This is Simon's JOGLE Day 6 notes. Wigan to Kidderminster.

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Again this was a low climb day, with the challenge being to get out of Wigan and Warrington in one piece as we needed to travel busy commuter biggish roads.

As I was getting ready in the early morning - we need to be outside with the bikes getting ready for about 06:30 with departure being as soon as possible after 07:00 - I started to feel aches in muscles I did not know I had. I guess 500 miles was telling me something.

I was ready with time to spare and the sun rising in Wigan was pretty.

It is nice to be greeted in the morning with a big smile from Michelle.

Jonathan too was smiling - I guess he was not feeling any pain as he has done much more strenous cycling than this week.

Kinnari and Michelle getting ready for the start of the new day.

To get out of Wigan in the early rush hour was really demanding on our bike handling skills as it was dual carriageways, contraflow systems, road repairs, and more cars than were needed or the roads could handle - all rushing around too close with big queues at the 3 lane road / roundabouts etc. etc. We found the best thing to do was use the pavements, bike lanes and rather than go round roundabouts - use the pedestrian crossings, which we must have done 15-20 times.

We did get out of Wigan and through Warrington without real incident and onwards into Shropshire.

I love Shropshire.

I love its emptyness, its tree lined roads, and maybe I love it just because it is familiar to me. I was brought up in the smoke of London - and at 13 went to a boarding school in Shropshire. For 5 years I got to know Shropshire and with trips and walks and cycles I explored some of it. I have never wanted to live in a town again (maybe New York/Manhattan, maybe San Francisco - but it would need to be real central where the pulse is - or I want to live in the country) hence where I live now in Oxfordshire.

Anyway it was an interesting ride with vaguely familiar place names, and scenery. Did I say I love Shropshire.

The yellow dot in the picture is Steve and the distance he is away is what he covered in the time it took me to reach into my pocket and get my phone out. Steve motors along and I had a great day just slipstreaming behind him all day.

I just love these tree lined roads. With empty roads I am getting good at taking pictures on the move. And I got Steve to turn round while cycling too - so a real 'in motion' snap.

So the Sixth day was done.

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So the stats: cycled 95 miles, ave. speed 13.42 mph, 7:04 hrs on the bike, climbed 4,081 feet, ave. temp 11.0 centigrade.

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