According to gps: odo 21.51 mov time 2h20m max 21.6 moving avg 9.2 tot time 2h46m
I've had this week off work - but the weather's been very grotty, which meant I didn't get out on my bike. When I woke up this morning it was glorious sunshine - although the forecast wasn't great. I thought I'd just go out and see how I got on - not amazingly well as it turned out.
I decided to go to Stockport - for no particular reason other than it was a target that I thought was achievable. The weather wasn't amazingly kind - it's still chilly but the wind was the biggest problem, I found. After a slight diversion on the way (turning left too early, oops) I nearly conked out a couple of times, particularly after Parrs Wood where there are a couple of inclines up before descending into Stockport.
After pootling around the town centre - not really doing much - and buying lunch - it started to rain. I wasn't too keen on getting wet but since the forecast was due to get progressively worse during the day I figured it was best to leave as soon as possible!
Travelling back I spotted a sign for the Transpennine Trail. Conscious that the routes out of Stockport both involved steep hills, and aware that the TPT followed the Mersey, I decided to follow that. It was a bit of a mistake - the first bit out of Stockport was well surfaced but it fairly quickly degenerated into a bit of a quagmire in places and was generally very rubbly. It wasn't terribly pleasant, particularly as there was rain in the air - although I did spot a wagtail and an heron. (OK, they're not terribly rare, but that doesn't stop them being impressive!) Consequently I tried to leave the TPT at one point but found myself circling round and rejoining the Mersey only a few hundred metres further on! Still, never mind. I eventually left the route and found myself on Barlow Moor Road - and the wind was either side-on or behind me so it wasn't so bad on the way home.
I felt really knackered when I got home. Not entirely surprising - I'm still unfit - but the weather got very much worse later on in the afternoon and into the evening, absolutely tipping it down - so I think I got the best bit of the day (even if it was a bit rubbish).