After a brief wait in the Square for a late arrival, eleven of us set off under an initially grey sky. Not to worry the sun made an appearance and there was warmth in it. Out of Gloucester we headed towards Longlevens then along Innsworth Lane past the ever growing Whittle Gardens. Discussions were had about the floods and whether they had been made worse by such developments. Soon after, we took Frogfurlong and Down Hatherley Lanes, both of which can be damp after rain but were fine today. We then used a small section of the green brick road to Staverton but not before we lost one of our number to a mechanical, so ten it was. Taking the usual route to Tredington had some riders worried about getting closer to the floods! No worries, though, as we turned right to take the road through to Gotherington and then the drag to Prescott. At this point, many guesses were being had as to our mystery destination with Hayles Fruit Farm top favourite. It was after Prescott that we encountered our rather mad driver of the day who decided to overtake the group and another car on a blind summit in their old Land Rover whilst pulling a trailer. Thankfully, nothing came of it but hey!!
In Gretton I totally threw everyone by turning left down towards Alderton. Toby then took a guess at the destination and won the gold star. Through Alderton village we reached the A46 crossing, which even at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning was difficult with a bit of a split occurring. A quick re-group and a short spin to our mystery destination followed – The Old Post Office, Beckford. Never been there but what a nice place – friendly staff and great food. Plenty of outdoor seating for those warmer days.
Upon leaving we took the drag up to Conderton which everyone agreed was a great way to warm up after the cafe. Left at Kemerton then along the back of the Army camp saw us caught, unusually, by the level crossing. Familiar lanes took us back to Tredington, Stoke Orchard, and Boddington but then we took the back road through Barrow before emerging in Staverton village. Once we reached the lights at Staverton various riders split for their own routes home
The joy of riding out in a northerly direction meant a lovely tailwind home in the sunshine, a great day for a ride, cold but dry.
JD