Yesterday: I had a chance to get out in the morning and the weather was forecast to stay dry until after lunch so I got the Hawk out and went off to climb some hills. The storms on Sunday night had mostly missed Shrewsbury but had brought with them a change to cooler and windier weather - it was just warm enough for shorts but I needed a fleece on top.
I did my regular Plealey, Oaks, Pulverbatch, Wilderley, Dudgeley, Condover route partly to try and take advantage of a tailwind on the way home and partly because it has bail out options if the rain came in sooner than forecast. I started off climbing over Lyth Hill and found that the legs were more tired than I'd thought. This was not going to be a fast one. The time of day meant that there wasn't too much traffic about, making for a nice uneventful ride.
Just a handful of cyclists were about, the first of which I overtook on the approach to Plealey. I had the climb to Oaks almost to myself - just a Genus van overtaking on the way up. The wind had more of an easterly element to it than I'd expected so it was in my face a bit from Pulverbatch, through Wilderley and on towards Smethcott. There are plenty of places that are sheltered though so it wasn't all a slog. I almost decided to shorten the ride at Leebotwood but thought I'd regret not staying out a bit longer if I did so carried on even if the legs weren't overly happy about it. A van parked in a gateway just past the church was giving off an extremely potent "herbal" smell.
I do wonder about the people I'm sharing the roads with sometimes.
There were a couple of horse riders to get past at Dudgeley then the crossing of the A49 was a bit busy and I had to wait. Once across though I had a helping wind (not the direct tailwind I'd hoped for though) to scoot me through Hollyhurst, Longnor, Ryton and Condover. There was less traffic by the time I needed to go onto the A49 the second time.
Exactly 27 miles showing on my speedometer at the finish and 11.9 mph average. 1870 feet of climbing on Strava. Good to get out but that was plenty for the legs this time.
A moodier view from Lyth Hill on this occasion.
At Pulverbatch. I understand that the White Horse is open again. Not on a Monday though.
Still a good display of bluebells as I approach Smethcott.
View from the descent to Walkmills and Leebotwood.
A nasty hole this: it's right on the cycling line on a fast downhill stretch just after Hollyhurst. Reported to the council with a copy of this photo for what good it'll do.
