This one started well and got worse. The weather, so often an important part of our rides, was sunny, but not warm. There was a strong wind from the South though. Our route was almost due South and so straight into the wind. Dave had decided on a different destination than usual and we went to Pershore with some sketchy directions to the cafe. Brian got his second puncture of the day at the bottom of Gorcot. Shame on his nice new bike.
For some strange reason I decided to go to the front on the Ridgeway which was a mistake. Things were fairly quiet as we all struggled into the wind. It was not much fun, but at least the wind would be at our backs on the way home. When we got to Peshore we were all looking forward to some respite and a nice cuppa. Unfortunately both cafe's in Pershore were closed. Ooops. We turned back and stopped at a corner shop for some food. Then the rain started.
You may remember but this was the day that the storm started. The rain was very very heavy. It only lasted for 20 minutes but it was enough to soak everything . The roads became very wet. The wind was firmly at our backs now and with the worsening conditions there was a general increase in pace to get home. This was not good for those on fixed.
Again things got split up as those in front did not slow enough. We got back to Redditch in pretty good time. Then most turned off and there was just 4 of us going back to Becketts. As we went through Redditch the rain returned. It was now not a pleasant day at all. We struggled back up Gorcot and to Becketts. Very thankful to get home into the dry and warm. Then the fence blew down later on, and I did not get much sleep due to the heavy rain all night.