A cloudy day, but an improbably, uncomfortably warm one. I downed tools early with the intention of doing 40 or so.
Because the wind was blowing from the west, I thought I’d go up over Swarkestone Bridge and along the Beloved A Road for a bit. However I breezed past the turn for Coleorton and found myself going down Alton Hill on autopilot – as if I was doing a Twycrosser. But I wasn’t. I didn’t fancy tracking back up Alton Hill so I decided to press on, through Ashby and Ticknall and get to Swarkestone Bridge that way.
Unfortunately at the roundabout north of Ashby, I took the wrong turn. I’ve navigated that roundabout many times, but nearly always in the opposite direction. Undeterred, I made my way to Melbourne via Lount. My unintentional detour had added about 4 miles, but I wasn’t short of time.
Remarkably, I picked up a bit of rain. For the life of me I couldn’t see a cloud likely to be the culprit, but I did get rained on lightly for a few minutes. It was rather pleasant.
I did the A road as far as Hilton then turned back, but I decided to come back via Isley Walton to extend the ride a bit.
That really was a breeze, 47.13 miles but felt more like 35. So warm out there, actually a bit surreal to be doing a ride I associate more with the cold and dark in those conditions – and still have a couple of hours of daylight to spare.
A juvenile grouse (I think) ran out in front of me not long after I set off and I nearly collided with it. But it escaped from our encounter unscathed.
Mostly listened to Tory leadership fun on 5 Live and LBC.
296 miles this month, pleased with that because I’ll have less time for cycling in the latter half of July.
Hot and sunny out there, this afternoon. I particularly wanted to do a Twycross Bypasser, because I wanted to take some landscape pics, in pursuance of my hobby of identifying distant objects. To this end I took a decent zoom compact as well as my phone. I’m particularly interested in a pointy little hill, just visible from Orton Lane in the right conditions, which I think is near Dudley, nearly 30 years away.
I found the road closed by a metal barrier near Warton. A charity run was taking place, with people dressed in pale blue Cancer Research shirts running towards me. I told one of the stewards who was handing out bottles of water that I’d weave through them carefully and she just asked me to take it easy. I was tempted to ask her for a bottle of water, but I didn’t. I did run out of fluids on this ride which is unusual, and I certainly enjoyed my post-ride beer straight out of the fridge.
I pressed on past the barrier and ploughed through the oncoming runner traffic, deliberately and slowly. A lot of them were walking, anyway. Don’t blame them, it was bloody hot.
I took this pic with my compact, to be fair I think the phone performs just as well in these conditions.
Annoyingly I forgot to turn the bike computer back on after one of the stops so I had to repair the track using https://www.routemaster.app/.
Very glad I did the Wales trip last weekend, would have been cruel and unusual in today’s weather.
34.24 miles, that’s 249 this month. I want to get to 500 this month if I can.
Another glorious afternoon, an ideal candidate for an early exit from work. The wind was coming from the north-west and it wasn’t particularly light, but it was properly warm and sunny out there.
Set off fully intending to go up over Swarkestone Bridge then west but before I got to the turn for Coleorton I’d decided to do a Twycross Bypasser instead.
I did a bit of the old Dad’s Army route at the bottom end. Nice down there. I went through Upton, but I didn’t see the two old petrol pump ornaments I was looking for last time. I must plan a route to go past them.
Up through Bosworth, Barton and Burgoland. Back on 39.28 miles.
Tuned into 5 Live for their all-day political celebrations, very pleased with themselves for their victory over ordinary people as you’d expect.
Back on 39.28 miles. Lovely run out. I’m almost getting used to going out with bare limbs, but I’ll certainly miss it when I’m pulling on overtrousers over jogging pants in two fleeces in five months’ time.
Lovely afternoon again, warm and sunny. I set off with the intention of doing a Twycross Bypasser at 1552. There was a fair old breeze coming from the north-west and a Twycrosser (or Bypasser) mostly takes place to the south-west so not ideal, but I was looking forward to the cosy familiarity of a frequent ride as a sort of warm-down from Wales.
