Mad dogs and Englishmen

– A ride from Gloucester to York

>> A42 as we rode into Derby. A well-defined cycle path led us past Pride Park, home of Derby County FC and alongside the River Derwent. We stopped at a small food outlet as it was well past ‘elevenses’ for an expensive coffee and an even more expensive doughnut, talk about a sugar rush! Continuing through Little Eaton to cross under the A38 we were now heading for Ripley. We decided not to take any souvenirs home from Denby Pottery, I couldn’t quite fit a dinner service in the pannier, but there is a good cafe there. The last twenty miles of the day saw countless climbs, one after another, as we made our way to Staveley, hence the “Queen Stage” moniker. We dived onto the good surfaced NCN67 and left it south of Holmewood to re-join the path, after some head scratching, just outside Staveley. We couldn’t find the junction that we needed owing to it being right in the middle of roadworks. A cup of tea was waiting for us, almost Mrs Doyle like, at the B&B, as we rested our tired legs.