An unexpected Bank Holiday and two days off the bike with illness. Boy, was I raring to go this morning.
Setting off I had a rough route in mind. Usually I head out then end up down in Avenum Park towards the end of my ride. Today I decided to go that way first, then loop round some of the Guild Wheel before heading up to Longridge for what I expected to be a single hard climb.
After doing the Four Acre Lane climb I figured I’d head up the parallel road to the Jeffrey Hill climb and see what lies that way.
Turns out, lots of little climbs.
Lots.
Way more than I expected… because I expected it to be largely flat.
Pre-ride I’d looked on Google Maps and had planned to follow that route to Gallows Lane, descend into Ribchester, then climb back out and head home.
Well… somewhere along the way I missed my turn.
It’s my fault for not having planned a route into the Garmin, of course. I figured I could wing it. But no. The Garmin was absolutely no help whilst out there:
After riding for a good few kilometres looking for the Gallows Lane turn off I figured I must be way further out than I wanted to be. And that was bad because from all the little climbs my right knee was in a bit of pain.
Once I got to Stoneyhurst I knew I had about 20km still to ride home, so my mood went downhill a bit.
Speaking of down hills though, on the way back from Stoneyhurst I finally did come across the totally unmarked Gallows Lane. I only recognised it as last time I climbed up there I spent a while at that junction waiting to go left.
So, down I went.
Even though it would add yet another climb to the route I figured why not? The roads were quiet (for obvious reasons) and it’s rare that I get an essentially untimed amount of bike riding fun, so get it whilst it’s on offer, right?
Yeah.
The descent of Gallows Lane was awesome. Zero traffic, bar two dog walkers and two horses. I nailed it.
And the climb back from Ribchester was… well, not one of my best. But I got there in the end.
The mistakes I made on this ride were basically not having a route, and not having enough food with me. Enjoyable though.
My pace today would have been alright for a century ride. Eeking out another ~25km was do-able, but I was definitely ready for home by the time I got back. Besides, my music playlist was done. As was my knee.
Hopefully I’ve not completely wrecked my knee so I can at least ride again on Wednesday. Whether that will be a hard effort, I don’t know yet. Tomorrow needs to be a rest day though. I’m sore all over from this one. Just goes to show my bike doesn’t properly fit me I guess.
