We are going away on tour in a couple of weeks time, so I wanted to get my OH out on his touring bike and make sure that everything was OK and that the kit list was adequate, so I planned a 'mini tour' for last weekend which got postponed to this weekend. The plan was to cycle to Ebury Hill again (around Shrewsbury) and home again the next day.
Saturday's Ride. 81.7km Ebury Hill (Shrewsbury)
http://www.strava.com/activities/181528295
My OH's version “we arrived at campsite”! Yep I suppose that is an accurate and true statement of what happened, but it does not make for a very interesting read and certainly does not cover what happened…
The only problem is that not a lot really happened today! I didn’t sleep well last night, so when the 6:30am alarm went off this morning, it was a bit of a struggle to get up and get out. We did finally make it out for around 8:30am, however. But having been to our destination once before (by myself) I knew that we didn’t need to rush to get out and would easily make it there with plenty of time to spare. It was also a surprisingly chilly start to the day and we both commented on the fact that we would have been warmer in our autumn/winter longs which neither of us had packed!
My OH's attempts to strangle me are caught on camera!
My OH, true to form, decided on a toilet stop at Whitegate Station. A stagger 4.9km into our journey! Come on, we have barely even got going and he is wanting to stop already. Then it was a case of ‘not much happened’.
Looking threatening - but there is a touch of blue sky!
Down the converted railway, along quiet country lanes and the first stop of the day at the ‘north’ Nantwich marina for a coffee and toast. Then onwards, and southwards and onto new roads for my OH. The clouds have looked threatening all day, but the rain has held off. The wind was from a more southerly direction than originally forecast so it was more of a headwind than it should have been. Lunch was in a sheltered bus stop, which kept us warm enough not to need coats! And then well, it was more quiet lanes, and more headwind and cloud and little to look at until we got to the campsite. With the forecast and the high winds taken into account, a suitable pitch was located (not under any trees!) and we were at the campsite for 3ish…
The view from the tent and the brightest it has been all day!
A touch of light... but not too much.
Our pitch, and the larger of our 2 tents.
We went for a walk later on in the evening, down the Shropshire Way, which means we have an alternative way off the campsite tomorrow. And whilst walking down the route, we came across 7 teddy bears in various oak trees along the route (no idea as to why…) but we also picked some blackberries to add to breakfast tomorrow morning and have added a few items to the list that we need to pack for our 2 week tour coming up. That was the whole purpose of this weekend… So I guess my OH's version was probably quite accurate. Not much did happen really!
There is light!
It is beginning to look brighter, but not by much
I like the looks of this for our way off the campsite tomorrow - my OH is not that keen yet...
For some reason there were at least 7 teddy bears in various oak trees but this was the only one I could really photo - it was starting to get too dark...
. That feeling was swiftly deflated upon return home, as I still find myself outside the top 1000 on Strava
- There aren't many hills in Scotland that have 1000 attempts, and here I have 5000+ people to compete with! I did shoot straight to the top of the CC leaderboard, though, so that's nice
Good job it didn't happen on the hill. Personally, I hit a PB of 37.5mph, and that will do me nicely thank you. My fingers were white by the bottom. Puffed and panted my way back to Kingsway, before the inevitable "Strava Sprint" finish in the estate (and I don't even have Strava). A good workout today
, even if i was a bit off the pace. Mental note: Must try harder. (Which could be straight from one of my old school reports).
