LEJOG Day 7
My departure from the Rising Sun Hotel was going to plan. A cup of coffee with my escort out of Marshfield and breakfast was a good start to the day. I then received an e mail from my Canberra Lawyers. The result was a delayed departure as I composed my response. One day I will post about my experiences with Lawyers on a number of issues.
As I finally rode off, I let the Garmin take charge. Its first suggestion was a very steep lane (25% gradient) down towards Cheltenham. This proved interesting with a fully laden bike. It is times like this that I appreciate the Juicy Hydraulic brakes.
The route then took me towards Great Malvern. My Marshfield host had pointed out the Malverns in the far distance the day before and had suggested that if I liked hills, I should head towards then. I did head to towards ‘them there hills’, but not because I like hills necessarily. After what seemed an eternity I finally climbed into Great Malvern a very pretty town that lies very close to the top of the Malverns.
This is Elgar country. In deference to the great composer I played the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches on my MP3. I must put the Cello Concerto on my music machine. The Jacqueline du Pre version is just the most amazing performance. Watch it on YouTube.
As I headed towards Worcester, I finally picked up a NCR trail. It took me over a very futuristic bridge that has been constructed just for bikes. Good on you Worcester Council.
As I rode into town I heard load clapping. I was passing the County Cricket Ground. The Australians were playing Worcester in their second warm up game in the Ashes tour. I spoke the gatekeeper and for the second time on tour, was allowed to enter a ground to take some photos. This time (remember in Taunton the rain had started) I saw some play. Clarke and Cowen were batting. It seems Clark’s back is holding up. It needs to if the Australians are to be competitive in the Tests.
I took a photo of the tour bus again. This time the driver was in the bus and we had a chat. He spotted that I was Australian – clever man. He went on to tell me that the bus company was not happy with him. For his penance he was given the job “driving a bus load of Aussies around the country for 3 months”. He said he “had suffered serious sledging”. Enough chatting, I was back on my bike.
My Marshfield host’s plan was that I ride to Ludlow. When I got to Cleobury, the Kings Arms look like nice pub. It had great Ales. I decided to stay the night.
Garmin Link
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/336567573
Flickr Link
billrider2013 