the goal of this ride was to pedal from home to the wyre forest, scoff some cake and ride back. well, that did happen but with a few addendams. firstly i was trying to avoid the big climb from Kidderminster to bewdley and as it happens i also had a second mission. the OH had left a scarf at the stone manor hotel after a meeting, so a short detour took me to the reception where a very efficient rreceptionist found it straight away. with this success i figured i'd take a chance on a route i've never used before...just to avoid that hill, of course i got a bit lost found my way, got a bit lost, retraced my route, found Bewdley (without that hill, YAY!) but probably used 3 times the energy i would have just climbing the flipping hill in the first place. the wyre forest was busy with both bikers and walkers and i met one of the guys i ride in Scotland with, had a chat but cake was calling,,,mmm lemon crumble and a mug of tea. heading for home i noticed a canal towpath, whipped out the Android phone-google maps and saw that if i went from Kidderminster to stourton via the canal i could go home via wollaston and clent. just heading out from Kidderminster there was a huge bang, then a few minutes later sirens galore, rounding a corner i saw a huge pall of smoke, a guy watching said a bedding warehouse had caught fire and looked to be spreading to the college next door. a few more explosions occured while i was watching, impressive but scary. following the canal i passed from Worcestershire into Staffordshire, found my exit, made it through Wollaston (last time i was there it was with an old girlfriend who lived there). had to stop for an emergency Mars bar about 7 miles from home as my energy was waning. a great ride, super weather and cake!
ride 113
61 miles
total 1859
commute 915
total+commute 2774
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