It's Monday, It's 6:30am...let's ride

It's cold, dark, there's thick fog laying in an eerie blanket, hills shrouded and barely visible....the alarm sounded at 5:30am and I leapt from bed, eager to make the most of the chance to put some good miles in my legs and enjoy a training ride while the weather held.

Monday...who on earth sticks a bike between their legs and heads off for 3 hours of cycling, ignoring the fact that the cockerels are still snuggled up and have yet to crow? Me, that's who.

Whatever the Weather

To prepare for my impending challenge to cycle and hike to and from one end of the Malverns to the other and back to Worcester, I decided to check the route out to the start of the hike at Chase Hill, the southernmost hill in the Malverns.

A routine ride, made more interesting by the thick fog that jumped out at you in random patches, the mysterious wide plain of Castlemorton Common, the beautiful villages of Hanley Swan, with it's tranquil duck pond at its centre and Welland, lying at the foot of the Malverns.

But what made it all worthwhile was the sunrise. The sun gave a brief warming glimpse just before 7am and peered through a mottled sky, casting a kaleidoscope of colour and capping a layer of fog which hovered over the fields and wrapped the trees like cotton wool.

This is what it is all about. England at it's best. After a day of continuous, incessant rain the day before, the memories of the deluge disappeared as our glorious weather turned full circle and conjured up a magnificent morning, which gave way to a day of bright sunshine, blue skies and temperatures more associated with June than October. It won't last, it never does.

But these tantalising glimpses are enough to make you realise how lucky we are to live in the UK. Yes it rains, often, but when the weather is at its best, you can't beat it; especially when combined with the stunning green and pleasant land, the innumerable fields, coppices, hills and valleys, rivers and lakes, hamlets and villages.

England's Place Names - Beware!

I turned for home after a recce of the start point of the hike up and along the Malverns. I decided to head back via the beautiful and quiet town of Upton Upon Severn. Set along the river Severn, Upton is noted for three things;

• A magnificent clock tower that stands imposingly looking out over the river and town
• The fact that the town has been flooded more than any other town and is always featured on the national TV news with a reporter in Wellingtons standing inside one of the riverside pubs, with bar stools floating past
• An unusually named street

Ah, I hear you say...an unusually named street...but surely there are many curiously named villages, streets etc in the marvellously strange island of ours. This may be true. However, I offer up the piece de resistance of unusual names, the one that takes not just the biscuit, but the whole pack;

Minge Lane

You read that right. Minge Lane. It exists, though you may have trouble locating it, seeing how often the street sign has been half-hinched by some high spirited souvenir hunter or collectors of Objet d'Art au Double Entendre.

I expect the residents have a nightmare every time they give their address;

Call Centre Representative:

Could I have the first line of your address please Mrs Ramsbottom?

Mrs Ramsbottom :

Err......It's Bell End Cottage, Minge Lane

Call Centre Representative:

I'm sorry, did you say Minge Lane?

Mrs Ramsbottom :

Yes, Minge....as in 'ladies bits'

Call Centre Representative:

You're having a laugh...you're winding me up, ....you think you're fanny....I mean funny

So, there it is. A beautiful ride through splendid scenery, 62km (38 miles) of rolling hills, fields, a memorable sunrise, the constant accompaniment of the Malverns and a whistle stop visit to Upton Upon Severn. Even without the delights of Minge Lane, Upton would still be one of my favourite places. But with the presence of Minge Lane, how much more of a likeable place it is.

Next week, I will be taking my bike and touring the Worcestershire countryside in search of other places with names that would befit a Carry On film....til then I will Carry On Cycling.

Please don't forget that these training rides are not just for the benefit of tiring my legs out, keeping my waistline in check, maintaining a youthful appearance and giving myself saddle sores.

They are all in preparation for June 2011. 650km (410 miles) of cycling from Worcester to Dublin and back in support of SCOPE, the cerebral palsy charity.

Please donate what you can;

www.justgiving.com/tonyseverestchallenge

Thank you.