LEJOG Day 8

I left Cleobury after a very comfortable night in an interesting room that had the smallest window I have seen in a hotel bedroom. Is suspect the pub was built before Australia was discovered.

The ride up to Clee Hill was long . I like the rolling hills of the English countryside and looking at the sheep with white and black noses, but there is so much you like of this stuff pedaling up and up. Finally there was some down. Sheep look better if you don’t have to look at them walking as fast as you ride.

Ludlow is a classic Market Town. It has won the ‘Best in Bloom’ competition for every year since that that completion started. It is a nice town with castle and quaint old buildings. There was market going when I arrived. One enterprising vendor was selling reasonable crepes.

I had let the Garmin do the navigating. My plan was to go to Stewsbury. I am not sure the Garmin took the best route. It did however, me through more fabulous countryside. I finally made it into Stewsury quite late checked into a funny little hotel on the edge of the town centre. The town centre is bounded by the Severn River. Just think, I was sailing on the same river last Sunday.

I went for a walk into the main street to find a meal. I found an Italian Restaurant and ordered Penne Arrabiata. It wasn’t too bad. I have found that most Italian food in England isn’t a patch of the stuff we get in Australia. We have been spoilt by all those Italian immigrants, particularly in Melbourne.

I finished off the night with a pint of Hobsons in pub in the High Street.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/337040654

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGzry4x

Hobsons Ale

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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

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGyoVpL

LEJOG Day 6

Time to continue on to Scotland.

I had a great time with my hosts in Marshfield. It is so good to see familiar faces when you are travelling.

One of my hosts kindly offered to accompany me on my need leg. He, like me, is retired and has time to do such things. He also has an extensive collection of Ordinance maps detailing all the lanes and paths ways across the UK. Some research identified a route north and off we went. My host was somewhat amazed at the weight of my Cannondale laden with my meager possessions. The weight is in stark contrast to his road bike. This road bike is soon to be replaced by a new model as reward for achieving weight loss and other fitness goals. My host is yet another of my friends that made personal fitness a retirement project.

As we rode north, the contrast between the laden Cannondale and the road bike ridden by an ever increasing fit rider became palpable. I was slower on the flat, about the same downhill, but very much slower on the ups. My host had many opportunities to pause and take in the scenery en-route as I slowly made my way up the hills. Again, the country-side was great. The bright yellow of the rape plants is really spectacular. Our route took us past the National Arboretum. It is obvious why this part of the country was selected as the site of this important institution.

Our route took us into Cheltenham, which I recall is famous for horse racing. My host noted that the town did nothing for him. I agree. As I keep saying, I am intrigued why some towns and villages (e.g. RTW) seem to get more pleasant and other fade and become tacky.

The last part of the ride took us up a steep rise to Cleeve Hill and the Rising Sun Hotel. The view from the pub is spectacular. A great steak meal was washed down with a pint and a good red.

My host noted that he had successfully seen me out of the premises in Marshfield, escorted out of the village and made sure that I had left the county.

Next morning my host provided me with a suggested route. I think I sort of followed it – stay posted.

He headed back to Marshfield, taking about half the time it had taken the other way.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/336017739

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGynKqJ

LEJOG Rest Days in Marshfield (via Wimbeldon)

I spent the weekend with the daughter of my Dad’s best friend from school and her partner. It was great to meet up with them after a year.

After I arrived, we headed off for a couple of pints at the best pub in the village – The Catherine Wheel. This was followed by a great meal and conversation.

Back to Wimbledon

My hosts had tickets for Wimbeldon on Saturday. We woke up very early and headed off to London at great speed. The plan was for my hosts to meet friends from Melbourne at a pub in Wimbeldon Villiage called the Rose and Crown and to have breakfast and watch the Wallabies v British and Irish Lions game that was being played in Melbourne. As chance would have it, this pub is well known to my London hosts. They too were going to the pub to watch the game.

All readers of the post will know the result of the game. What a ripper!!! All looks good for the deciding Test in Sydney next week.

My Marshfield hosts headed off to the tennis and my London hosts and I stayed to watch the tennis in the pub. We were joined by a friend of my London hosts who is workings at a driver, transporting players and officials to and from the All England Club. This is a job with many ‘brushes with the famous’.

On our way back to Marshfield my hosts and I stopped off at the Brilliant Curry Restaurant in Southhall. The food was as the name of the restaurant suggests. The owner of the place is also ‘brilliant’ at self-promotion – check out his web site.

Sailing

The next day my host took me sailing at the Thornbury Sailing club. On the way I was asked if I had ever sailed. I told them about the Northbridge Senior I had as a teenager. I also told them that when I moved to Mosman I got to know the son of the designer and maker of the mast I used on the boat – he is Julian Bethwaite, the designer of the 49’s and 29’s classes. The former is an Olympic class. When we arrived at the club one of the first boats we saw was a 29er, prominently displaying the logo for ‘Bethwaite Design’.

Our sailing was done of a Seafarer 14 foot dingy. It was not quite big enough for 3 middle-aged men. It was also my first experience sailing in a tidal river. Apparently the Seven has the second greatest tidal movement of any river in the world. Sailing with, against and across a 3 knot tide is quite an experience.

We only managed one lap of the course before adjourning to the club house for an Ale. Our skipper told us of his plan to sail his 14 footer around the British Isles, stopping infrequently and sleeping onboard out at sea. Hmmmmm.

In the evening we had a BBQ in the sun the backyard of my host’s house. The end of another great day.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGxFTd3

 

Good Indian Food

http://brilliantrestaurant.com/

LEJOG Day 5

Before leaving Cheddar I had a coffee and croissant in small café on the road leading to the Cheddar Gorge. The proprietor was a fount of information.  He told that that some Cheddar Cheese is still aged in the caves in the Gorge.  He also told me that he would not suggest buying or eating any of that cheese – interesting. The Gorge is apparently of significant geological interest.  I am afraid from my perspective it was just another steep hill.

The route then took me through the Chew Valley and lake – classis English countryside.  It is a pity the weather wasn’t a bit better to do justice to the photos.

I followed National Cycle Routes 3 and 33, hoping to by-pass Bath.  Nearing Bath I resorted to using the Garmin to take me to Marshfield.  This was a mistake.  My friend, the Garmin, to me into Bath.  Its route out of Bath was a horror.  One street was the steepest I have encountered so far on the trip to-date.  Not far out of Bath the Garmin sent me up a very small steep lane.  I ran into a runner coming the other way.  He asked “why are you riding up this lane? It is a dead end”.

Once out of Bath, the route became familiar. After a one serious ‘up’, I was in Marshfield.  A knock on the door of house in the High Street, some quick hellos and off to the Catherine Wheel for a couple of pints with my hosts.

This was followed by a great meal and conversation.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGuKuAz

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/334615866