Rail and Ride bike ride to Rugby station and return to Nuneaton.

THIS VIDEO
This ongoing Video Diary by myself John Neal, sometimes known as John Longcroft-Neal, as the whim takes me.

TODAY’S SUBJECT is a Rail and Ride bike ride to Rugby station and return to Nuneaton.

GENERAL STUFF
I am retired from two careers of primary school teaching when I was deputy head of a Middle School and Primary School, and as a self employed Chalkboard Artist from 2002 until I reached the grand old age of 65 in 2016. Since I retired it’s like a second childhood but with more expensive toys.

I have written a book ‘Cursive Handwriting for Adults’
published by Ulysses Press and can be purchased from:

AMAZON UK

AMAZON USA

Gear that I use:
DJI Mini 3 Drone.
Iphone 15 Pro for camera, generally front facing so I can see myself in frame. Super quality especially if I keep the lens clean.
Go Pro11
Sony IC recorder

Insta x3 360 camera

Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone

SE mini microphone to do voice over on computer
Video editing with Final Cut Pro X
Ulanzi monopod / tripod MT-71

My bike is a e28.9 Estarli electric bike.

https://www.estarli.co.uk/

Money from ARTWORK SOLD will go to the MONA FOUNDATION
for details see https://www.monafoundation.org

I am a follower of the Bahá’i Faith and some of my philosophical ideas may show through in comments that I make, but, by and large, I’ll not make direct reference to my beliefs.

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/131048357093583
See www.bahá’i.org

I play guitar and write songs and have written about 14 songs for the local BBC radio station. I run a weekly (weakly) evening Acoustic session at a local pub and have been doing so for 14 years now.
Much of the music I use on this channel is taken from epidemicsound.com free to use on Youtube for a reasonable monthly fee, and sometimes I suffer you with my own music.

To hear my Bahá’i INSPIRED SONGS, (and others) GO TO:
https://soundcloud.com/jrwren/sets/bahai-inspired-songs

I now have three Facebook Pages
MUSIC
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574964972375

