Cannon Hill C.C - The Henley

The Henley Ride. The ‘In Extremis’ team's signature ride is 42 miles of a balanced mix of undulating, rolling roads, long drags and sharp short climbs which will keep the 'Grimpeurs' amongst you happy. Throughout, there are sweeping lanes where speeds can be maintained with some climbing and fast descents. Avoiding major roads, the route climbs out of Cannon Hill and before long is sweeping out of Birmingham to skirt around the northern edge of Redditch. The climb to Rowney Green ticked off, there is time to recover before Beoley Hill and the rolling roads to Branson’s Cross Island. Rolling roads take over, with a few surprises, and a rapid descent and a chance to put the power in, unless you get caught by the lights, to Henley with our usual café stop at the ice-cream parlour on the high street. The roads rise to Tanworth and are swiftly followed by Tom Hill but with the steady paces through and past Earlswood Lakes - a nod to our touring heritage taking in places with a ‘selfie’ opportunity, if you must! The last 10/15miles are a mixture of gentle rolling lanes, some grinds and speedy runs. Crabmill Lane is a delight and a surprise but after the careful navigation of the Maypole Island, there is a chance for a fast finish in the final 4 miles but ..... there are stings in the tail, for the ‘puncheurs’ amongst you - so be careful not to go into the 'red' too soon – Allens Croft, Pineapple and the rise to Russell Road where we drop back to the park! GPX file and more information and bike related chatter available on the Cannon Hill 'In Extremis' face book page or on Sky site. Have a look and see what else we get up to. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cannonhillinextremis/ Due to difficulties uploading the GPX on this site it will be available on the above site our send a message through these pages. NOTE: Our rides are described by British Cycling and Sky as challenging or tough. So, if you are not regularly commuting or have not been completing 30+mile rides recently, think about whether this ride is for you. Some riders have had to abandon this ride before the half way point. But if you ride, we hope you enjoy!