Day Five 29.7.10 Leominster to Ilam

My longest day so far at just over 90 miles so I set off at 7.15 after a skimpy breakfast, fully expecting to pass somewhere en route for a more substantial repast. Didn’t see a thing until Bridgenorth, I was starving! The terrain was mostly flat or undulating today and I made good progress. The sky was very threatening all day but I only suffered a few drops of rain on a couple of occasions. I did suffer my first strong headwind of the trip which made for hard work. Climbed Cannock Chase and crossed Blithfield Reservoir. The last 4 miles to Ilam were mostly uphill but the Youth Hostel was a spectacular National Trust property. A group of young women were terribly excited about staying there and wanted to know what the wine list was like!!! I started to adapt to the cycling today, I was less tired and found a 90 mile ride relatively ‘easy’! Ilam YH has an excellent restaurant. Eight hours ten minutes in the saddle, 90.64 miles and an average speed of 11.0 mph.