Summit ’bout Titterstone Clee 300
2023

We rode this it was the 1st Audax I found in the post lock down dawn, England was able to open and start Audaxing (?) before Wales.

The weather wasn’t looking great with rain and wind forecast pretty much all day, but given our enforced lack of rides because of “One thing and Another” we were keen to ride.

Unfortunately “Derek the Weatherman” was right and the rain as a constant, the wind however was something I hadn’t checked and up on Clee Hill the gate was horizontal when we took it off the hinges to pass. Riding around the Trig. point was bracing but it added up to a feeling of a proper adventure for our first Audax in months.

As always Will kept a few hills back for the return leg and we finished with a feeling of deep satisfaction.

Great weather conditions contributed to making this another classic GWR route, spinning out mostly solo over the Cotswolds before jumping on the ACB train up through the first control at Brockworth. I stopped for a decent lunch in Tenbury Wells, knowing that the ascent of Clee Hill was coming up. In fact it looked a lot worse from a distance than in reality, with nothing crazy steep, and the view from the top more than makes it worthwhile. At Leominster I caught back up with the ACB group from the morning, and shared some great miles through some lovely lanes to the final checkpoint, before the brutal Symonds Yat climb. Tough at the best of times, but especially so after a punchy 250km. All in all a great ride, and really good for a first 300 IMO.

my first ride of this distance, and it was a good choice. what a summit! loved it.