The Meriden Gap is a ribbon of rural England that runs down between Birmingham and Coventry. I’ve been down that way a couple of times – it’s a sort of extension of the Dad’s Army route – but never as far as Meriden itself. I did intend to visit the place last time I went down that way but made a couple of substantial navigation errors and turned back early.
This time, I uploaded the route to my eTrex and dutifully attached it to the handlebars before setting off.
A nice day, cool when I set off, too warm later.
Meriden is the site of the Cyclists War Memorial, constructed in 1920. One one side it features an engraving reading “TO THE LASTING MEMORY OF THOSE CYCLISTS WHO DIED IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919”. It was rededicated in 1963, with the plaque shown in the photo. The memorial is 50.6 km from home, making it an ideal destination for a fondo, and that’s where I turned back.
Very nice run out although the hills on the other side of the A5 are a bit tiring. I listened to LBC, then more of Simon Hart’s memoir / diaries from his time as a chief whip. Getting to the juicy stuff in 2023, with Suella resigning and Nadine insisting she was short-changed in the honours. Oh yes and Matt Hancock swanning off to Australia without receiving permission (albeit he did ask for it, a few hours before his flight).
The Meriden Gap is a really nice, quiet bit of rural cycling territory. In Meriden itself, you’re about 4km from the extreme outskirts of Birmingham and about the same distance from the very edge of Coventry. I suppose it will be subsumed by one or both of the great urban conurbations that flank it eventually.
Back on 101.34.