After the Rain

Saturday 18th June 2011
Day 4
Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge
Stroud to Stratford-upon-Avon
45 miles (or there abouts)

Posted by the Secret Secretary

After seeing the scheduled 75 miles for Day 3 of the Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge grow to and (eventually) culminate in an unexpected 90+ mile ride, the route for Day 4  offered some respite with only a supposed 45 miles to cover from Stroud to Stratford-upon-Avon*. Some relief was also on the cards with the weather: the relentless curtain of rain was forecast to lift and to give way to more sporadic and spaced out but still blustery showers. How apposite for the day's ride that Shakespeare should have expressed the meteorological predictions in verse:

"But, in the midst of this bright-shining day,
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud,
That will encounter with our glorious sun,
[...]
A little gale will soon disperse that cloud
And blow it to the source from whence it came."
Henry VI, Scene III, Act V

The weather invariably has its card to play in any cycle tour and so it has been right from the get-go of this year's double End-to-End Challenge, which up to now can be resumed (almost) in a word: WET. That being said, after in particular Friday's persistent rain, the few scattered, if squally, showers today were barely noticed by Les, who called home from the Youth Hostel in Alveston near Stratford using Skype.

Saturday 18th June 2011
Day 4 of the Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge.
Les calls home using Skype,
which offers the dubious bonus of a video link.

Likewise the few additional miles that took the ride from 45 to 57 miles barely warranted comment. "I'm over the moon with how well I'm riding" Les said. "All of us are riding well." "All of us" today included some guest riders. Yesterday Les reported** how pleased he was to see 3 of his friends from the Blackheath & Bromley Harriers at the finish in Stroud: Adrian, Mark and Justine had driven from London especially to offer their support. Whilst Mark and Justine returned home shortly after meeting the Team, Adrian stayed the night and, with two more friends from the Harriers, joined Les and the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team for their ride to Stratford. Friendly support like this definitely lightens the load of even the most challenging of tasks and even with the frequent stops to check the map and amend the route and the baker's dozen extra miles, the shorter ride and the Team's good pace meant that everyone had completed the stage by mid afternoon, leaving a bit of time to clean up and do a bit of essential laundry and... eat.

The youth hostel at Alveston is by all accounts a hotel with its own bar and restaurant and with a 3 course menu on offer at £9.95 that's where the lads decided would be a good place for supper. Of course, as far as Les is concerned, the proof of any menu's worth is definitely in the pudding. He's made no mention so far of the puddings he has encountered on this trip*** and I am beginning to wonder why. Note to self: where have all the puddings gone?

*Click on the Team photograph at the top of this page to go directly to the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Website. The website is being maintained by Team Leader David Greaves and includes a daily log of the ride. There is also a live tracking page and Roadbook with detailed maps and itineraries for each stage.

** To read yesterday's and other posts that are now in the archive, either click on the words "older posts" immediately below this post or keep scrolling down to the bottom of the page and click on the post title in the blog ARCHIVE.

**In 2008 Les cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats with The Old Portlians' cycle club, raising money for the Cure Parkinson's Trust. "From Wits' End to John O'Groats" (see right and further below) is the title of a book about this ride. The book also logs, in some detail, the many puddings Les enjoyed whilst completing his ride.