Once again, a couple of rides to report on:
Yesterday: My brother decided to head in to work by bike for the first time in ages so I rode with him to give a bit of company then carried on with my own exercise, out of town past the prison, through Castlefields and Ditherington then to Upton Magna, Atcham, Berrington, Condover and back.
In contrast to the weekend it was back to a bitter-cold wintery feel. When we set out it felt colder than it had with an actual frost on the ground on Saturday & Sunday, so we didn't get very far before Doug was wanting another layer on. I could have done with my full finger gloves but they were in my other bag.
We rode along Victoria Avenue which, although plenty wide enough to keep our distance from people, was surprisingly busy and didn't entice me to retrace my steps that way. It was quieter going past the prison and the biggest issue was all the parked cars making Castlefields into a slalom course. I avoided the narrow canal path by sticking to the road for a bit and joining it further up where it's wider and usually there are fewer people walking.
The road to Upton Magna was into a headwind this time but was very quiet. After the village a long line of trees has been felled on Pelham Road. I think it's to do with the restoration of the Newport - Shrewsbury Canal. I'm sure I'll enjoy seeing boats cruising alongside the road at some point in the future. In the meantime it's taken away an avenue I liked.
I encountered a good selection of cyclists on this road and as far as Atcham, then the road to Cross Houses was quiet and it was a very easy crossing of the A458. The rest to Condover and home was quite uneventful and a mug of cocoa was welcome to warm up with at the end.
20.8 miles at 12.4 mph average.
The changing scene on Pelham Road.
Today: Out into another cold and misty morning to try and get some miles in before the forecast rain arrived about lunchtime. The first attempt didn't go well as I covered less than a mile before hail then rain came down and I realised my waterproofs weren't in the bag I had with me. The shower had passed by the time I restarted.
The route this time was over Lyth Hill to Annscroft, Arscott, Nox and round in a meandering loop of the lanes round Ford Heath and Shoot Hill before turning back to Arscott via Cruckton, Cruckmeole and Hanwood then heading for Exford's Green and Hunger Hill so as to return via Little Lyth.
There weren't as many people at Lyth Hill for a change. I notice that the descent to Annscroft has been marked up for roadworks at some future point (probably to replace the water pipe that burst in the hard frosts). A tailwind helped on the way through Arscott and Lea Cross to Nox where I plodded up the short sharp climb. After this I took a left to explore some nice quiet lanes that I haven't ridden before and I think they would be worth revisiting, especially on a nice sunny day.
Before long I'd cycled all the new bits and headed for Cruckton, I wondered if the headwind would slow me much but it wasn't really noticable. What I did notice though was the climb away from Hanwood which was bigger and steeper than I remember it.
At Exford's Green I reached a junction where I needed to turn off just as a rider turned into it from the opposite direction. I held back but noticed the rider slowed and kept looking over his shoulder to see where I was, so I moved up with the intention of overtaking. When I got alongside it turned out he'd recognised me from a previous occasion about two years ago when I was invited to tag along with his group for a few miles. We ended up chatting for a bit until parting at Hunger Hill where he headed for Condover and I towards Little Lyth.
22.8 miles for this one at 12.2mph average.
Not much of a view from Lyth Hill today.
) to head for Gonsal, Ryton, Wheathall, Berriewood and Condover. The cold weather was getting to me through my three fleeces and I contemplated cutting it short, but then considered that I might kick myself later for doing that so carried on along Lyons Lane to Berrington and Cross Houses. The A458 was a bit busier than I've been used to of late so I was glad to turn off towards Cound Stank, Cound (the cross of St. Piran was the flag du jour) and climbed up through Harnage.
