A dry, mild afternoon with low winds from the west was promised, so I took the afternoon off work with the intention of getting another Fondo in, which would take a decent bite out of the remaining distance-to-go.
As the end of the year approaches, I’m conscious that I haven’t really done that many interesting rides this year. I’ve tended mostly to stick to tried and tested routes. I felt the need for a bit of an adventure.
I have, roughly speaking, three westbound routes. The first one which I used years ago for rides to Stafford and Wales goes through Appleby Magna, Clifton Campville, Alrewas and King’s Bromley. That fell out of favour partly because of the state of the roads and partly because it was a bit hilly, and I hadn’t done it for more than two years, maybe three. The second runs north of that and goes through Coton in the Elms, Walton-on-Trent. Barton-under-Needwood and Yoxall.
The third and most recent runs along the (beloved) Flat A Road south of Derby, to the north of both and that’s the one which is favoured now.
So: I decided to go out west to Abbots Bromley via the oldest westbound route, and come back via the second-oldest. I fashioned a route on Thursday night with a new stretch of road to connect the two routes at the western end. I replaced the first part of the outbound leg though with a section grafted on from a version of the Twycross Bypasser.
When I got to Abbots Bromley I stopped to get some food at the village shop there, then after lunch on the bench, continued a bit further to the west for a bit. The simple circular route would have seen me back on a bit less than the regulation Fondo distance. I must say the village looks like a lovely place to live.
This was a lovely day out on a bike. The oldest westbound route is a bit odd in that it starts to feel a long way from home quite early on; a territorial / psychological thing I suppose, but it adds to the sense of adventure. The stretch that I hadn’t done before, between Abbots Bromley and Yoxall was really nice, quiet with some terrific views. Getting dark by the time I made it to Barton under Needwood, but I’d seen all the new bits by then.
Listened mostly to 5 Live, but I finished off the Reacher novel as well. Quite a satisfying climax. Not sure what to listen to next.
One of the most memorable rides of 2021. I managed to recapture a bit of that pioneering spirit of 2016/17.
Back on 64.04 miles. Exactly 4650.0 done this year.