After yesterdays heroics (it's all relative
), I wanted to get out again today, even with a grim forecast.
It was raining when I got up, but had stopped by the time I was ready to go but looked like it might start again at any time. And if anything the wind was worse today, with it forecast at 20-25mph, so potentially 10mph up on yesterday.
So it called for a route where I'd be sheltered for the worst of it, or have it behind me...
Up Coal Road, then Red Hall Lane (wind in face), A58, then Whin Moor Lane, where one of those new fangled Rolls Royce coupes was pulling out of Hobberley Lane. Still, with the wind back in my chops I had no time for such automotive ostentatiousness
Eventually climbed into Shadwell and for a rare change turned left up the hill rather than right down it. Undulated through the top half of the village, enjoying more of a head wind up to the Slaid Hill lights, which don't appear to be detecting bikes again. So I sat there for a few minutes until a car turned up and tripped them (I was on the verge of getting off and pushing my bike round
) and I was off again, descending down Wike Ridge Lane.
This is a nice twisty roller coaster bit of road, spoilt only by having grates two feet from the nearside kerb in places, forcing you to take a
very primary position in places, but as there were few cars about it wasn't a problem today.
I then took the right turning by the golfists club and headed down the hill, before climbing back up past the other golfist place up as far as Tarn Lane, where a quick wiggle saw me onto Ling Lane (or Millionaires Row). This is where to find some of the most expensive homes in the area, where 7-bedroom mansions straight from the set of Footballers Wives can be yours for the price of a bedsit in that there London
Despite the wealth around there, the actual road surface was appalling - it's no wonder they've all got 4x4's - they need them to get up the street! Or maybe it's a cunning plan to keep the proletariat cyclists away?
From there it was a quick whizz down the A58 into Scarcroft and right onto Thorner Lane for the twisty drop then climb up to Milner Lane and the descent into Thorner.
Through the village with the church bells ringing (which was nice, but they needn't have bothered on my account
) and then onto Carr Lane for some more undulations and to spare my tired legs the climb up Van Zyl Hill.
Although largely sheltered from the wind along here, there is still a bit more up than there is down, so I was glad to crest the final rise. I was less impressed to see the road ahead blocked by a road repair gang and their equipment - 'Oh, flip!' I thought, but not wanting to retrace my route all the way back to Thorner, I carried on and had a friendly chat with the foreman (the one in the cleanest hi-viz
) who quite happily said I could go through if I was careful and directed me between their big tipper truck and the kerb - not somewhere I'd normally venture on the bike, but as the driver was out of the cab I was quite safe. So, all good and a bit of common sense and a friendly chat saved me a couple of miles not having to go back around the other way.
A quick blast down the A58 and the sharp climb up onto Coal Road before a wind assisted blast all the way down to home.
13.61 miles (21.9km) in a steady
1h 6m at an average of
12.3mph, with
931ft climbed (that's under 200ft less than I did in the whole 40 miles yesterday!).
Despite the grim forecast, the rain pretty much held off for the entire ride round with just a few spits and spots here and there. The wind definitely made it's presence felt though.
And my reward for getting out early to avoid the deluge? That would be the sun coming out about half an hour after I'd got home and staying out for most of the day...
Sorry no photos today as it was grey and overcast and I was trying to beat the (wrongly forecast) weather - but here's a map:
. I then picked up the gated road through to the main road, there's a church at the end of the gated road, St Bartholomew's, that always seems to be well attended, then left and right across the main road and through Kilby and on to Wistow. Great ride out with the tailwind most of the way there, great fun flying in front of the wind. For the way back I just retraced my wheel tracks, not much fun riding back, most of the time I was just slogging into the wind, hard work and very slow.
