A gloomy and cold day in NW Leics, and the roads were wet. But at least it wasn’t raining. I’d pondered doing a longer ride today but since the conditions weren’t great and I had a not-inconsiderable Laphroaig-induced hangover, I decided not to. I thought I’d do 40 or so though and, mindful again of a need not to overwork the Boardman during the winter months, I took the hybrid.
I set off without a clear plan, but found myself heading out down Standard Hill and Donington Le Heath. Not often I go that way. Reached Ellistown and decided that I’d do at least part of my route south, in the direction of Stoney Stanton. I got as far as Kirkby Mallory where I saw a road sign to Sutton Cheney, which is at the extremity of a longer version of the Twycross route. So I thought I’d go to Sutton and do the first half of the Twycross route backwards from there, which (I estimated) would give me about 35-40 miles in total. So – I followed the road to Sutton. This brought me to a junction with the A447, but it wasn’t clear whether I should turn left or right there. I wasn’t sure which part of the A447 I was on.
I chose to turn left and by the time I reached Stapleton, I’d realised that this was the wrong choice. The turn-off for Sutton was quite some way behind me. No matter – I turned off the A447 there, and thought I’d see if I could navigate home from an unfamiliar location. Fun! And a bit of an adventure. I followed a road to Dadlington and from there, saw a sign to Sutton. That brought me to Fenn Lanes and comfortable familiarity. I set off on the Twycross route backwards from there.
I decided to do the smaller Orton detour from Sheepy. I hadn’t done it backwards before. But I missed a turn and ended up doing the longer detour that bypasses Twycross altogether. Again though – makes it a bit more interesting to have to work out the route home. Back home through Snarestone, Swepstone, Heather.
Saw a huge bird of prey sitting on the hedgerow as I passed, along Sheepy Lane. I pulled up alongside it in the hope of getting a photo, but as I reached for the phone in my pocket it decided it wasn’t having it, and took to flight. A buzzard I think. I also saw a large white bird in a group of pheasants near Ratcliffe Culey – apart from its pure white plumage, it looked just like a pheasant, with the same long tail feathers. An albino pheasant?
Really a fun run out. Nice to do a few miles of unfamiliar road. I realised after about 10 miles that I’d left the house without any breakfast, but I seemed to be doing OK. A stollen slice (in festive lieu of an oat bar) and a small pork pie kept me going. Actually felt a bit better after my ride than when I started it. Fresh air and a bit of exercise won’t actually defeat a hangover, but they do help.
Back well before sunset which round these parts is still the unfortunate side of 4pm. But not for long.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2962928790
39.26 miles; 340 this month – a decent working majority.
Still pondering whether to get a cheap second winter road bike, to take the strain off the Boardman. I do have too many summer bikes, but I don’t want to demote one of them to a winter bike. Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken the other Boardman to my mum’s house where it only gets used once in a blue moon.