Yesterday's ride, but didn't manage to get the write up done.
I have been comparing rides with a friend from Galicia, and he keeps commenting on how flat my rides are, so today I decided to add some elevation by going Malvern way. Forecast for the day was sunny and warm, so just shorts and short sleeve this time.
Out just after half past six, via St Peters, heading for the Bridge to Lower Wick. As I was going through St Peters I saw another cyclist setting off for a ride, which is a first for this time of the day. In the shade the air was coolish, but out of the shade it was already feeling quite warm, and there was hardly any wind at this point.
At Lower Wick was a left for Powick, and at Powick I took the Callow End turn to head for Jennet Tree Lane, taking it easy to keep some energy for the climb to come. Saw the second cyclist of the day as I was reaching Newland Road. Next was Madresfield, and then a right at Sherrards Green to head to Great Malvern.
The climb itself starts at the Pickersleigh Rd roundabout, getting steep almost immediately. I just settled on a low gear and spun steadily up the hill. There are some short flatter sections, but the very last bit of church Street past the priory is quite steep, and I just about managed to get to the turn by the post office, this is the first time I made it to the post office without stopping, so I rewarded myself with a drink and a nut bar, not that I needed to catch my breath or anything,
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Though Church Street is the steepest part of the ascent, it is only about half way up to the Wyche. I took on this section with the same steady pace, and in about 10 minutes or so I was at the top, greeted by this fantastic view.
This was around quarter to eight in the morning, and the Sun was already beating down some.
Next is going through the cut, and into Herefordshire. As I was reaching the turn for Jubilee Drive, two guys guys on mountain bikes came from the West Malvern side a bit too fast to stop at the crossing. I held back a bit to let them through, and follow into Jubilee Drive, thinking that I wouldn't see any more of them at the speed they seemed to be going, however, I soon caught up with them. It wasn't very easy to overtake them, as they were riding almost on the central line, but once they finally noticed me they moved over and were very encouraging for my efforts.
At the end of Jubilee Drive I joined the A449 for the descent towards Ledbury. I've been down this way a couple of times in my flat bar, but this was the first time on the road bike, and this made for a much quicker descent, so much so that I was having to use the brakes to hold back a bit. Half way down the descent, when I was doing about 35mph, and feeling a bit more confident, an idiot driver coming the other way decided to overtake, forcing me and the other driver to reduce speed to let them through, I may have turned the air a bit blue, and decided to curb my speed.
At the bottom of the hill I stop for a bit of a drink, and then carried on, turning left for Eastnor at the A438 just before Ledbury. The descent carries on down to Eastnor, but the road surface here is quite bad, so need to be careful of taking the right line to avoid the worst bits, which somewhat reduces the enjoyment.
At the bottom of the hill I got the first hint that the wind might be picking up, and worse, it was going to be against me on the way up to Holybush, which was the second climb of the day. Just at the bottom of the hill caught up with a couple, which were quite startled by my good morning. The ascent was uneventful, except for a couple of wind gusts.
Back in Worcestershire at the top of the hill, the road surface improved, so the descent could be done more confidently, without having to slalom around partially repaired potholes.
I stayed on the A438 into what was new territory for me past the caravan park heading for Tewkesbury. This is a beautiful area, which reminds me of Galicia.
A drawback of the road bike compare to the flat bar is that the riding position is not as conducive to admiring the landscape, and I end up not taking as many pictures as I used to. I stopped somewhere before Upper Pendock to have a nut bar, and took a couple of pictures.
The southern end of the Malverns here.
And the view towards the Severn to the other side of the road.
The wind was now blowing head on, and my legs were starting to feel the miles and metres of up a bit, so it was just a matter of plodding on. Under the M50 for a short incursion into Gloucestershire, the third county of the day, and then a left for Upton a bit further up.
I was overtaken by a couple of cyclists who seemed to be coping better than me against the wind, and there were loads of cyclists going the other way, many more than I have ever seen.
Finally made it to Upton, where I stopped for a drink before "attacking" the final stretch of the ride. So through Upton, back on the right side of the Severn, plodding through Earls Croome, up Kinnersley and Pirton and home.
One of the nice things about the lock down has been going out on family rides, which we wouldn't have been on otherwise. A side effect is that my mileage for May has been the highest so far, with this ride taking me over 260 miles, which is about the distance I rode during my first six months of being back on the bike.
Lots of cyclists on the road, many more than I ever see in my rides. Let's see if this holds.
The map.
