I was going to get up early and do at least a Fondo today, but in the event I didn’t get up until 1000. I was annoyed about that until a downpour of rain at 1100, after which I considered that I’d dodged a bullet.
But the weather brightened up nicely in the afternoon and I had mounted a bicycle by 1245.
A fairly strong wind was coming from the west and the plan was to do the westbound route for 20 miles or so, then come back. I took a longer route than usual over the first ten miles, firstly by going up through Packington and secondly by taking, on a whim, a different right turn out of Measham. I guessed that I’d probably be able to navigate back onto the usual route a bit further along and I was right. Made a change I suppose but it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride and not that interesting, so I won’t do that again.
After Kings Bromley I’d done 23 miles and only wanted to do another couple (I’d decided to try for 50 miles by this time). So I went exploring for a bit. I took a left along a road called Shaw Lane, then a right turn off that, also somehow called Shaw Lane. Both the Shaw Lanes had evidently been resurfaced fairly recently with the the sharp gravel which Leicestershire County Council (or was I in South Derbyshire at this point?) is keen to distribute on its public highways. So when I came to a T junction with a main road, I took a right onto that rather than turn back the same way.
Fortunately this led to the traditional route. I came back the usual way. Back on 50.69 miles.
The weather was lovely and the puddles had all dried up within about an hour of setting off. I suppose I should have made better use of it; I was back more than three hours before sunset.
Listened to football mostly; Brentford vs Spurs and the first half of Liverpool vs Chelsea. The latter game was the more interesting.
I also listened to the Rolling Stones’ Emotional Rescue. Like its predecessor Some Girls, a bit flaccid. But it does have some interesting quirks.