Out on the Raleigh again this morning for a ride that turned out to be harder than anticipated.
Todays route variation was out to Condover, then across to Atcham and Upton Magna but here I headed across the edge of Haughmond Hill and up to Astley and Hadnall, skirted past Bomere Heath and on to Yeaton and Grafton where I took a slight scenic detour through Fitz and Mytton before rejoining the busier road to Montford Bridge and into Shrewsbury where I again took a less direct way and headed through The Quarry before making my way home.
It's overcast again but warm and at the start I wasn't entirely sure which way the wind was coming from as it seemed to be a headwind on the way to Condover then again after turning towards Atcham which wasn't right.
I headed through Attingham park as I often do then had a reasonable run to Upton Magna but starting on the climb my legs definitely weren't feeling as fresh as they could be after the last couple of rides.
On the way over Haughmond Hill the wind did feel like it was helping now and gave a good run down the other side. At Haughton it seemed to me that there were an unusual number of cars in the farmyard, which turns out to be because an event called Boots and Roots is being set up there for this coming weekend.
After a long wait for a gap in the traffic at Astley I finally got across (many thanks to the person who let me out) and shortly after caught up with a tractor that I followed most of the way to Hadnall. When the second person in the cab noticed I was following them the driver put his foot down a bit (as far as you can in a tractor) and I got a good 25mph slipstream for a while.
The wind was picking up a bit by now and the bike was kicking sideways when I passed gates or gaps in the hedge, then I was turning towards it which slowed things down a bit. My detour to Fitz and Mytton was nice enough but the road was exposed to the wind which made it a little less fun. Thankfully the road to Montford Bridge had some high hedges and trees to give a bit of shelter. Instead the issue along here was the lorry that went blasting past me even though there was a car coming the other way.
As already mentioned I went through the Quarry to make a change where there were plenty of people out enjoying the park and the work to clear away after the Flower Show at the weekend is progressing swiftly.
By now the legs were getting quite tired so the last bit to home was fairly slow.
36.2 miles this trip at 14.6 mph average.
Not a great picture but taken to show that there is an autumnal look starting in some places already. Probably accelerated by the dry weather.
Drink stop overlooking Bomere Heath. It was getting blustery at this point and in the distance you can just make out a shower rolling through the hills. It stayed dry where I was though.
At Yeaton.
Crossing Porthill Bridge in Shrewsbury.
Clearing up after the Flower Show seems to be going well.
Just across the river; Shrewsbury School. The cattle are often put out to graze the riverside fields in the summer.
