Where camping is fun for disabled and able-bodied together

Day 5 began with Tim bringing me and Vix cups of tea in the tent which was an unexpected luxury which I savored over the sound of the adjacent A49 and the incessant smell of a chicken farm. We made an effort to get ready by 9.30am and the girls agreed to pack up the rest of the gear to allow us to get on the road. One close call came when Ben said he and Tim needed to lube up and I assumed he meant putting chamois cream in their shorts as is their habit (to prevent saddle sores). He actually meant lubing their bikes but I guess we were both lucky he didn't ask me to do it for him!

We followed country lanes to the nearby A road which, as a Roman Road was pretty straight and pleasantly undulating. Having never traveled through this part of Herefordshire/Shropshire (why would I have done!) I was surprised how agricultural the area is. Not many cars or buildings, just lots and lots of farming.

We made good progress to Bishops Castle where we cycled up the steep, narrow high street and had lunch under the town clock. With my belly full of pasty and cake and the sun shining on my face it was a struggle to climb on the bike and get going again. I'm convinced that a nap in the middle of the day would do wonders for productivity but maybe I'd think differently if I was paying the wages!

As we left town we passed a signing for 22 miles to Shrewsbury, our planned overnight stop. Apart from a steady climb early on, the road allowed us to stay above 20mph for most of the way and we arrived on the city's outskirts in double quick time, surprising Mark and ruining his chance to read the paper. Buoyed by our quick riding and the fact that we felt pretty strong, we decided to push on and bank some extra mileage. Mark took the bypass around the town while we headed straight through. Even though we made a wrong turn in the centre, we still beat him on to the road north as we cotinued our fast pace, swapping turns to take the lead to allow the other two to rest.

The girls had gone ahead and found a campsite on the outskirts of Wem (no I'd never heard of it either). On our way through town I got yelled at by a bloke who I made me jump when he stepped out in front of me, whilst 2 groups of kids threw things and shouted at us. This didn't really bother us (we had Ben with us and he was hungry I.e. Angry!) But it didn't bode well.

Mark had done his stuff at the campsite and once they had seen our web page, let us stay for free! Really nice hot showers and a good clean site + pigs, cats and ducks. A big thanks to the Lower Lacon campsite for their support!

Tomorrow we head for the Wirral where Mike and Lyn are putting us up at their house. Although we will still camp, we will have the joys of tv and a washing machine + Mikes legendry cooking. Should be a short riding day but likely to be more built up than today. Reckon I'll sleep we'll despite the fact that the temperature is dropping as I write this.

Craig