Day 55 - Longton to Birmingham - ride total 3,996 k, 25,262 m

I got away to good start and before leaving Longton I saw Subway were open and doing a "beakfast" deal - The bacon Sub and a nice cup of tea went down well and I headed out of Longton on a trail that pretty soon had me back on the Trent/Mersy Canal.

Back in 2017 before I embarked on my UK tour I went and had a chat with Anthony and Englishman kayaking/b iking friend as I was keen to pick his brains. He mentioned quite a few things that I've taken on board and also told me about the "best kept" secret to cycling in the UK. The network of canal tow paths that stretch across the breadth and a fair chunk of the length as well. While I don't go out of my way to design routes along the canals cycle.travel also knows of the secret and so I leave it over to it to make full use of them. Today was one of those days where perhaps half of the ride was beside the canals - be it out in the countryside or as I discovered to my amazment and joy today when I was taken right through the centre of Birminghait seemed beside the canal. The old industrial factories have been re-purposed as swanky apartments or the developers have built new swanky apartments alongside the canal (or over it) - they are certainy having a revival and there have been a great number of private and rental canal boats quietly chug chug chugging along at their 5 kph.

When I was not beside a canal then there was a good chance I was riding along a rail trail again like the canals they are great for cyclists - perhaps even better in a practical sense as the trail takes the full widht of a train carriage rather than the narrower width of a horses arse! That narrower width when further narrowed by stinging nettal on one side and a less than healthy waterway on the other means one needs to focus on your riding especially when approaching riders' are passing. I've said it before and will say it again if anyone is contemplating riding these paths then remove your cleat pedals - I see them as a huge health and safety risk as I for one would not want to be trying to un-cleat myself while tryng to swim with a bie that's attached to my feet! Alternatively if you do feel comfortable with your cleats then I suggest like the helicopter rescue training session that involves being strapped into a dummy helicopter then turned updside down and dropped into a swimming pool that you do the same with your bike (fully loaded - could be bricks to equivalent weight) just to satisfy yourself that you have all the skills for self resuce!

I've taken a screen shot (in the pics section) of the breakdown of today's ride - there was supposedly 110 metres on a busy road (sorry I missed where that was) then 32 km of sealed road (residential streets and country lanes) 45 km of paved path (beside the canals and the rail trails) with 10 km unpaved some of which did get narrow but easily manageable.

My accommodation over last three nights has been very variable;

1. Liverpool - a very tired old school hotel converted 30 years ago into a Hostel (bunks), however the very welcoming reception and cup of tea made up for a lot. Cost = $60

2. Langton - a very tired old school hotel with a single bed you knew was  sprung coz you could feel them - however made more comfortable by sleeping the other way around and it had an en-suite although they may have been called something else back in the 70's when the sheel lamni-board was the in thing for bathrooms.  Cost = $64

3. Birmingham - a very modern backpackers, very well appointed in the old industrial part of town (in fact I rode past it to start with) however once inside the door it had a very pleasant feel about it along with free tea and coffee from the well appointed modern kitchen. The bunks are three high but very well done. Cost = $42.50

Out of the three I would happily spend an extended stay at the Birmingham Backpackers and it goes to show that the quality of the accommodation bears very little relationship to the cost. Rather than use Birmingham as the benchmark and then get upset about the relative cost of others I prefer to use the law of average, swings and roundabouts or overs and unders when travelling and not get hung up about individual accommodation or cost. At the end of the day I want a reasonable place to sleep, and a hot shower. So far on this journey my accommodation chosen has met this criteria.

Not that I have used my tent yet however if I have to it looks like the price for a "single" pitch would be equal to or more than some of the lower priced indoor accommodation I have made use of.

I've got my final night's accommodation to yet sort out before I will be in London where my friend's Ian and Lone have once again said I am welcome to visit and stay with them.














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