However, unaccountably, I forgot to take the turn to Norton on the road down to Twycross, so I continued all the way down there. I did the detour to Orton from there, though.
Went right down to Mythe Lane and across Atterton Lane, to the A444, which I took all the way up to Gibbet Lane. I don’t usually do that long a stretch of A444, preferring to turn for Bosworth or Shenton more often that not. But it was fine.
I was listening to Marr on LBC, sitting at the bench next to the Gibbet Post when news of Javid’s resignation came through. He’d already been trying to get maximum mileage out of the Pincher story, but now he was beside himself, like a schoolboy who’d won a big bag of sweets. When it turned out that Rishi had thrown in the towel as well, I hoped he’d brought a change of underwear.
He did his best to paint the situation as the government collapsing, as if two cabinet ministers resigning on the same day was unprecedented (it wasn’t).
Ten minutes later he and his guests (none supportive of the PM of course) were discussing the possibility of a Labour / Lib-Dem coalition changing the voting system to keep the Tories out of power for “a very long time”. Twenty minutes after that, Heseltine was on, and the words “if Boris goes, Brexit goes” came out of his mouth.
We see you. It’s not subtle.
It did occur to me, as I glanced at the Gibbet Post, that it might be quite nice to see Sav or Rishi chained to it, post-mortem. Dishonourable, dishonest men, just positioning themselves to avoid the fallout if the media take the PM down. Nothing more than that.
Anyway – back up through Ibstock and home on 32.62 miles – which takes me to 2901 this year.
Although it was ultimately successful, I made a bit of a dog’s breakfast of my mission to Wales and back in 2017 by taking a bike pump that I hadn’t tested properly. Ever since, I’ve wanted to have another crack at it.
Today looked like the day, weather-wise. I was going to set off at about 0700 but I woke up at 0345. I was out of bed half an hour later, and I set off shortly after 0500. Fairly cold at that time of the morning, but I was wearing tights and a few layers on top. Once again the fields were swathed in clouds of mist, illuminated by the early sunlight light bright cotton wool. So pretty. And as you’d expect, the roads were so quiet at that time on a Sunday morning. I only saw two moving motor vehicles over the first six miles.
Unfortunately, from the fourth or fifth moving motor vehicle that I saw this morning, a young man leaned out of the passenger window and shouted WANKER! at the top of his voice as it went past, at considerable speed. This is why I’m glad we don’t have a second amendment, because I’d have been taking shots through their rear window with one hand while steering the bike with the other.
I’d picked out a different route from the first Wales trip over the first 15 miles or so. I’ve done that stretch of roads before, but not for ages. I don’t really get why it fell into disuse .. in recent years typically I’d go through Coton or Harlaston but this route, through Lullington and Edingale, is much better. Better roads and less hassle while still being quiet and scenic. But there are so many different options that it’s hard to remember them all and I don’t go that way so often, anyway. I’ll make a note, though.
Really nice to reacquaint myself with the roads to the west of Stone, that I’d only ever done once before. I remembered taking pics at the same county boundary signs for Shropshire and Cheshire.
I arrived in Wales at 1159. The morning sunshine had given way to grey skies by this time, and the rain started. Although there is a “Welcome to Wales” sign I was rolling past it as some speed, so I didn’t stop there. I settled for this one, which is much the same pic I took in 2017, but with a different bike.
I checked my rear tyre carefully here. I had no particular reason to think that it might be punctured. It wasn’t. But I spent an unhappy 20 minutes or so in the same spot five years ago, after realising that I had a puncture and my pump didn’t work properly.
The rain followed me back into Shropshire, but it was very light and only lasted 15 minutes. After that it was dry all the way. Result! I’d fully expected to get rained on a few times, though I knew it would be dry after 5pm.
