It was Friday 17 November, and I had the day booked off work. It was time for my first overnight pedal to parkrun trip since the summer. I’d done quite a bit of recent tourism whilst on holidays or going elsewhere on a Saturday – sometimes cycling, and sometimes in the car. But now it was time for an adventure. I was off to pedal to Sence Valley Forest Park parkrun!
It was to be their 6th event. They’d started up on 23 September but had to cancel a couple of events already because of bad weather. It must have been very bad for them to cancel, as they went ahead this weekend with by far the most extreme mud I’ve ever encountered at parkrun.
Pedal to Ibstock
Friday’s ride was from home (Beeston, Nottingham) to Ibstock where I was going to stay in a B&B less than 2 miles from the parkrun. The forecast was for sunshine and light winds, and I was really pleased when that proved to be accurate.
I set off from home at around 12.45pm. I’d tried to work out how long it was going to take me so I could strike the perfect balance of arriving before it went dark but after check-in started at 3.30pm.
I set off via Beeston Marina and Attenborough Nature Reserve, before rejoining the road through Sawley.
In less than 6 miles I’d left Nottinghamshire, cycled through a corner of Derbyshire, and made it to Leicestershire. This felt like very good progress!
I left the busy roads behind for a while after Sawley. I was on quiet lanes and cycle paths as I crossed the A50 and then cycled through the village of Lockington.
As I started to approach East Midlands Airport things got decidedly more industrial. A company called Segro are developing the “Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway” – a 700-acre freeport development which includes a 50-acre rail freight interchange. They had all sorts of diggers, trucks, and other machinery on the go. All against the backdrop of the ever-present Radcliffe-on-Soar power station.
An upside of all the development is that they have put in a really nice, wide cycle path.
By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was desperate for a wee. There were a couple of promising looking Segro-branded employee waiting rooms next to bus stops. I nipped inside full of hope, only to find that the toilets were no longer in use due to “abuse of these facilities”. I think I would have needed a code to get in anyway, as there was a keypad by the door, so I left hoping I’d find another opportunity soon.
As I approached the airport a very low plane flew overhead.
I then started cycling along a cycle path in between two dual carriageways. It was surprisingly sheltered. Amazingly I soon happened upon a greasy spoon café, with a man outside sweeping the decking. I’d noticed a portaloo right behind it so I asked him if I could use it and he was very happy to let me. I’ve never been so pleased to see a grotty portaloo in my life.
I’m all for wild wees when I’m out hiking, but it’s a bit trickier as a female cyclist in bib shorts when you have to remove half your clothes!
I kept going and suddenly found myself right in the middle of the airport action. I cycled right past the departures and arrivals entrances, before turning off and out into the countryside again. It was quite a relief to be out in rural Leicestershire at this point, cycling through pretty villages and quiet lanes.
The villagers of Diseworth are very much against the freeport development and are running a Protect Diseworth campaign in an attempt to save 250 acres of neighbouring farmland.
Around 18 miles into my journey I arrived at the Grace Dieu Trail (NCN 52). I’ve walked my dogs in the woods around Grace Dieu Priory before but never cycled here.
The priory was founded by Rose de Verden in around 1235 as a house for Augustinian canonesses. When Rose died she was buried in the priory chapel and an annual sum of 12d was set aside the maintain a light shining on her tomb. The tomb was later removed, possibly at the Dissolution, to the parish church of Belton. By 1377 the priory had 16 nuns, with a hospital for 12 “poor people” attached. In 1538 the priory was dissolved.
When William Wordsworth stayed at nearby Coleorton Hall, he wrote:
“Beneath yon eastern ridge, the craggy bound,
Rugged and high, of Charnwood’s forest ground,
Stand yet, but, Stranger, hidden from thy view
The ivied ruins of forlorn Grace Dieu,
Erst a religious House, which day and night
With hymns resounded and the chanted rite.”
I cycled into the woods, and soon began to get a bit exasperated by the mud. I knew my bike was going to be stored in my B&B host’s utility room so didn’t want it (or my shoes for that matter) to get completely filthy.
It was quite hard to follow the GPS in the woodland as there were so many paths everywhere and no signage after a while. I went wrong a couple of times, which increased my frustration!
When I eventually emerged from the woods I did my best to clean my bike and my shoes and set off again along the road.
I soon joined the Bosworth Trail (still NCN 52) which was a much more pleasant surface for me and my touring bike. After a while I popped out alongside a duckpond, which looked really pretty in the fading light of the afternoon.
After another slightly muddy bit of trail, I emerged into Coalville and passed my only Sustrans Millennium Milepost of the trip. Of course, I had to stop for a quick photo!
Finally, with the light beginning to fade I cycled into Ibstock and found my accommodation. It hadn’t been a hard cycle, but after seeing the elevation profile I was looking forward to tomorrow.
I was staying at The Post House and arrived to a warm welcome from the owner, Susan. I would really recommend this place to stay if you’re parkrunning at Sence Valley and looking for somewhere to stay. There was even free chocolate waiting for me on the bed!
