30th December 2012

The rain has gone! Well for today anyway. New inner tube in the road bike and all set to go. It wasn't a puncture after all. The little flimsy valve had broken off so was irreparable.  Thought about doing a longer ride today but no charge in my phone. Not over keen going well off the beaten track with no means of contact. How did we survive before? 
Settled for one of my favourite short routes, Warwick into Leamington via Myton Road then Newbold Comyn, Victoria Park and Greville Road.

Banbury Road River Bridge

This bridge crosses the River Avon in Warwick near to the castle. This is the view looking east towards Leamington

Myton Fields Warwick

Mainly used as a car park and picnic area during the summer months this is a popular area for tourists.  Warwick Castle and St Mary's Church can be seen from here.  The River Avon flows alongside it and there were a number of sea birds and swans gathered around it today. My Mum used to say it was rough at sea if a seagull was seen this far inland. Not sure that is backed up by any scientific research.  Probably means there are some rich pickings on the landfill sites scattered around here.

Canal Bridge Myton Road/Shires

A fairly new construction, this links the busy Myton Road with the Shires Retail Park and onwards to the M40. There is a decent cycle track along here which cuts out the danger of trying to negotiate two very busy islands at this point.

MacDonalds, Shires Retail Park

And I finally got the picture of MacDonalds which was originally a target for this blog on Christmas Day. This was about 1130 in the morning so not many customers in. Unusual to see it this quiet, they must all be still full of minced pies and turkey.

Newbold TerraceWilles Road Leamington

A very elegant Victorian building which has been very tastefully refurbished recently. Divided into flats it had become rather run down of late but somebody cares about it enough to pump some money into it and charge higher rents! 

A pleasant ride today, could have done without the headwind occasionally but the sunshine made up for that. Just over 13 miles today no problems at all. That includes the back tyre, that stayed up.