ART WORK
https://www.facebook.com/Johnnealartist/

Doors closing. Ground floor approximately 5 minutes. Well, hello. It’s John Neil here. It’s Wednesday the 24th of September 2025 and as you can see I’m at the railway station in the Neon and I’m going to do a rail and ride. [Music] So I’m going to take the train to Rugby this time. So, I’m going from Nenet and I’m going uh east and it’s about 15 miles away. So, I can make a nice route coming back um meandering through the countryside. Uh yeah, should be good, which will be about a trip of about 20 mi, which is just what I want to do. very kindly just had a chat with the um one of the staff members on the station here and he’s pointed me to where I can access the train and get the um the bike on quite easily and is more than happy for that to happen. All well and good. The tickets costing me is not allowed anywhere at this station or on trains. This includes e cigarettes and vapes. Thank you. That’s all right, madam. I wasn’t going to. Um, yes. So, I can get on the train easily there. Oh, the ticket cost me 9 quid, by the way, which I will pay. All these rail and ride um excursions I’ve done, nobody yet has ever checked my ticket. But me being honest, John, of course, I will always pay. So, it’s 9 quid to get there. So, somebody once complained that I went on it was 8 minutes before we left the station and and got on with with the bike ride. But it isn’t about the bike ride as such. It’s just getting out and about and showing you how you can do it. Oh, right. I tell you what, it’s not so warm today. It says it’s going to be 18°, but I don’t quite believe that. So, I’m fairly well togged up. Um, and I should be absolutely fine. Um, shorts. Well, always do the shorts. Um, yeah, because your legs are working. Um, please remember to mind the gap when boarding and lighting the train. Thank you. Who is this person? Um, yeah. So, shorts are fine for a while. If it does get cold, yeah, I’ll put something else on, but we should be okay. Right. So, next stop, uh, Rugby Station. This train will depart in approximately. He wasn’t hanging about does not stop here. [Music] Welcome aboard this London Northwestern Railway service to London, Houston. Somebody mate this um platform Doors opening. [Music] Here’s the barriers where you get out. And I had to search on my phone for the e ticket. But before I could even do that, the gentleman lent over and let me out. So yet again, not been checked. So, it was out of the station and looking forward to a lovely ride through the countryside. What could go wrong? Well, not much. Oh dear. I’ve just come up that road on the road and I didn’t need to do that. It’s a 60 mph uh speed limit. I should have come up this road. There are two cycle posts. So, I should have come up there. And now, apparently, I’ve got to go along this way and up and avoid going on this main road as well. It’s not easy following the uh commute on the phone, which is in front of me, and looking where you’re going at the same time. Uh right, so let’s um I say start again, but let’s get back on track. Well, that didn’t work either. And this is the only cycle way I could find which has a bike written on the road the other way up. And it ends just past this lamp post. And all you can do after that is to go back onto the 60 mph dual carriageway. This is not good. Well, cycle track and then this bloody lot. Well, I’ve just come to this roundabout now. Look, full of traffic. And it says this is the cycle way down here. And it just goes off there. And I’ve got to go up there, which is back on this 60 mph dual carriageway. It’s no fun. And there’s no way of getting off this this curb and the next curb. It’s crazy. Then this dual carriageway, which I’m stuck on, goes over the M6 and there’s still no provision for bikes at all. H Well, I don’t mind telling you this is nuts. And I think I’ve got to go over there. Here we go. So, yet again, I’m hemmed in very close to this big curb by the heavy traffic and uh there’s very little place for a maneuver and so possibly this happens. Fortunately, the bike wasn’t damaged and I was not hurt. Just a roll on the grass really. But my goodness, it’d be good to get off this road, which I’ll do in about another 30 yards. Woo! Yes, I came across that on account of I was having to drive ride so close to the curb because of the bloody traffic coming by at 60 miles an hour and the curb was yeah you couldn’t jump it. So I got too close to the curb. I had no space on the left to keep my balance and uh yeah I just came off. Fortunately it was all grassy. It was okay. And now at last I’m on a quiet country road, but my goodness. Ah, didn’t need all that. Getting out of rugby. Woo. Right, let’s see if we can make our way along to nice quiet country roads. In fact, this part here, church over and whatever is the area of countryside, I’ve not cycled in before. So, this will be interesting. That’s a big van behind me. Here we go. Oh dear. Oh dear. Right. From here on in, I know that I won’t be on any major roads, so I should be okay. [Music] [Music] Well, this is a rather pleasant church over Arra Magna Ford. Yeah, look at that. Isn’t that nice? I’ve always I’ve always liked a lane with grass growing down the middle. And this one’s uh pretty good. Just outside a church over which I think is just over there. Look. Uh down this quite lovely lane. And uh yeah, it’s all cracked up and got growth. [Music] Oh, a Ford. Well, if there’s ever a very disappointing looking Ford, this is it. [Music] I cross over the M6 and the M69 about four times. This is the M6. So, here we go again. 12 miles to get home. Pouting about a mile and a half. Well, I’ve pulled over in Paleon. There we are. This is a interesting building. Look at that roof line. Love it. Oh, by the way, what’s this big fella coming through for? [Music] I’ve stopped in Pton. Uh hopefully to stop at a shop and buy some lunch. I’m not desperate. I’m okay. But there is no shop. I just talked to chat back there. There is no shop in Pton, which is a pity. But there you go. Fortunately, the Dembi Arms is open and they serve food. Let’s go in. I am. I am. Oh, some to eat if I can. Yeah. Well, I’ve made it into the uh the Dembi arms and I’ve ordered a fish finger sandwich. I think you get chips and salad as well. A drink. So, I’m happy. Apparently, this building is um over 200 years old. Let’s still wait for the records to confirm exactly what it is. Yeah, I’ve been here before many times. Uh, Monks Kirby, nice little village. It’s just sort of stuck in the middle of I would say the middle of nowhere, but it’s it isolated on its own. And that church out there is absolutely stunning. This is some footage I took in January of St. Edith Church in Monks Kirby which is the largest parish church in Warikshshire. It’s grade one building and was built in 1077 and very nice it is too. Back in the day in the 15th century it actually had a spire as well but it fell down so it would have been even more magnificent back then. What a terrific building. Having fed my soul, I now feed my belly. Look at that. A fish finger sandwich. And those chips, they were excellent as well. Oh, thank you very much. Okay, thanks. Having refuelled in the pit stop, it’s time to set off on the way back home. Well, I don’t mind telling you that was very, very nice. I mean, there fish finger sandwich. Who would have thought it? Lovely. Yes, very nice indeed. But the sun is out in places, but there’s a very black cloud behind me as you can see. So, I’ll have to uh make tracks and get going. Uh I’m back on home territory now cuz I’ve been out to Monks Kirby before. I mean, look at that. I love those clouds. the different grays and whites. There’s a bit of a dark cloud over there. And I’m going that way. So, let’s uh head on home. This is a nice place, too. Look at this. Right. Uh just up ahead here is the uh Fosway. And I just do a right and a left to get on and off really. And then it’s on down to uh Wybrook and over to Wolvie and then on the way back home. Yeah, home ground. Now I know where I’m going. Yeah, it’s been a really good uh little trip out this. And uh it was fortunate that it’s a Wednesday because the pub is not open until Wednesday. So, Wednesday till the weekend. So, uh we must come back here and have lunch. It was very, very nice. Right, let’s see what’s going on here. [Applause] This being the end of the nesting season and breeding season for other animals, there’s a lot of birds around and their harvest have just been brought in. So, there’s plenty for these rooks to feed on. Quite a spectacle really. Then there’s quite a straight fast stretch up to Wolvie. But as you can see, there was a bit of a footpath here that I could uh buy and keep off the road. And then on past Wolvie Primary School where I first started teaching in 1974. Out the other side of Wolvie along a little road called Bazard Road. Curiously, there is Brmpet barracks and on the edge of the property are these bunkers that hail back to the Second World War when the whole site was an RAF base. And here’s another one as well, Ministry Fence. And then directly opposite is Thompson Lane. You think, “Yeah, so what?” Well, I’ve been here before, but I did a video down here and lost me shoe. But look at this. [Music] I have to say a bit strewn with litter, but uh we’ll not look at that. You know what? I think I’ll uh sign off here. I’m just going down past the entrance to the Bramut barracks and uh and then it’s onto the Lutworth Road and back home. So, I think I’ll call it a day. And uh thank you for watching and let’s car go by before I say you’ll uh you’ll see me next time. Okay. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye. [Music]