Yesterday's ride:
Having missed a couple of months I'm playing catchup with my challenge rides (having changed from the Imperial Challenge to the Lunacy Challenge, but kept the same distance) so aimed to get in my second century of the month. With restrictions being lifted quite widely I didn't see any benefit in staying close to home like last time (as long as I keep my distance from people) so set out to do a variation of one of my usual century routes: Condover, Acton Burnell, Cardington, Hughley, Cound, Atcham, Upton Magna, Shawbury, Wem, Ellesmere, Oswestry, Melverley, Westbury and back via Condover.
Setting out on the Galaxy the weather was cool and rather windy. I'd planned to do the route this way round so as to have a long stint with the wind behind me but that meant starting and finishing into the wind. I started off well but after a few miles was finding the experimental adjustment I did last time, which had seemed good on a short sprint round the local lanes, didn't feel right at more of a touring pace. I tried another tweak shortly after Acton Burnell, which seemed good riding into the wind but reaching the climb to Folly Bank I needed to use a lower gear than I'd be used to on this bike.
Cardington looked as pretty as ever on a summer morning, and further on near Longville I picked up the tailwind I'd been hoping for and had fast run along the flowing roads to Hughley then onwards towards Harley (which as usual I don't actually go into). I'd usually go to Cressage from here but I thought I'd try something different and head through Harnage, Cound, Cross Houses and Atcham to approach Upton Magna from that side. This route is faster as it's not so hilly but, as I found later, isn't as far I thought. The strong breeze gave me a good view of the flag at Cound, which was the Suffolk county flag this time. (Had to look that one up).
Going through Upton Magna I was getting along well enough to catch and overtake another cyclist but by Withington I was starting to wonder about the latest adjustment as despite the tailwind I wasn't really going faster on the flat sections than I'd expect to manage on a calm day. Warning twinges of cramp in the legs as I approached the roadworks near Roden told me I'd definitely got it wrong so at my next drink stop near Poynton Heath I put the saddle back where it had originally been and thought again.
Now I was getting on more like I'd hoped. 18 or 19 mph was an easy cruise on the way from Shawbury to Besford and the climb up Palm's Hill was easy with a fun 30 mph descent the other side. I paused for another drink at Wem before taking the usual quieter road through Lowe on my way to Northwood rather than the more direct way. I had an elevenses stop on the bridge over the canal at Hampton Bank, where a passer-by came over to admire the Galaxy and ask questions about it as he'd been thinking about buying a similar one.
At Welshampton I found the road much quieter than usual (a closure on the Whitchurch side). I almost sailed past where I intended to turn off by the school as my thoughts were elsewhere. The back road to Coptiviney is as rough as ever in places but at least it wasn't muddy today. I got my first taste of heading back into the wind along here and knew I wasn't going to like it much.
Reaching Ellesmere I skirted round the edge of town this time and followed the NCN route to Oswestry. This route is rough and was muddy in places which has undone my efforts cleaning the bike. It's also quite undulating so progress slowed considerably. By Gobowen I was flagging a bit and rest stops became a little more frequent. The climb from Gobowen to Pentre Dafydd is one I particularly dislike when coming this way round (even though it's not particularly steep it just seems really energy-sapping) but on this bike it didn't seem as bad. On the next short-but-sharp climb however, the strains from earlier in the ride caught up with me - my legs cramped and I had to stop until it eased. I was intending to stop a little further on at the old hill fort to eat my lunch anyway so only had another half mile before taking break.
Moving on again I was plodding a bit. I got more warning twinges while heading out of town but fortunately it's slightly downhill for most of the next five miles which helped a lot. The climb at Woolston didn't cause any problems thankfully and I plodded on towards Maesbrook and Melverley.
At Crew Green it felt like I had a tailwind on the way to Prince's Oak - I shouldn't have had but I'm not complaining. I'd not been looking forward to the climb here (approx 160 feet in 3/4 of a mile and into the wind) but dropping into low range I plodded up without a problem. I always wonder if I'll have to stop at the level crossing between Halfway House and Westbury but today I wasn't likely to as services had been suspended by an accident only about an hour before I got here (a train hit a van on a private crossing at Cefn). Immediately after the crossing I had the prat of the day overtake me into a blind left hander in a van with trailer.
A drink and snack stop was needed at Westbury, after which I headed east out of the village with a great tailwind. I spent most of the next 3 miles cruising along in the low 20s and peaking at 29 mph going into Yockleton.
It was a bit less quick after turning off in Nox but that really perked me up. By Exford's Green I was realising that my change earlier in the ride meant the distance was going to be marginal. I should be over the 100 miles but, to make sure, at Hunger Hill I headed through Condover to add a mile or so.
101.37 miles at 13.9 mph moving. Total time including stops was a couple of minutes under 9 hours. As always, it was nice to see plenty of other cyclists out, especially on a weekday.
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Early on in the ride, a view to the Lawley and Caer Caradoc.
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Cardington.
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Rest stop at Poynton Heath (where I also undid the earlier tweaks to the saddle)
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Wem. No problem social distancing here as you see.
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Lovely straight, empty road with a good tailwind in the Whixall area.
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The view from my elevenses stop at Hampton Bank.
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Very grand arch over a tiny country lane near Welshampton. The railway the bridge carried has long gone.
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I said hello to this cyclist and they blanked me. Do you think I should start a thread about it
@ianrauk?
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The church at Melverley. This replaced one burned down by Owain Glyndwr. (No, I don't know why the camera insisted on using the flash)
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A very pastoral scene at Nox
It's a 2010 Secteur Comp which I bought from jayonabike about 6 or so years ago- it's a lovely bike with 105 - makes me smile every time I ride it.
