Feeling like “Billy No Mates” in the square, I had resigned myself to trying to cling onto the fast ride, when one rider asked “Are you running the loop ride”. What a relief!
So two of us set off for Cleeve Hill, and as it was just two, it was easy to find a comfortable pace for both of us, even if it was higher than an intermediate ride would normally be. Dark clouds on the Cotswolds led us to believe that the top of Cleeve Hill would be in the cloud, although this proved not to be the case, at least for the road summit – the actual summit was definitely hidng.
My co-rider commented that his Kalas jacket was too warm as we regrouped at the top of Cleeve Hill, but withdrew that comment after the fast descent to Winchcombe. We were unusually lucky crossing both the A46 at Beckford and the Tewkesbury Road at the Old Spot, and so headed into our coffee stop a touch earlier than planned. A mechanical just shy of coffee, losing a bolt from a mudguard stay was fixed using a cable tie – I just need to remember to put a new one in my toolkit.
A great ride with good company, and the sun even came out in the end.
50 miles, 2,000′ ascent @ 15.7mph