Eight sport riders left the still unfinished King’s Square for the usual route to Brimpsfield and High Cross. A breakaway rider took some catching before Woodmancote, but he was caught, allowing the whole group to enjoy the beautiful lane through Bagendon. A second 2-person breakaway formed, but when Park Corner was reached, the group was once again complete.
On the approach to Cherington, D realised that our plans of coffee and cake in Tetbury didn’t meet his requirements, so left us to return home to a fridge well stocked with Bacon (and eggs allegedly stolen from his neighbour!).
The final run from Cherington was assisted by a flattering tail-wind, allowing the group to average 22.2mph.
Following refreshments, and some complaints on the immediate steep pitch out from the Old Station, we again followed a usual routing. Two riders each had a puncture near Lower Hazlecote, both caused by stone-strikes. However, fixing them in the sunshine near the headwaters of the stunning Horsley Valley didn’t result in complaint. Other than that, the return was without incident, and the headwind didn’t prove to be too much of an issue. The usual final hazard of the sheep in Matson failed to upset us on what was a great morning out.
59 miles, 3,600’ ascent @ 15.6mph
IW