I’ve been in the Half Century a Month Challenge for Four Years now and this month has proved the hardest of the lot. Every free weekend I’ve had has been like an ice age and I woke this morning having yet to do a qualifying ride. The rain was hammering on the window and the wind was howling and so I’d pretty much resigned myself to failing for the first time.........
At about 10:30 the rain had blown through and I had a window of 3&1/2 hours to get a ride in, before driving to Wales and I thought to myself.....I CAN DO THIS!!!
So I layered up against the strong Northerly Wind and dragged myself out. I set off up the cycle paths to Heathgates and then along Sundorne Rd and onto the cycle path to Uffington. There was a chap cycling in front of me, who I was slowly reeling in and indeed I caught him in Uffington and passed him with a friendly hello between us, before I turned onto the Upton Magna road.
Whilst climbing the hill the same chap caught me up and we had a friendly exchange about me not liking hills. We then got chatting and he was a really nice guy, called Robin, based in Telford. We cycled together and chatted most of the way, through Upton Magna, Withington, as far as Isombridge, where we went our separate ways. I hope we come across each other again, on the bikes, as he was very good company and helped pass away about 3 or 4 miles into the wind.
I then continued along the bone shaker road to Longdon on Tern. I spent most of this lane trying to get through floods without getting my feet wet. There were no fewer than 10 deep floods along the 3 mile stretch, but I managed it and then turned towards Rodington and Roden, negotiating 4 more deep floods. It hasn’t half rained around here over the last week!!
I turned into the wind, along the stretch to Poynton and it felt like a wall was in my way. From Bings Heath, it got a bit easier, with the wind at the side of me, or behind and I made good progress up East Haughmond, back to Upton Magna.
From here it was the Pelham Rd to Berwick Wharf, the rat run to Atcham and then the lanes up to Betton. It was on the short but steep and narrow section, along here, that I had one of the funniest moments I’ve had on a bike. A MGIF came up behind me, in a Vectra and was determined to squeeze past me on the narrow section, so put their wheels onto the saturated verge and began wheel spinning badly. They then went for another gear, got completely the wrong one and stalled it in the mud
.
I just laughed my head off and continued onwards, leaving them to fathom out how to get out of the mud and grow a brain cell whilst they were at it!
It was back into the wind again, to home, but I’d made the Half Century Challenge entry, by the skin of my teeth!!
31.9 miles at 12.1mph avg. The things you do for a Bronze Star!!
). Had to filter past two horse riders, only to encounter another immediately afterwards coming the other way. I made the comment: 'Typical. You wait all week for a horse, and then three turn up at once.'
Through Iver, West Drayton and Hayes, before heading into Southall. A brief pause at the London Motor Museum
