Northerly winds part 2

 After a good meal at the Roebuck in Eye just north of Leominster we woke up to a stiff northerly wind sendingArctic  temperatures our way. For the first time it was arm warmers, leggings, thermo shirt etc. Before that we had been served a healthy breakfast by our hosts (full English) whilst admiring the soon to be well-hung beef grazing outside the window. We bid our friends from B St E farewell and headed into the wind.

And it was pretty hard going - it was smack into our faces all the way. Very pretty but very windswept scenery.Ludlow - very pretty. Stopped for a sandwich in Much Wenlock (followed by big climb), chocolate brownies in Shrewsbury (followed by climb - why are cake stops always placed before a climb? And where do they find those extraordinary pretty English girls who work in the cake shops? No not Polish, Lithuanian or even Danish! There is some hope for this country after all - although not for us sweaty, smelly and tired old geezers!). Anyway we carried on, by the end of the day more standing than sitting as our backsides were crying out for a rest (in spite of masses of chamois creme, arnica etc - we almost need seatbelts to prevent us from slipping off the saddles). We finally threw in the towel close to Middlewitch. 80+ miles done. Too tired for a drink or a meal. It's lights out - the wind will still be there tomorrow. Is this fun? Well it is about 80% pain and 20% ache - but for the kids who will benefit from the generosity of our donors (> £1500 raised for Kids Company so far) it is worth it.

 But my butt is really sore - and not a beer in site, not even a Buttweis... , no that is too silly. Goodnight all.