September 8th – A hard 50 miler. I headed out to Hopwas Hays and explored the wood some more, finding what I think were training buildings for basic urban assault practice. They had a curious alley construction between them which would seem to be for practice around blind corners. These days, they seem to attract kids and campers. 

From there, I headed east through Harlaston and Clifton, then south through Thorpe Constantine and Seckington. The sky was darkening, and by the time I hit Shuttington and the canal at Alvecote, it was raining hard. Sadly, the band of rain followed me home. I was soaked and tired.

Still, it was nice to see the conkers doing well, despite the evidence of leaf-miner blight, and even the late hairbells were lovely.

Can’t avoid the feeling of autumn, too. As I rode home, the smell of coal smoke was heavy on the air, and there was a distinct chill.