Another break in the miserable weather and probably the last cycling opportunity of the year. I wanted to do about 45 miles, to preserve my 2022 average distance. The wind was blowing from the SE, but I thought I’d go up through Coleorton over Swarkestone Bridge and west along the Beloved A Road as usual.
However – I’d hatched a different plan within about half a mile of setting off. Instead I decided to go up Top Brand. At some point along Top Brand, I had the idea of going up through Castle Donington then through Shardlow towards Derby. So I did that. Must say it was delightfully sentimental to be rolling along the road between Shardlow and Derby. I used to go to work that way (in a car of course) back in 1989. Happy memories, can’t believe it’s 33 years ago now.
I took a right to Borrowash. I’d decided to take my old route into Derby from Nottingham, from the time I worked at Nottingham University. I only ever did that on a bike three or four times but I called in at Spondon Railway station, from where I used to take my bike to Nottingham and back on a train every day in the late noughties. I hadn’t been there for about 14 years; quite a strange thought given how familiar it seemed. Next, I went up Acorn Way to Oakwood, where I bought a house in 1991. Again – just indulging my sentimental side, but I find that as I grow older, the past seems to become ever more important.
After rolling through Oakwood for a bit I took an opportunistic turn up Morley Road. I doubt I’ve been along there since the early ’90s. Nice to see pubs I’d forgotten about are still there.
I came back much the same way, except that I went through Chaddesden in Derby, just to look around. And I detoured through Diseworth after Donington.
Back on 56.45 miles, which takes me to 397 this month and 5477 for the year.
I listened to Talk Radio for a change. I quite enjoyed Mike Graham but Cristo Foufas, who followed him, wanted to talk about COVID and has more than a whiff of tin foil about him, sadly. Very irritating to hear someone who knows next to nothing about public health matters assume he knows more than Chris Whitty, although some of his callers were worse. Pretty annoying to listen to a retired school janitor pontificating about genome sequencing.
Anyway. That was one of my favourite rides of the year probably. Much more fun than if I’d just done one of my usual routes.