Originally Posted by
Marco
Parked at Rifle Range corner (now disused) on Cannock Chase and rode downhill into Penkridge and across the River Penk. Headed South through Congreve and across the A5 to Brewood, a pretty small town with some lovely old buildings, which has the misfortune to find itself surrounded by the A5, M54, M6 and the Shropshire Union Canal Main Line (that's what it's called on the map)
Headed West to Bishop's Wood before turning North and on to Wheaton Aston, twinned with Wheaton, Illinois. Went wrong here, (there weren't any road signs), and crossed Shropshire Union Canal Main Line, which wasn't in the plan. Still, I got another look at the very wide canal - a much more impressive piece of engineering than the Coventry Canal I'm disappointed to say.
After escaping Wheaton Aston I headed North through Marston and then on towards the oddly name tiny village of High Onn. The road was down to 2m wide at this stage, but it was straight and the surface was good until I reached High Onn. When I reached the small collection of farms that make up the village I was no longer sure if I was on the road or in the farmyard as the road surface was virtually non-existent. It didn't get much better on the road to Church Eaton either, and I had a mile of bouncing through the potholes and gravel - sometimes sideways.
After leaving Church Eaton I met the Wolverhampton bus on a road that didn't seem wide enough for it. Fortunately the driver had the right idea, and stuck it in the hedgerow to leave me just under a metre of space to pass on. No more incidents on the road to Bradley, where I picked up the Penkridge road back
The temperature started off at 18C, with a stiff and quite cold wind from the South West, but rose to 22C by the end. Thick cloud for almost the entire ride, and the occasional spot of rain. 56km with 530m of ascent