Cathryn
Legendary Member
- Location
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
Day 1. Marlborough to Salisbury. 30 miles.
In my head, in my dreams, it would be a lovely spring tour with my husband and son! We’d spin along under blue skies and blossom-laden trees, admiring the newborn lambs, drinking coffee outside cafes and would come back fit, lithe and with the beginning of this summer’s freckles.
So how come I found myself standing in some trees by the side of the road with my back to a violent rainstorm, getting wetter by the second?
It turns out, we chose an absolutely rubbish week of weather for our trip and it’s made me very grateful we only planned 30-mile days this week! By four miles, we were soaked and getting blown all over the roads by the 30mph gusts. I’d planned an off-road route but we switched to the quiet country lanes we know well. We ended up diverting to my parents’ house, about 18 miles in, where we were fed, watered (with tea) and our damp clothes went in the tumble dryer!
We lingered too long in their sunny, warm conservatory so by the time we left, clouds were scudding back towards us. The final 13 miles were windy and wet, with short showers keeping us damp! We were too windswept to swoop by Salisbury cathedral but instead dashed straight to our fancy premier inn! Hot showers perked us up, as did a McDonald’s! It felt churlish not to let a 13 year old have a Maccy D’s, after 30 miles of wet, windy cycling!
In my head, in my dreams, it would be a lovely spring tour with my husband and son! We’d spin along under blue skies and blossom-laden trees, admiring the newborn lambs, drinking coffee outside cafes and would come back fit, lithe and with the beginning of this summer’s freckles.
So how come I found myself standing in some trees by the side of the road with my back to a violent rainstorm, getting wetter by the second?
It turns out, we chose an absolutely rubbish week of weather for our trip and it’s made me very grateful we only planned 30-mile days this week! By four miles, we were soaked and getting blown all over the roads by the 30mph gusts. I’d planned an off-road route but we switched to the quiet country lanes we know well. We ended up diverting to my parents’ house, about 18 miles in, where we were fed, watered (with tea) and our damp clothes went in the tumble dryer!
We lingered too long in their sunny, warm conservatory so by the time we left, clouds were scudding back towards us. The final 13 miles were windy and wet, with short showers keeping us damp! We were too windswept to swoop by Salisbury cathedral but instead dashed straight to our fancy premier inn! Hot showers perked us up, as did a McDonald’s! It felt churlish not to let a 13 year old have a Maccy D’s, after 30 miles of wet, windy cycling!