Tell us about your weekend ride

There is a nice little loop about 2 miles from my new home which I have been meaning to try. Having had a knee op I thought it best to warm up gradually to it. The loop can be split in two so I had done the bumpy half a couple of times (once clockwise and once anti). This morning I was monitoring the weather to see if the freezing fog would blow past and it did.

So I put some more sealant in the tyres on my bike (it has been ages since they last had some and the tyres on another bike had gone dry) and I set off. It was fresh, but I was adequately dressed and the hills and country side melted off into the mist. The loop goes via a few small villages and is predominantly on relatively quiet roads. Most of the drivers were really considerate, slowing down and making eye contact.

I need to find out more about ornithology, saw 4 or 5 birds of prey, a couple flew along overhead, probably trying to decide if they could take down 15 stone of human. Thankfully none tried.

I had thought the recovery from the operation would mean I'd have to take it very gently, so I was not pushing myself too hard. I hope to make the loop my simple training ride, its just over 30 miles from my house, the actual Newent Loop is 28 and looks like it will be a comfortable sub two hour workout. Am hoping to use it as my yardstick for fitness - have a load of weight to shed from the months prior to the knee operation when I had to do as little riding as possible.

I did have a couple of "oh shit" moments caused by the red clay they call soil round here. I was convinced I was going to hit the ground but managed to steer into the skid just in time to right the bike.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1540611900

https://www.strava.com/activities/842709113/overview