Bicycle Touring England: Shawbirch to Hockley Heath

Life after sepsis and back to bicycle touring, my latest update: cycling in England, Shawbirch to Hockley Heath. 55 Miles. Well, that was a good day, and a good evening last night! After checking into last night’s hotel and having a shower, I went to the pub next door.

Upon arrival, the staff were apologising that they’d been so busy today that they had run out of most things!

Undeterred, after all, there was nowhere else I could go, I sat down. Anyway, the long and short of it all was that after messing up my order and having to wait, all I got charged was £7, a two-course meal and all my beer! Happy days!

Today’s ride was also good; it’s been mainly spent on towpaths beside the many canals that are around Birmingham.

I managed to find the Brooks factory okay, I just had a bit of a nightmare finding my way in! But once in, I was soon looked after by Stefano and Kasia. Five minutes was all it took, five minutes! To repair my saddle! After thanking them both and swapping my saddles over, I was once again on my way.

What A Relief

I can feel my bum beginning to recover already! And unless you ride with a Brooks, you won’t really know or appreciate what I’m saying, but trust me, they are by far the best and most comfortable saddle going!

Coming out, or rather crossing Birmingham, was relatively easy; I just followed the canals. I was going to follow the canal all the way to Stratford Upon Avon, but the nice tow path that I’d been on ran out, replaced with a track!

Life After Sepsis: Ireland Bicycle Tour Information

• • Photos: See my photos on Flickr
  • The route: My route to Ireland and back
  • Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
  • Tour page: Ride overview

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.