Coughton Court & the headwind ride

Coughton Court & the headwind ride, a photo by rOcKeTdOgUk on Flickr.

inspired by the heroics of the pros at flanders yesterday we decided to do a road ride as part of "c"'s build up for her 1st sportive ride. unfortunately the weather conspired to make it even more of a tough training ride than planned. a very strong headwind and minus temperature wind chill was character building and at times we were down on the drops trying to be as aerodynamic as possible to cut a path through the air. An early stop at a garden centre for a warm up and a slice of cake was called for, In these conditions a stop is always a double edged sword as you are always reluctant to venture back out into the cold after being inside in the warm. We braved it however and continued on through the Ragley Hall estate to Alcester then via the ford to Coughton Court, home to the Throckmorton family who were big names in Tudor times. then back via Sambourne resisting the lure of the Green Dragon and it's real fires before another brief stop in the shape of a Greggs. I was tempted to strap a hot sausage roll to each foot as I'd lost feeling in them by now but had to settle for eating it! then back via the windswept lake side to a much welcome home with central heating!. A good ride made difficult by the conditions but meant we'd earnt or tea!
ride 29
37 miles
total 509