PGT Day 17 - Riding Hills and Lighting A Beacon.

After the blustery deluge of "Jubilee Day" yesterday it was good to wake up to bright skies and drying roads as well as lighter wind. A flat battery on Paula's car caused a re-shuffling of the day's itinerary and meant I could ride in the morning today rather than in the afternoon. After a great sleep and some decent food last night my legs and lungs felt much better today, so much so that towards the end of a tentative anti clockwise loop I decided to tack on a bit more and use all of the available 90 minutes. Not only that but I headed for hillier "add on roads", a sure sign that I'm feeling good in both body AND mind. The air was cool but the arm warmers and gillet combo proved just right after the usual initial chilliness, and the sun dodged in and out of the thick cloudscape that filled the sky throughout the spin. When it did appear though the warming effect was very noticeable.

The roads were dotted with pockets of loose gravel deposited by the storm water yesterday, and plenty of large verge-side puddles stood testimony to the amount of water that fell from the skies. I passed through the villages of Claverley, Worfield and Pattingham and they felt less bunting strewn and "Jubileefied" than they had. Perhaps the wind had blown the decorations away, or maybe the lady I saw removing the string of "flamme Union Jack" from the front of her house was one of the last so to do. Either way today felt like the quiet and hungover day after something big, with quite roads, villages and towns. To finish my ride I cut cross country up Springhill Lane, across Penn Common and onto the fast and hugely enjoyable descent of "Sedgley Bonk" back into Wombourne. 40 wonderful kilometres of riding then straight into the kitchen to knock up asparagus rissotto for the gang, to be timed perfectly and punctually for Paula to eat on her lunch break from work - mission accomplished.

In truth the Jubilee celebrations have largely passed me by, stirring little interest although I saw enough of the appalling BBC coverage of the Thames flotilla to be glad to have missed it! It's not that I'm a rampant Republican, I'm just utterly ambivalent about the Monarchy. Tonight, however, I will make my only concession to the weekend festivities by visiting Kinver Edge for the lighting of one of the 4000 plus beacons, there's something rather satisfyingly primal about a form of communication as simple as lighting bonfires on hilltops - that's a real tradition and one I can truly love.

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