Couldn't resist the chance to ride today, even if it was my bread and butter ride through the Severnside villages South of Gloucester yet again. A pleasant Summer's day .... as opposed to the blast furnaces of late made for perfect conditions out on the lanes. I took my time over it and stuck as close to the river as I could, stopping off for some quality time gazing across the water in a number of my favourite spots. I passed through Epney and chose the little lane that follows the river bank through Lower Framilode and Priding before climbing up to Overton on my way to Arlingham.
The view from Priding towards the Anchor Inn at Epney:
I had a nice chat with a fellow cyclist when I got to my turning point at Arlingham. The next view is from there, looking across to Newnham on Severn:
On the way back I came across a scene I have been waiting to capture for years in the village of Saul. It always seems to be bin day when I pass through here, or else someone has parked a van outside or I have a car close on my tail. Today I was able to pull over and get a nice shot of one of my favourite local views:
Just before getting home, I pulled over to sit in the shade of a tree on the scorched grass of the river bank at Stonebench and I finished my drink slowly, watching various waterbirds floating downstream on the current. No selfies on this ride, though these are my feet!:
No bike pics from this ride either .... though I do have one bike pic to offer. I commented on someone else's FB page a couple of weeks back on the subject of the state of the roads in Lincolnshire, and I added a photo I took back in 2023. Suddenly yesterday when on FB, up came a post from "Road.CC" about that very subject and featuring my own bike! (Mine is the one on the left):
A tad under 25 miles today on my newly serviced Ridgeback Panorama touring bike, which was an absolute pleasure to ride. Silent running, smooth gear changes and much improved braking as well as a new tube in the front wheel. Smooth, quiet cycling perfection.