We had a short ride to our first stop of the day which was Burton Albion and the Pirelli Stadium. As with many of the smaller clubs they were really welcoming and getting pitch side was no problem. The players were in for training and were a little bemused by four people wandering around in bright yellow T Shirts.
The exit from Burton takes you past the Marstons Brewery and whilst 'Pedigree' is one of the finest drinks ever created the smell of mashed hops wafting across the road at 10.00am does not react well with the scrambled eggs eaten a little earlier.
The Burton to Walsall stretch was 29.5 miles which was enjoyable once the legs decided it was time to join in. The A38 was dull but the surface was good and I was able to eat up the miles very quickly. Once off the A38 I came across a place called Walton-under-Trent. Now for all you geographers out there you will know that the Trent is a river. So how do all those people live under the river?
The Banks Stadium or the Bescot Stadium whichever you choose is tucked away on a retail park as many of the more modern stadia are. It was no problem getting pitch side for photos. It coincided with the groundsman going past us marking the white lines. The conversation was much along the lines as any chat you have with a groundsman. 'Are you at home on Saturday?' 'Yes and on Tuesday and they're even training on the pitch tomorrow!' There was no doubt that the thought of all that going on after he had lovingly created the pitch was almost too much for him.
To be honest I could have been talking to John Woodbridge the groundsman up at Chorleywood.
We departed for the nine mile hop to Molineux and the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. My only previous visit to this stadium was in 1975 when my old football manager, Dave Crowther, who was a massive Liverpool supporter took me and one or two other lads to the game which Liverpool needed to win to win the old first division. They did so 3-1 with Kevin Keegan scoring one of the goals.
We were shown around part of the stadium but could not get out on to the pitch due to elf'n safety as they are in the process of costructing a new stand at the ground. Poor excuse given our cycle helmets could have easily doubled for hard hats. A smashing elderly gentleman called Malcolm showed us around. He had been a Wolves suppoter since he was a boy and there was not much he did not know about the club.
We were shown the tunnel, the place where Mick McCarthy does his press after games and the home dressing room. The referees room is called the Jack Taylor Officials room. Before Howard Webb he was the only other Englishman to referee the World Cup Final and awarded a penalty kick in the first minute of the final between Holland and West Germany which the Germans won 2-1.
Sadly no referee was needed in the confrontation that took place on the A41 from Wolverhampton to West Bromwich. The outcome was all too clearcut. Josh was riding with me at the time but unfortunately was forced off the road by a car. He baled out the side door and off the road but sadly the white truck following him ran over the front of his bike snapping the front forks rendering it unrideable. He has one or two bumps on his elbow and knees but the damage is only superficial. Thank goodness it was that way round. I am sure he will be on the road again tomorrow sharing Rebeccas bike so that he can carry on.
As metal figured in the title of the blog today we thought we would use the tunnel photo at Molineux where there is much metal on view.
The distances for today are 51.3 miles with a total of 420.9.
Au revoir
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