Monday morning commute

We left our Tamworth overnight-stop this morning with the commuters but we had the promise of a more memorable day than most. A quick wave to the animals at Twycross zoo and we picked up a lovely B-road route with some stunning views across the Midlands.

We didn't fancy cycling through the centre of Birmingham so we criss-crossed our way through the gap between Birmingham and Coventry. Being the London-centric souls we are, we were taken aback by the beautiful countryside and desirable real-estate on the way. Better still we found ourselves in a deli with a decent espresso in Balsall Common. Matt started to wonder how many players Birmingham City has judging by the number of footballers wives we spotted.

We carried on through Shakespeare country and then headed west. Before we started today we had planned to ride 60-odd miles the number from the AA Routefinder, but we knew we wouldn't be riding on the main roads so expected a longer distance on more cycle-friendly roads. Forewarned is forearmed as they say, so when the daily mileage went through 70 with no sight of Tewkesbury our target we didn't panic. Then came a road sign "6 miles to Tewkesbury". Good news, until the sign half a mile later saying 7 miles (more accurate as it turned out).

So 77 miles done today, a distance that neither of us has covered in a single trip before, and we both feel better than we have at the end of either of the two previous days. We're winding up the day with a nice Rioja (me) and a Fosters (Matt) and hoping that's the perfect preparation for the Wye Valley tomorrow.