One minor glitch – the road had been closed off near Audlem on the way back for roadworks, but I was able to get by on the pavement.
I’d expected to be taking my tights and fleece off after 40 or so miles, but it wasn’t that warm until 2pm-ish and I didn’t bother taking them off until I only had 35 miles to go.
One really annoying thing – the A51 had been resurfaced after Stone, and it was an awful surface to ride on – coarse gravel that had been sprayed with tar. This was definitely the finished article, because it had fresh white lines on. After I’d put up with it for three miles it I started to worry that I’d have another twenty miles of it, but fortunately there were only five miles of it in total. It didn’t seem so bad on the way back, probably only because I knew when it would stop.
The lady in the petrol station where I bought some snacks and coffee on the way back recognised me from a similar shopping trip in the morning. “Have you been cycling all this time??”, she wanted to know. I’d been in there at 0800 and it was about 1600 at this time. I told her that I’d set off at about 0500 and still had another 30 miles to do. “You’ll definitely sleep tonight”, she suggested. And I think she’s right, actually I’m half asleep now.
Strange to go past the power station at Rugeley with the cooling towers gone. On the outbound part I took a wrong turn and went through the town, rather than past the power station.
The way back was a breeze, with a bit of a tailwind, nice afternoon sunshine and plenty of gently descending flat bits.
Saw a couple of Spitfires, late in the day – or perhaps the same one, if it had looped round. I heard that distinctive Merlin engine growl and looked up to see the unmistakable shape. Not exactly air display altitude, but very recognisable.
I listened to LBC first thing in the morning and that was really good actually, though why people are taking part in a phone-in show at 5 in the morning on a Sunday is beyond me. Later, a bit of 6 Music and Wimbledon / Silverstone on 5 Live. Then Reacher. I’d only meant to listen to an hour or two of it but I found it really compelling and listened for about four hours, right until the end.
Really a nice, nostalgic ride out and glad to have finally ticked the Wales box again. Back on 142.7 miles. Fourth 100 miler and fifteenth Fondo of the year.
A cloudy afternoon, warm enough, dry, but very windy again. I wanted to do 30 or so, perhaps a Bypasser. But it was hard going pushing southward into the wind so I decided to keep it relatively short, and went straight down through Twycross rather than detouring off through Orton.
Much relief when I turned back northward, after Sibson.
After Carlton I veered off toward Nailstone, something I haven’t done for quite a while. I followed a sign to Ellistown from there. But when I got to the next junction, signage to Ellistown was inexplicably absent – so I followed a sign to Ibstock.
Back on 27.56 miles. 638 this month and looking at the forecast, that’s most likely it for June.
Listened to Andrew Marr on LBC, since I wasn’t particularly interested in what was happening at Wimbledon at the time. The prospect of a Scottish Independence referendum was the main topic. I was quite pleased to find that he took a relatively neutral approach – not as opinionated as some of the other LBC presenters.
I don’t usually cycle on consecutive days but with plenty of time on my hands and the weather looking a little iffy over the next few days, another run out seemed a good idea. My knees have continued to improve and they’re more robust than they were even a year ago so I felt sure they wouldn’t mind.
Far from ideal conditions though, with a strong wind blowing from the south. But it was warm enough, with very little prospect of rain. I set off on the southbound route at about midday.
I took a detour over toward Bardon Hill from Ellistown, past the big industrial buildings and the Amazon distribution centre, but I was back on the usual track three miles later. However – after Bagworth, on a whim I decided to take a left instead of the usual right, and go down through Merry Lees and Botcheston. I took this option during the Christmas hols in a spirit of exploration, but hadn’t done it again since. I took an earlier left to Ratby this time. I soon realised I was on the same road I was on a few weeks ago, when I ended up on the A50. So I was sure to take an early left turn to Markfield, to avoid doing the same again.
Back on 27.77 miles, felt like a lot of effort for a relatively modest haul. But it’s not just about the distance.
