Eight riders gathered in the square on a somewhat overcast morning. Although it must be noted that the ride leader, at least, had observed a wonderful golden sunrise not two hours ago – we mustn’t complain too much about the weather!
We followed a familiar route Northwest out of Gloucester via Frogfurlong Lane, then through Staverton onto the beautifully surfaced Boddington Roads. We could see a very moody looking patch of cloud to our left, but at this point we were outrunning it and leaving it behind, thanks in no small part to a lovely tailwind.
After turning right in Tredington, just before the level crossing we encountered a tractor. It was thundering towards us, taking up pretty much the entire width of the tarmac. The Captain thought it best not to take any chances so pulled right and off the road, and we all followed suit so that the tractor could pass and maintain its substantial momentum!
With a strong tailwind aiding us once again, we hurtled down the A38 for a small section of less than 1 mile, before turning off left. We now saw ahead of us a much bigger, darker and more ominous gathering of grey clouds, and there were several remarks that the ride leader was leading the group towards certain doom. However luckily, the road soon curved around to the right and kept us on the edge of the oppressive weather front, which was nonetheless awesome to behold.
With a good 7 or so miles still to go to reach Cropthorne, we felt the first raindrops of the day and so we stopped to don waterproof jackets. It was a light shower and short-lived – somewhat miraculous considering our close encounters with weather fronts and the forecast. A few small hills later through the Combertons and we arrived dry at Clive’s to find it positively heaving. Luckily we were able to claim a table inside, and we were thankful for the warmth and shelter despite the slow and somewhat disordered service.
After some nice food and drink, we retraced our route for a short while. Once reaching some quiet roads on approach to Elmley Castle , we decided to attempt to sing Happy Birthday to Colin. Despite his objections to the idea, I am sure he appreciated the thought behind it, even though the delivery was off-key! Soon after descending through Ashton Under Hill we heard the first of the thunder. Still no more rain, but soon several lightning flashes and more thunder – nature reminding us of its formidable power. Soon after crossing the A46, the heavens opened in earnest, and we sought shelter under some short trees to don rain jackets once again (see photo). The majority of the group was reluctant to get going again in the downpour, but the ride leader used her authority and made a decision to crack on. Thankfully the rain only lasted a few minutes longer after that, although the bikes got soaked – as evidenced by a symphony of screeching brakes on a right turn in Alderton!
At Gretton the group split down the middle with the 4 lunch goers opting to stay with the ride leader and going on to tackle Cleeve Hill, whilst the remaining 4 took a more direct route home. We remained dry for the rest of the ride, and were even blessed with some lovely warm sunshine cycling home through Cheltenham after some drinks at the Jolly Brewmaster.
Approx 60 miles, 2200 feet of climbing
