By March the first my weight was down to 11st 3 (71kg), so over 16kg lost.
I celebrated by going out for a couple of short rides in the evening, but due to commitments on the farm in Somerset I haven't been able to do anything longer.
This weekend has been the first opportunity for a ride in daylight, but what should I do? Well, one of the first Audax rides of the season would have been the "Snowdrop Express", but I missed the organised event. That wouldn't preclude me from riding it on my own though, as a DIY event. So I purchased my DIY brevet and entered on Friday.
Saturday morning arrived and with sunshine promised it looked like it might be a nice day for it. I didn't get away until about 11am after walking the dogs, but as it's "only" a 100km (actual 119) I didn't think it would matter.
I also decided that as it was "only" 100km that I'd ride it on my Pashley Guv'nor, described as "a revival of one of Pashley's oldest designs, the 1930s Path Racer, but updated to cope with the demands of modern life". I did the Snowdrop Express last year on the Guv'nor, including riding to and from the start point near Kidderminster, a total distance of 110 miles, so I knew it was possible.
After too much faffing around I eventually set off and almost immediately remembered that I hadn't brought a bicycle pump. After a short burst of expletives I decided that I couldn't be bothered to go back and get one and decided to carry on without one. If I did get a puncture perhaps I could flag down another cyclist, or walk to a garage.
With that thought put to the back of my mind I wound my way though the outskirts of Worcester and headed north towards Droitwich. I had the route in my GPS, but to be honest I was on autopilot, having used this route many times for riding to and from work when I lived in Kidderminster. I kept thinking "I ought to stop and take a photo or two", but just didn't I'm rubbish at social media. Maybe I'm just antisocial?
As I passed through Tibberton I noted a placard announcing "Save Tibberton Bridge", which apparently is suffering from being hit by too many HGV's. This is a narrow bridge that crosses the Worcestershire and Birmingham canal just at the exit of the village. I also noticed that the pub, also called "The Bridge" looks like it needs saving too, as it appeared to be closed and surrounded by Heras fencing, another casualty of the current public house crisis.
I passed through Droitwich, past the golfists, that seem to take great pleasure in crossing Crutch Lane from one side to the other without practicing the Green Cross Code. Just before Elmbridge I stopped to take off by neck buff, as it was beginning to warm up and the morning mist was burning off. Joining the A442 at Rushock reminded me exactly why I generally choose to ride the back lanes, as cars sped past impatiently heading to wherever it was that they were going. Luckily I didn't have to ride along the A442 for long as I turned off towards the Whitlenge Gardens and Tearoom, which under normal circumstances would be the start point of the "Snowdrop Express".
I'd only covered 25km and it was barely midday, so possibly too early for lunch and too late for coffee, but as the saying goes, "it seemed rude not to", so I settled for the latter and ordered a slice of raspberry and white chocolate sponge cake and a latte.
My next "stop" wouldn't be until Evesham and I was a little concerned that I might be "too late for lunch" and "too early for tea" when I go there, so this would keep me going for a while. I scoffed my cake and downed my coffee and headed outside, where the Gur'nor was looking quite handsome propped up against a gazebo, so I took a snap of that too.
I turned left out of the garden centre and rode past the Wienerberger brickworks at Hartlebury. There was a conveyor belt across the road, with a net strung beneath it, presumably to protect passing cyclists from falling bricks, although the net had seen better days, so I'm not sure how effective it would have been.
Again, these were all familiar roads to me and familiar sights. Perhaps I should have take a picture of St Mary's church in Elmbridge, (rebuilt in 1873 but retains a 12th century south doorway and Norman pillars and capitals in the north arcade) looking quite pretty in the sunshine. but I didn't.
From Elmbridge I headed across to Wychbold, home to the Droitwich Transmitting Station, which these days transmits BBC radio 4 and 5, but during World War II used to transmit coded message to the French resistance (cue visions of Rene Artois from 'allo 'allo). I continued towards Hanbury, home to the 1700 National Trust Hanbury Hall, which I've never been to, but probably should.
I rode along a slightly busier road now, that links Droitwich and Redditch and began to notice a much more significant amount of little on the roadside. This has always been something that annoys me - this is obviously litter that has been cast from moving vehicles. You don't notice it as much when you are driving along at 60mph, but when you are riding along at 12mph to very much do. I'd like to think that I've traveled fairly extensively, particularly through South America and Europe, but I think that the United Kingdom has some of the worst littering anywhere. Ironically, shortly later I passed a lady near Inkberrow, who was litter picking her local stretch of road. I stopped to tell her that I appreciated her efforts, even if it appeared that others may not. We had a short chat about the kind of mentality that litterbugs must have. She noted that, as I have noticed in the past, that a large proportion of litter consists of so called "energy drinks", especially those that give you wings. Now, I've been known to look for some extra energy, especially when 100 miles in to a 120 mile ride, but I've never discarded my empties on the roadside, so if you're driving a two-ton lump of metal you have even less excuse?
Anyway, I passed through the Lenches (a group of villages that share the name Lench, deriving from the Old English hlenc meaning 'extensive hill slope', noting that the house in Church Lench seems to have run out of the extremely pleasant honey I bought back in November and finally dropped down in to the Vale of Evesham and Evesham itself. I zipped through the town centre and headed for the excellent cafe at Hampton Ferry. I'm not sure if there is even a ferry anymore, but the cafe is a frequent stop and fortunately for me, they were still serving food, even though it was nearly 3pm. I opted for the broccoli and Stilton soup, which arrived with a freshly-baked mini baguette. It was quite possibly the best broccoli and Stilton soup I've ever had, although it was hotter than the surface of the sun and took quite a while and quite a lot of blowing to cool down enough to eat.
Leaving Evesham I headed towards Pershore before forking off towards Elmley Castle on the "Blossom Trail". Google informs me this is "a 50-mile scenic route through Worcestershire’s Vale of Evesham, showcasing vibrant fruit orchards from mid-March to mid-May. Renowned as a top spring attraction, it features pink and white plum, pear, and apple blossoms". I didn't notice a huge amount of vibrancy, but I do admit there was some blossom to be seen.
I passed through Little and Great Comberton, before stopping to admire the view over the valley of the river Avon towards Eckington.
For most of January and February the River Avon has burst its banks, giving the impression of a large inland lake, but today it had behaved itself and hadn't even closed the bridge at Eckington. I believe that this years "Snowdrop Express" was able to cross, but it was touch and go for a while...
I was pushing quite hard now, as it was getting late, although the weather was still very pleasant. I'd removed my leg warmers and long-sleeved top in Evesham and was surprised at how warm it was.
The route now took a loop south from Defford, a former WWII airfield before heading to Upton upon Severn. Under normal circumstances I'd have stopped at the Stable Tearooms in Upton, but they looked very closed and it was nearly 5pm.
To be honest, I didn't really need sustenance at this point (although I was a little disappointed that the ice-cream van wasn't there) and I was only 10 miles or so from home, so I thought it best to crack on. From Upton I followed National Cycle Network route 45 home - again a route I've ridden many times. In fact, I rode it only a couple of weeks ago, but disappointingly had to stop a couple of times to pump up my tyre due to a puncture. No puncture today though, just as well as I had no pump, remember?
I rolled on to my driveway at about 5.45pm, a little over 7 hours after starting out. Time for a shower, a quick bite to eat and take Stella to the park for a walk again.
With a bit of luck I'll be able to get out again next weekend for a slightly longer ride and build up the miles again. Watch this space, as the saying goes - but don't hold your breath!
