Other stuff to do earlier today meant I wasn't expecting to get a ride in today.
However, when a spare hour materialised it would have been rude not to, wouldn't it?
It was like rainy season in Rangoon here this morning, hour after hour of relentless heavy rain, although by the time I got out the sun was shining and the sky was blue.
I did initially think about taking the Road Comp due to it's mudguards but found the tyres nearly flat (my bad, I haven't been out on it in months and it's been neglected...). I
could have pumped the tyres up but I only had an hour, so much like
@gavgav above, I thought sod it and took the Pro Carbon (with the Ass Saver fitted
).
Coal Road, Red Hall Lane and the A58 were swiftly despatch - or as swiftly as I ever do, then onto Whin Moor Lane towards Shadwell, which was busy with dog walkers, joggers and ramblers. I'm not used to afternoon cycling - it's a lot quieter on a morning!
Right at the end of Gateland Lane in Shadwell and the longish descent through the village down to Bay Horse Lane, up the other side and across the A58 again, on to Carr Lane and the twisty ups and downs to Thorner.
Did I mention the earlier rain? There was an
awful lot of mud and gravel washed out of the fields - in places the lanes had clearly been under a few inches of water so progress was a bit tentative in places where I'd normally have ben pushing on but what the heck, the sun was shining and I was out in the countryside.
Left at the Mexborough Arms, past the church and onto Milner Lane for the climb onto the ridge which never seems to get any easier. Along past the woods, where it was the busiest I've ever seen it with horseriders, cyclists, and walkers. Several old Saabs were parked up with people milling about, so perhaps some sort of mini-rally was going on? Odd place for it, but never mind.
Round onto Holme Farm Lane and I started to rethink my route. I had initially planned to loop through Rigton, up onto Brahmam Lane and then back to Milner Lane but I was going to be pushed for time and the state of the quieter lanes up to that point made me wonder what state the usually deserted Bramham Lane would be in - it's often a mudfest through the winter and it wouldn't be any fun.
So I decided to stop for a quick photo and a drink and then retrace my steps:
So that's what I did. Down the hill into Thorner off the ridge on the mud / gravel under the tree canopy was 'interesting'
, and I headed back up Carr Lane rather than tackle Van Zyl Hill, so onto the A58 for the short but quick run down to Coal Road, up the hill and a little sprint along the flat section before dropping down onto local roads to home.
14.2 miles (22.85km) in a steady
1h 3m at an average of
13.5mph with just
672ft climbed and a very acceptable average temperature of
21.4°C
Great weather for it (not too breezy for a change) with plenty of cyclists making the best of it including a few family groups which is always good to see.
The bike is filthy though, and I've got the Road Comp to fettle now as well...
And finally, the map: