ‘The Works’. Unfortunately, my hunt for ice cream reached a disappointing conclusion when the only cafes I could find were Costa and Caffe Nero.

Back on country roads, I was soon in Winsford and passed through without finding much in the catering line at all, then, on the way out of town, I stumbled upon a McDonald’s and headed inside. The day was starting to feel a little more like my journey down the Pacific Coast: the sun was shining, the miles rolling by, I was in a fast food restaurant late in the afternoon, and would be pedalling on into the night.

I took a series of A roads towards Northwich, passing the historic Quay district before turning onto Old Warrington Road. Now closed off to traffic, the road was in a poor state of repair as it wended its way around Marbury County Park, but I was pleased to be off the busy highway in the impending gloom.

Finally crossing over the M56, I knew I was in the vicinity of Warrington and merely required to pedal as far as the M62 which marked the town’s northern border, and beside which my night’s accommodation lay. I took a few quieter roads into town – passing the extensive site for the upcoming Creamfields dance festival – before turning onto the Trans-Pennine Trail to cross over the Manchester Ship Canal. Undertaking the last stretch, back on the road, I struggled to navigate the massive Gemini retail park, eventually finding the Travelodge at after 9 o’clock.

In need of a beer – after a successful day in the saddle – I discovered that all of the bars in the retail park were closed, but luckily there was time for one, in the Indian restaurant below the hotel, with the staff vacuuming around me.

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