I got on the road about 9:30am. This was generally the time I got started because the earliest time I could get breakfast was about 8:30am. I made my way out of town on a not very busy A road (A519) but quickly turned off onto a set of maze-like country lanes. I'm not sure exactly what route I took but it was on small deserted roads that had recently been recovered with tar and gravel. The gravel was still quite loose and it made for some tricky riding.

I had been told that once I got past Telford that it would get much more industrial. It surely did as I began riding past "industrial estates," which is what Americans call "industrial parks," complete with lorries (trucks) coming and going in large numbers. There wasn't much to see and I didn't take any pictures.

I did have one moment of concern on this ride. I had heard that there was a chance of thunderstorms in the area I was riding this day. At one point, I heard this enormous rumbling. I figured it was thunder. I stopped and put my plastic bags over the biking bags and then started wondering what the best course of action was. Clearly, staying under a tree as a bad idea but would lightning be attracted to a moving bike? Would the rubber tires interrupt the grounding of the bike? I didn't know what to do but since it hadn't started raining yet, I just kept on riding. As it turned out, it never did rain or thunder again. In retrospect, I think the "thunder" I heard was some kind of industrial noise.

I went through the town of Stone where I found a bike store and got some bolts for the bike rack. It is amazing that virtually every time I passed a bike store, I would stop for something. It is like when I am driving a car and I pass a gas station, I wonder if I need gas or not.

There was more rolling hills and country lanes from Stone to Ashbourne. In fact, the most common view I had was of rolling countryside full of farms (and cows and sheep) whose fields were separated by hedges with the odd tree here or there. Here is what I saw day after day.

Here is, yet another, church that I rode by. By this time, they were starting to all look the same but I still found some of the views memorable, which generally engendered a picture.

I arrived in Ashbourne about 4pm, after clocking 42+ miles. The Tourist Information Center found me a B&B that was about 200 yards away. For some reason, I felt the need to take a picture of the B&B I stayed in.

After relaxing a short while and then taking a shower, I walked around town. I found a Chinese restaurant that was willing to create a broccoli dish for me. That was a little bit of heaven.

Tuesday, August 6: Rest day in Ashbourne
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