Well we were promised two castles. In Warwick we were reliably informed that it was behind the town wall and in Kenilworth we were diverted around the finish of a running race so couldn’t ride past it. Other than that it was a fantastic day out in the sunshine breaking new off-road ground. Many thanks to Richard Heald for planning the route.
Which bike? was the question in the run up. Apparently it was less hilly beyond Rugby and there were a number of well surfaced old railway lines and towpaths and some tarmac in between. The ‘cross bike would be easier then, but less forgiving when it got bumpy.
The group set off from the Farndon Fields farm shop at 6.30am – an early start which they would be very grateful for later – enabling them to break the back of the ride before the heat slowed them down. First west and then south west on bumpy bridleways – then gravel lanes and tracks to Rugby. Neil left us in Rugby, the Smoke Ring still in his legs. Where’s the cafe stop? No let’s press on before it gets hot. Onto a network of disused railways and gravel towpaths and the north shore of Draycote Water. Where are we now – Leamington Spa – hang on this is Victoria Park where I used to bring my lad circuit racing. Are we in Warwick yet? Where’s the castle? Behind that remnant of the town wall (it’s okay it’s traditional – we didn’t see Belviour Castle on last year’s ride either). Still we’ll ride past the castle in Kenilworth…
As we got closer to Kenilworth we started to come across runners with numbers on. We appear to be in a running race – we might win! No, we weren’t allowed to the finish so didn’t see the castle. The planned coffee stop wasn’t an option either as everywhere was full of tired runners. Press on, the more miles while it’s not too hot the better. Then we came across a kids football tournament on the Warwick University campus (which isn’t in Warwick, but closer to Coventry) with a coffee van and a stall selling bacon rolls (sports nutrition is important) – perfect, we were about 55 miles in.
North to Coventry and then winding our way back east on cycling tracks. The wind was in our faces now, which was welcome as it helped to cool us down and fortunately wasn’t as strong as on Saturday. A quick stop at a shop for ice cream and more fluid – my god it was hot when you stopped – where a mad Spaniard told us repeatedly that we should be in the Tour de France – if only we were young enough or anywhere near good enough…
We then were on the back roads, easy miles but the heat radiating off the tarmac was taking it’s toll. Keep drinking. 67 miles in – 2/3 done. Then we were off-road again and glad of the shade on gravel tracks and smooth bridleways (why are our local ones so hoofy?). The climb out of Rugby was tough, we were running on empty, and the overheating protection switch was preventing power engagement – at least in my legs and that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Just count down the miles, back across the bridleway at Kilworth Springs, we’re on home ground now (even though they spell it with too few Ls). We had one major hill to go – the off-road climb on the concrete slab road up to Welford – hmmm that was going to be fun. Done back to Sibbertoft, a quiet moment on WVCC sacred ground (near the source of the Welland) and straight down the off-road descent – careful now – the concentration and reflexes aren’t what they were 95 miles ago. Back to Harborough via the Judith Stone bridleway . As Harborough was being being pelted by hail rocks and under several inches of water in a violent thunder storm by 5pm, that early start seemed well worth it!
The routes for the first four of our off-road 100 milers are below if anyone would like to try them. All were great, but epic, days out.
Categories