I hoped to do about 40 miles. No rain and low winds, but it was cold out there and a bit damp. There’s a lot of standing water out there at the moment.
The plan was to do 20 miles or so of the Eastbound Route, then come back the same way. I disregarded a ROAD CLOSED sign at Zouch in the hope that I’d be able to get past on a bike, but the road was properly flooded. At least a foot deep (first pic). I could see water flowing into a drain just a few feet in front of me; you can just about make it out on the photo. But it kept on coming.
My next idea was to go up to Donington, then over Cavendish Bridge and through Shardlow. But the northbound side of the roundabout on the other side of Donington was flooded as well. So I gave up and turned for home from there, albeit I took a slightly longer way past Diseworth.
Nice out there after dark somehow, despite conditions being a bit cold and damp.
I have a surfeit of part-used AA batteries from Christmas decorations at the moment so I used a single-AA mini LED torch as a front light. I’d only intended to use it as a “visibility” light but actually it did illuminate the road a bit. It’s not brilliant (pun intended) but I could just about get away with it on a well-surfaced road without fast downhill bits, with a head torch for backup.
Listened to Craig Charles on 6 Music mostly. Slightly surreal as I’ve been watching the 35-years-younger Craig Charles on the first series of Red Dwarf in recent days.
Back on 32.07 miles.