I met up with Jules at Powick as arranged and we dived straight into the lane which takes us away from the horrendous traffic on the A449. As we dropped down to the Bridge over the Teme we found that the lane was flooded. Mostly the water had gone down but we did have some lengthy sections of road completely underwater. Fortunately it wasn't too deep. Crossing the Teme we could see it was rushing its way to the sea. On via Wichenford we rode chatting as we went. Moseley came and time to turn away from the main Worcester road to go by pretty Sinton Green and on to Ockeridge. These were new lanes for Julian and he expressed the view that the ramp up to Ockeridge was a deceptive climb. So it wasn't just me that struggled on this section of road then! We headed straight over at Ockeridge and began the ride through the cider apple orchards heading for the climb of Woodbury Hill. The views up here towards Shropshire and the Clee Hills were excellent.

We dropped away steeply then into the Teme valley to cross again at Shelsey Beachamp. The Environment Agency were active at the bridge clearing tree trunks and debris from the bridge foundations after the flooding. A farmer had lost a cow in the floods as the unpleasant evidence was lodged by the bridge.

We climbed back out of the valley for Martley crossing again at Ham bridge. The talk was of food and drink but the pub in Martley didn't open during the day so we took Hollins Lane up and over to the Teme valley again aiming for the Talbot Inn at Knightwick and yet again a bridge over the Teme. The pub had been flooded to ankle depth just the other day but was clearly set up to cope with these regular (usually winter) events. So a pint slipped down very nicely as a plate of chips was vanished.

The climb over to Suckley was a bit more difficult than usual as stiffened legs were complaining. But we were soon running along the Leigh Brook for Leigh Sinton to say our goodbyes after crossing that A449 again. Julian declared it a good ride and I'd enjoyed it too. The weather had been kind and we even saw some blue stuff overhead. Not sure what it was but I'd like more of it please.