For years I’ve had a vague intention to do a bike ride to Kilburn, an unremarkable village about eight miles north of Derby. I’d probably never have heard of it except that, in the early ’90s, it was in one sense the location of a (bizarre) love triangle I was caught up in, and the geographical focal point of a lot of emotional turmoil.
So, with the wind blowing from the north unusually, I decided I’d give it a go today. I set off at about 0950.
Up Top Brand to Donington, over Cavendish Bridge, up past Elvaston Castle. The intention was to head towards Oakwood, where I used to live all those years ago, then take what was my usual driving route to Kilburn back in 1993. Or one of them.
I tried to take a short cut through Spondon on the way to Oakwood, partly to avoid the busy ‘ASDA roundabout’. But I ended up on the A52, which – being a fast dual carriageway and the most popular road into Derby off the M1 – was considerably worse. Oh well. I put up with a mile of it, then I ended up on the ASDA roundabout anyway despite my attempt to avoid it.
At the next roundabout I took a right turn to go up Acorn Way. I was happily pedalling around it in the usual clockwise fashion when a learner driver decided to join the roundabout right in front of me. I had to apply brakes pretty sharply to avoid colliding with the driver’s side of his car. Perhaps the youth behind the wheel thought that right of way on roundabouts only applies to motor vehicles. Needless to say I gesticulated aggressively, but he looked very nonchalant about it. Would be quite funny if he was on his test, but somehow I doubt it.
Familiar roads from that point up towards Kilburn, albeit I hadn’t been on some of them for over three decades. Nice to see some familiar places, odd somehow that they’re still there after all this time.
Not long after Morley I decided to take a detour after seeing an idyllic-looking left turn. To the left, a long, quiet, straight, narrow but decently surfaced road beckoned, lined by trees. Very nice, but it didn’t last long and the next turn saw me rattling downhill along an uneven and grotty country lane. Ah well – it’s good to explore.
Got to Kilburn, had a look round. I decided to go back down to Derby the other way, down Derby Road. It had clearly been resurfaced recently – gravel bound with tar, but no white lines or road markings. This was a really pleasant stretch of the ride. It’s a big road and yet quiet, presumably because it’s parallel to the A38. It goes through a pretty village called Little Eaton. And all of it is gently downhill until you get to Derby.
I stopped at a bench in Oakwood, not far from my old house, to eat some food I’d brought with me. It bore a sign saying “Happy to Chat Bench – sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello”. Fortunately, I didn’t have to glare at anyone. Then I headed home through Spondon, Borrowash, Elvaston, Shardlow. After Donington I took the longer way home through Diseworth and it was even longer than I intended because I hit a ‘Road Closed’ sign on the turn to Belton. But I thought I probably needed to add a mile or so anyway to get up to fondo distance, so I continued on to Long Whatton then came home the usual way from there.
There’s now an elegant little caff along the main road near Shardlow, and I stopped there for a sausage roll, a fruit scone and an Americano. Very nice but it came to £8.30 and although I wouldn’t have thought twice about that a few weeks ago, I wonder if I should really be doing that now I’ve turned the money tap off. I should probably have brought more stuff with me.
Cool for the first hour or two. Warm later on when the sun came out but cooler again later when the clouds rolled over. I wasn’t tempted to take the legwarmers off. I got rained on slightly over the last mile.
Listened to more Reacher, Adrian Chiles and Wimbledon coverage on 5 Live and the Who album It’s Hard.
Back on 65.53. Nice run out, a bit of an adventure. I’ll have to do that one, or something like it, again.