Susan showed me to my room, told me about all the local takeaway options, and explained that I was welcome to eat my dinner in the dining room.
I had a shower and then headed out in search of the nearest chippy. When I got back, I sat and ate my dinner alone as there wasn’t anyone else around downstairs. I very much enjoyed the amazing Christmas lights and decorations that Susan had already put up. Maybe 17 November is a bit early, but they put a smile on my face.
Sence Valley Forest Park parkrun
I had a small breakfast of a bit of fruit salad and a few spoons of granola and then collected my bike and headed off to Sence Valley Forest Park. It was only 1.6 miles to the park but I managed to take the wrong turning twice on the approach!
I had plenty of time, so I went in search of the toilets first and removed the full-length leggings I’d been wearing over my running capris. It was a surprisingly mild morning, but I’d been glad of the leggings on the ride. Outside the toilets I got chatting to a couple from Kettering, Northamptonshire. I mentioned that I’d met a lady and her mum from Kettering parkrun when I was at Unisee parkrun in Germany in summer 2022, and it turned out they knew them. Small world!
I’d asked about bike parking on the parkrun’s Facebook page and knew that there wasn’t any in the car park, so I headed down the hill to the start. The shortest path to the start was down a very steep, windy footpath with a ‘no bikes’ sign. I went the longer way round on the bridleway but it was still a pretty “thrilling” descent!
There were already people starting to amass at the start. I asked the tailwalker volunteer if I could borrow the purple sign and move it for a quick photo. She was very happy to help and took the photo for me.
I’d already had to walk through mud to get to the place to lean my bike. This was a sign of things to come…
There wasn’t really anything to lock my bike to, so I just locked the wheel to the frame and hoped for the best. The start and finish were at the same place, and before long lots of people had hung their jackets on the sign where my bike was leaning, so I figured it was the best spot.
I listened to the first timers’ briefing, where we were told with glee about the mud and hills.
It wasn’t long before 100 people were lined up on the start line, ready to go.
We started off by running on gravel tracks for about 1.5km before heading onto the boggy field.
It is definitely the muddiest parkrun I have ever done. From the moment I stepped onto the field, I was almost ankle-deep in squelchy, stinky bog. I loved it!! It was a sort of rabbit ear-shaped course around the field.
There were two points when I thought my shoe would get sucked off, but thankfully I emerged unscathed. Around 2km of the course was on that field, which certainly didn’t make for a PB!
I made it to the finish, pretty chuffed to have finished in under 31 minutes.
I pushed my bike back up the very steep, windy path and went in search of a hot drink. The Little Bluebird Café was just the ticket! It’s essentially a coffee van with some outside seating. I bought a vanilla latte and chatted to someone who had come for a walk in the park and didn’t realise it had a parkrun, and then a fellow parkrunner from Wolverhampton.
I retreated back into the toilets to change into my cycling gear. This included clean socks and shoes, which I was extremely grateful for. Warning – foot photo alert!
The pedal home
Just as I began to ride away, the drizzle started. As I got back into Ibstock it turned into proper rain, so I stopped to put my waterproof trousers and lights on.
A few minutes later, I stopped again in a bus shelter to swap my sodden gloves for my waterproof gloves.
I’d planned a different route home, and set off in the direction of Shepshed. Although the ride back had more downhill than up, there were still four climbs my Wahoo device felt it needed to tell me about. Thankfully the rain stopped before long, and I was able to enjoy the reward of some nice views after the hard work of a steep hill in full waterproofs.
An ambulance with its lights and siren on sped past me as I was cycling up the next hill, but I didn’t think much of it.
Not long after I’d cycled through Shepshed I realised where it was going. As I came towards a fairly innocuous-looking T-junction, I saw a large number of emergency service vehicles – police, ambulance, and a fire engine. There was a car upside down in the middle of the junction, and another car that had crashed into that. A bit of a sad reminder that the roads are not always a safe place to be. The traffic was being diverted, but a policeman confirmed that I was ok to carry on along my route on the cycle path.
The ride home involved quite a lot of cycling along cycle paths along relatively busy roads.
I cycled through Kegworth and on towards home. There’s some pretty good cycle infrastructure in place to pass under the M1 at J24. I’m scraping the barrel here really – there wasn’t much of interest to take photos of today!
Towards the end of my ride, I cycled along a familiar lane back up to Sawley. I’ve ridden along here many times, but I don’t think it’s ever been quite as wet before.
From Sawley onwards I cycled home the same way I’d been yesterday, getting home with just over 25.5 miles under my belt from when I’d left the B&B.
Final thoughts
I absolutely loved running at Sence Valley in the mud. I’m glad I did it at this time of year, as it definitely made it more memorable. Having said that, I was very glad I had clean socks and shoes to put on afterwards. I may be an over-packer but I definitely think it’s better to be over-prepared.
Planning overnight cycle trips in November isn’t without risk but I got away pretty lightly with the weather I think. I’m glad I got the rain on day 2 when I was heading home, rather than on my way out.