One from last Wednesday:
The nice sunny morning enticed me out, but by the time I was able to go for a ride some cloud had rolled in. It was cool but not too cold and I started out with a westerly breeze.
I thought something a little longer would be good and I haven't been out to Walcot and Cressage for a while so that was my plan. I started off with the usual crossing of Lyth Hill and the bike felt pretty good from the off. There was a trail of spilled oil up the hill then a film of mud on the downhill into Condover, which made me a little wary and the covering of mud turned out to be the norm for quite a lot of the rest of the trip.
Although the setup of the bike felt like an improvement, it did feel as though something was holding me back still on the way to Atcham and by Upton Magna the back of the right knee was feeling strained again, suggesting the saddle was still a little too high. I paused to drop it very slightly at Withington, which immediately felt quicker, although wind and gradient may have been helping with that.
It did seem easier on the next few climbs at Walcot, Charlton and Uppington, allowing me to press on in a way that I'm not used to on this bike. The descent through Eaton Constantine and down to Cressage was pretty fun with the exception of being overtaken into a blind bend.
Shore Lane didn't present too much of a problem until after the initial steep climb when there seemed to be more traffic than usual. Restarting after allowing one of the vehicles through, I glanced to my left and straight into the eyes of a buzzard that was sat on the hedge only a few feet away and watching the world go by with a lazy indifference.
Decent progress was made through Cound Moor and Acton Burnell, then at Frodesley I spotted another rider ahead which encouraged me to give chase. I kept pace but couldn't catch up - still not too bad on this heavy lump of a bike though. Reaching Longnor I thought I'd experiment by dropping the saddle another couple of mm. Didn't like that and didn't go far before putting it back as it was.
I had pushed on a bit hard earlier in the ride and with the wind having shifted to the north-west I was now running out of puff. Having to stop for a couple of vehicles on the way to Ryton didn't help much either. Spotting an emu in one of the fields on the way was a surprise. I presume it was meant to have been there.
After having got along so well earlier it was frustratingly slow in the last few miles. I decided to risk the flatter way home after Condover, which was quite busy but the queue for the temporary lights wasn't too bad and didn't hold me up.
35.3 miles at 13.3 mph average. Strava claims 1526 feet of climbing so it's not that flat. Great to get out. I had hoped to get another couple of rides in this weekend but it wasn't to be. Won't have a chance this coming week.
A couple of shots from a wet Walcot.
View to The Wrekin from Uppington.