Since I hadn’t been out on the old faithful Boardman for a while, I took this one with about half a mile to go.
Quite a gusty wind blowing from the south and a threat of showers in the forecast. Not too warm. I thought of doing the southbound route, with no particular expectation of a distance.
I picked up a few spots of rain near Newbold Verdon. Then as I pedalled down Kirkby Lane, it started to rain properly. Another few seconds later and it was torrential, with hailstones mixed in – I was riding straight into the headwind, so they were clattering on my face. Without a doubt the worst conditions I have ever ridden in, so aggressive that I was nearly forced to get off the bike, but a minute later it was normal rain again.
I decided to cut across to Sutton Cheney at this point, and come back up through Market Bosworth. But by the time I got to Cheney I was rolling along a dry road, on a warm, sunny summer’s day. It was as if I’d dreamed it, except that the bike and my clothes were still a bit damp. But they dried off quickly. So I went west along Fenn Lanes instead, and did a partial Reverse Twycrosser with a detour through Barton in the Beans.
Quite a nice run out in the end, certainly more so with a tailwind and warm dry weather in the second half.
Listened mostly to Reacher. Quite enjoying it now. Plot unfolding nicely.
Plenty of time after work this evening, but rain was due over at around 8pm. Cloudy and cool as I set off. I regretted wearing short sleeves again initially, but soon warmed up. Actually very pleasant indeed, once I got going. Until the rain came down, not at 8pm but at 4:30pm.
Happily it only lasted 15 minutes or so, and the sun came out after that – after which it was lovely and warm, and the bike and I dried off rapidly.
I’m typing this at about 9:15pm and actually it hasn’t rained again, so I could have stayed out longer.
I did a Twycross Bypasser. I didn’t go as far as Warton because it was raining when I got to the junction at Orton, so I took the quick way to Sheepy.
Came back across through Upton, hoping to see two antique petrol pumps which are a revered local landmark. However I came through the village along the wrong road for that. Looking at the map, I’d need go down to Atterton Lane (which I do quite often) and head for Upton from there. I’ll make a mental note.
Listened mostly to 5 Live. Today’s Drive programme featured the Black Swimming Association.
Back on 33.84 miles, looking good for 600 this month. The forecast is for strong winds at the weekend, but otherwise decent conditions.
Today’s plan was to pedal up through Coleorton, take the Beloved A Road west until I’d done about 20 miles – then come back the same way. A very common choice for a ride after work, when the wind’s blowing from the west.
Warm and sunny out there, very bright. I did worry a little about my slightly-sunburned arms, but I smeared them liberally with an SPF30 product that I bought at Tesco yesterday. I did think of wearing a long-sleeved top, but bare limbs cycling days are so infrequent that I didn’t want to waste one.
It was after 3pm when I left so hopefully the UV levels had dissipated. The arms seem to have done OK. The outer layer of skin has started to flake off this evening, but I think it was due to do that anyway. Unfortunately I’ll be taking an occasional break to vacuum armdruff from my desk over the next couple of days.
This was actually the only time in my adult life I’ve ever used a sunscreen product. I’ve always relied on my natural dark-skinnedness, a product of my Iberian part-ancestry.
A lot of traffic out there, the busiest I’ve ever known it along the A road. A consequence of the rail strike, maybe?
I got to Hilton on 20 miles, then turned back. However when I got to Swarkestone, instead of turning right to come back the same way, I turned left to come back through Weston, Aston, Shardlow and Donington. Exactly the same as Sunday, except the other way round. I probably wouldn’t have done this except I was sick of waiting for a gap in the passing traffic to turn right.
I used my Casio GPS watch to track the ride. Did seem a bit easier to get the track off this time, maybe they’ve improved the app a bit.
It did occur to me in the heat and bright sunshine on the way back that I’d be doing most of that ride in the cold and dark, if I set off at the same time during the winter months.
Very pleasing run out. 48.11 miles. 509 this month.
