Thicker undershorts required !

Haven’t been feeling very fit of late, even though I walk into the city every other day. So last weekend I cleaned and oiled my mountain bike, it’s been over a year since I last took it out for a spin. The weather this morning was great, so after wearing myself out pumping up the tyres !!! there was no going back. Armed with a small banana, a bottle of juice, and my Sigma DP1 camera I set off. Fortunately I live next to a Sustrans cycle route that takes you out into the countryside on quiet roads. It’s quite a hilly route, not the steep kind, but more of the long slog kind. Here are a few photos along the way.

Cottage – Stoughton 

Stoughton Church 

Blossom along the way

The Bike and Stoughton Aerodrome

You can see by the windsock I was riding into a gentle headwind, good for muscle toning I kept telling myself.

Lonesome Tree 

St John the Baptist Church, Kings Norton

I was kindly given a guided tour of the church which was very interesting. It was built in 1775 on the site of an earlier church, and originally had a 156 ft spire, but it was destroyed by lightning in 1850.

Water trough in the church wall
Apparently it’s Grade 2 listed and due for restoration. The trough is fed from a water tank in the church.

Freshly ploughed field  

Oilseed ripening 
Panorama from the phone camera.

It was only 12 miles (19 Km) but I really enjoyed it. Although it brought home to me just how unfit I am at the moment. I really need to buy some undershorts with much thicker padding, sitting down is a delicate operation at the moment !!!!!!