Didn’t think I’d much feel like cycling after 160 miles of driving today and I didn’t really, but since the weather was nice and I hadn’t been out on a bike for over a week, I thought I’d make the effort. About 90 minutes after parking the car on the drive following a weekend away in Norfolk, I was mounting Boardman II.
With the wind coming from the north-west, I decided that a trip up over Swarkestone Bridge and west along the Beloved A Road was in order. I wanted to do about 40 miles.
I went up via Top Brand and Isley Walton. I especially like to glide along Top Brand in the sunshine. Turned back a couple of miles after Hilton and came back via Wilson and Breedon on the Hill, to avoid Rotter’s Rise after Melbourne.
Unusually cool for this time of year when I set off, I thought. So I wrapped up warm. Should have taken a backpack so I could remove the tights and a top layer, and possibly my woolly hat because the temperature had climbed quite a bit by 4pm.
The second Boardman has had new bar tape since last time it had a run out, and the new tape performs pretty much exactly like the old tape – which is fine. The important thing is that it’s dark grey instead of a highly impractical shade of bright yellow.
Back on 45.36 miles, that’s 306 this month.