The ride started with glancing blow on the shoulder from a seagull in Southgate Street. Although there was a flurry of feathers, the gull continued to gain altitude, and I remained on my bike, so I conclude that this was only an inconvenience. Another inconvenience was the strong headwind, particularly noticeable on Stroud Road, but pretty much ever present to coffee.
Two routes were pre-publicized, and with the cloud down on the Cotswold edge, the low-level one was selected, and this took us to excellent cakes at the Vintage Birdcage at spot on 11:00. Charfield Hill with coffee legs was not good planning, but the tail wind home via Berkeley was very welcome, and did mean we got home before the rain.
56 miles, 2,500′ ascent @16.1mph
IW