To celebrate the first anniversary of my 200-miler, I decided to do the June Fondo after work today. In all honesty I was going to do a Fondo today anyway, but why not make an occasion of it?
I was able to leave work at about 3:30pm. A bit of a wind coming from the west, but dry and warm. Quite cloudy when I set off but the sun came out for long periods later on.
I was going to go straight up to Melbourne then over the bridge, but absent-mindedly went up Top Brand instead. At the top I decided that the quickest way to get to the South Derbyshire town with the Australian-sounding name would be to go left through Breedon, but looking at my track on Strava, I wasn’t right about that. Would have been quicker to keep on to Isley Walton then turn left, or to go through Wilson. I normally prefer not to take that latter road though because it goes past a quarry, and the road is usually rather dusty.
Anyway – up over Swarkestone Bridge then west along my beloved flat A road south of Derby. I went a bit further than Sudbury where I calculated that if I came back through Ticknall and Hartshorne, I’d have done the required 100km.
Beautiful out there, especially at about 9pm in bright, late evening sunshine. Back shortly before sunset. I did think of stopping at a pub near Hilton for a pizza or something but I’d brought enough food with me, so I didn’t.
Really loving these opportunities to go out in shorts and short sleeves. I’d brought a long-sleeved top in my backpack in case it was too cool later on, but it wasn’t.
I really enjoyed gliding back along the A road with the sun and the wind on my back. Glorious. If only the last ten miles could have been flat as well.
Listened to my Alastair Reynolds audiobook, which is only just maintaining my attention I have to say, then Iain Dale on LBC who was hosting a sort of ‘Any Questions?’ without an audience. Quite good-natured. Then he had a phone-in about Gareth Southgate and his attention-seeking “Dear England” open letter. I’ve come to dislike Southgate, I’m sorry to say. He is arrogant, self-important and unwilling to listen. And for the first time in my life, I’ll be hoping this current crop of attention-seeking English footballers, with their fondness for political gestures, get knocked out in the group stage of a major tournament.
Anyway, 63.18 miles.