I left my elbow in Badger!

Well it began so well! Everyone was on time, it was a nice sunny day and not too cold either. 

The route was one I'd tackled last year taking us approximately 40 miles from Seisdon, down the rabbit run, cutting through some randomly named villages, then onto Shifnal, the A5, A41, Cosford then home. At least that was the plan! 

My companions for the day numbered three; Dave-who will be doing the actual ride and Carey and Dan- fellow officers from our team but who are too scared to take on the End2End challenge!

We set off in good spirits just after half 9. The first couple of miles always seem the worst, having to shake off the rust and getting the muscles warmed up. We were soon on the rabbit run. A road that has numerous ups and downs, similar to that of a roller coaster. I think I even heard a scream or two from my comrades when the steepness of some of the inclines were eyeballed for the first time! 

A couple of miles later and we turned off into the countryside and we entered a village forever to be etched into our memories. Badger. probably named so, due to the amount of dead ones on the verges en route! It began with one of the steepest climbs I've done in a long time, two minutes of out of the saddle torture! And then the stories started! Carey began going on about ghosts and ghouls and how once you enter the picturesque Shropshire village, you will never leave! He has a very vivid imagination- i think he even still believes in Santa! But it got us all on edge thinking that it would be a very scary place to be once the sun had gone down.  

Once we escaped from Shropshire's answer to Royston Vasey we conquered another couple of hills before reaching Beckbury. And this is where it started to go wrong. As mentioned I'd completed this route some months ago and my memory of it was sketchy at best which is why I led the group straight past the left turn we should've taken. Instead we went straight on, meandering through country lanes before we realised we were back on the rabbit run. So what would've taken two miles to do if we had stopped on the rabbit run, in the end added about 6 miles onto our total journey! Oops! 

Wrong way!

After some verbal abuse off the others we made it to Shifnal. And then DISASTER! The curse of Badger village strikes! We were halted at a quaint little roundabout, somewhere that exposed no hint of what was about to happen.

We were deciding which direction to take-as our bearings had been corrupted by my earlier mistake- Dan said left and left is where I tried to go. I was in too high a gear trying to clip into my pedals and negotiate the island all in one go. It was too much. My left foot wouldn't clip in so I slipped off the pedal, my foot hitting the floor at such a rate it buckled and in super slow motion on a traffic junction full of other road users, I took a tumble landing on my left elbow. I was splayed out in what from a distance probably looked like some kind of bizzare porn pose! All the traffic came to a standstill. Not out of concern, but more for their own safety-it would be too dangerous for them to drive whilst crying with laughter! I say all the traffic stopped, but I did notice Carey continue his journey briefly before stopping to chat up some old dear who had witnessed the episode. He says she was offering directions to the local doctors....... 

Meanwhile I was still pinned to the tarmac by my bike. I tried sliding out from underneath it but alas I forgot that my right foot was still clipped in. So the more I tried dragging myself away the more the bike came along. This added to the waiting motorists laughter. Eventually with Dan and Daves help I got up (Carey still conversing with his new acquaintance) and i was on the pavement. On being asked if I was alright, I couldn't give an answer as the pain was yet to kick in. My elbow was stinging a bit, but I wasn't surprised as when I looked down it was grazed to hell. I think there's still some of my elbow embedded in the road. 

Realising that I was lucky to be alive, I gave my arm a quick clean up and we were on our way. Dan was at the helm as we exited Shifnal, up onto the A5, before looping round back down to Cosford for a cup. 

Ahh, John's Poorly arm!

The Cosford Air Museum has a highly polished wooden floor. This plays havoc for those wearing cycling cleats. Trying to get from the entrance, to the drinks machine is similar to an excited German Shepard attempting to transverse laminate flooring!  

Just 15 short miles later I was home. I felt like I couldve done another 20 miles-maybe it was because I was lighter, missing half an elbow and that, that made me feel like I could go that little bit further?  

Beware of the curse of the Badger!

This was posted by John