LEADON VALE CYCLE CLUB RIDE 494 Sunday 5th May 2924.
Ride 13 on my list has been a long time coming what with closed bridges and floods, but today it happened, not only ride 13 was going ahead but the sun was out and it bought you out, plenty of chat about tour which is this week so no club rides next Sunday,
Everybody apart from Owen and Andy would do the Advanced ride and Chris going to cut off at some point.
So with Andy and Owen away on what was nearly a 59 miler we all set out as a group and it wasn’t long before Wayne Steve Adrian and Allen soon pushed on meaning we had a slightly smaller group on the road which was good, Corse Lawn climb was behind us and turning into Green street on our way past Bushley cricket ground and Bushley village and over the Mythe to Tewkesbury. Out on the Brendon rd to the Northway turning, where we followed the road around to the T junction and turned right, it was here we got a little lost trying to avoid the busy main rd we deviated from the route relying on the local knowledge of Chris and Ken to get us back on route to the Walton Cardiff turning and once again we were back on the lanes we love and apart from fog walkers the road was very quiet and somewhere I hadn’t been before and I think a lot of others hadn’t, eventually we wound our way passed Sheridan’s golf course this is where Chris left is at the sign tgat ssid code and cake so with that in mind tour will have a few stops to refuel. Stoke orchard now splitting into two groups to be smaller on the road Andy set a very good pace through to Gloucester old spot whet we crossed the busy road in small groups and regrouped in Boddington village, Staverton village and out on the main rd to the Cheltenham road David now pulling us along past the end of the runway past the nurseries and on to the Shurdington rd and we headed towards Churchdown only for the road to be shut, the road was collapsing but we could walkthrough and continue up in to the village before dropping down to the Hare and Hound lights. Past the Imjim army barrack and in to Frogfurlong lane and the site of a complete housing estate which wasn’t there last time we rode through here. Down Hatherley and out on the Tewkesbury rod to the Norton turning, and around the rather wet roads which resembled a river at times but soon we were dropping down past the Red Lion over a couple of cattlegrids and over Haw Bridge on to the Ham rd. This is another road we have Hardly ridden since Christmas with all the floods now nearly gone as Maggie commented how nature repairs itself with all the hedges in full leaf and the fields drying out. Up through Ashleworth village and along Lawn rd to the garage and it seemed to take a long time to be able to cross but once we were over Doc got his second wind and chased down David and Chris before we got back to the club where Steve had made a pot of tea for our return.
That was our first ride in the sun and how nice it was.
Like I said earlier we are on tour from Thursday so the will be no club rides next Sunday.
Thanks to all of you who rode that was the biggest gathering this year.
Yellow leader.