Jubilee ride to Newent

The ride leader arrived a couple of minutes late at the Square and the riders must have been keen as they were already setting off! In his defence my lateness was partly due to having encountered a patch of broken glass on the other side of the square, and spending a short while in trying to ensure that no glass was in the tyre… however shortly after passing the Over Farm Shop and climbing the cycleway, his front tyre became rather flat and necessitated a messy change of inner tube. Fortunately that went well and the rest of the ride was without any major inconveniences. We proceeded to Tibberton (not via Whitehall Lane), then Kent’s Green and the centre of Newent where we lost a rider who wanted to stop and watch the jubilee parade. Another rider diverted straight to coffee for a warm up whilst the remaining seven continued toward Oxenhall then towards Gorsley (through the ford which was tackled with varying levels of aplomb) and then into the rarely visited Burrups Lane where we watched a rescue helicopter attempting to land, although we never discovered the reason. We crossed the M50 and made our way to Kempley Green then turned right to climb up to the woods and cross back over the motorway, then left to climb up onto the Dymock Road, emerging near the Vineyard. From there it was a quick sprint to Rosie’s, arriving at 11:17.