Day 4: Kendal to Shrewsbury

I probably shouldn't have stayed up chatting to Tim until midnight, but having not seen each other for more than 20 years we had a lot to catch up on.

Kendal to Shrewsbury, at 210 km, was to be the shortest day so far, so I was feeling relatively confident. Tim joined me for 45 minutes or so to get to the main road, and then I was in my own. Lancaster and Preston were lively as I was navigating them in rush hour, and by far the most traffic I'd seen so far (having seen Edinburgh late on a Sunday evening and early on a Monday morning).


A friend, Carl, who I hadn't seen for more than 25 years had offered a stop off en route in Layland, and it coincided well with an early lunch, so worked out a treat. When he greeted me as I was rolling into his drive he remarked that I was looking strong, but as an ex-paramedic he quickly became concerned about my Achilles. He had all sorts of useful kit, including foam rollers and ice, and after copious lunch he sent me off with both ankles wrapped in ice (ice and compression if not rest and elevation!)

By the time I neared Wigan I realised that I needed more help than a few paracetamol and now defrosted ice packs. I googled 'physio' and found a specialist sports place right on the A49, the brilliant Harris sand Ross Physiotherapy. They didn't have any available slots, but having explained my predicament to Andy, he very kindly asked Steph to take a look and she taped me up really well. I was so grateful. Without it I think I'd have had to retire within 24 hours.

Here's my video post after the physio in Wigan (I did something funny with the video which meant I couldn't upload it to YouTube, so here it is on Instagram).

With 110 km still to go to Shrewsbury there was still plenty to get done, but with all of that on the A49, at least the navigation was easy. Lunch was at a petrol station just south of Acton Bridge.

I think it was just head down and keep going after that. I can't remember much about this bit of the ride (other than the A49 being very long), but looking at the location of my photos the most picturesque place I passed through was Tarporley.

I did a video update from the saddle somewhere near Whitchurch, and then just kept going to Shrewsbury.


Given the time needed with the (much needed) physio and feeling a little delicate, I rolled into Shrewsbury about 9.30 pm. Dinner was from a Co-op (remembering to buy breakfast for the next morning), and then I needed to look for a bivvy spot. I found somewhere relatively discrete next to a bush behind Halfords, by a roundabout on the A49. Not the prettiest of locations but I got a good night's sleep.

So, that was day 4, I felt like I was getting there.

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