Tribute to Billie ride - Get Cycling for 50 Plus

This ride will be a ‘Tribute to Billie’ ride in memory of Billie Fleming (Nee Dovey) who, in 1938 (at the age of 24) cycled every day for a whole year and notched up the total of 29,604 miles. She undertook this challenge to encourage more women to take up cycling and died at the age of 100 in 2014. That’s almost 2,500 miles per month! The ride will start from the car park of Ashwood Nurseries (café side) and will turn left onto Ashwood Lower Lane. It will cross the narrow bridge at Ashwood Marina where there are direction arrows at each end showing who has priority. We shall turn left at the end of Ashwood Lower Lane and pass the Navigation Inn and ride over the canal bridge. Our route will bear left and then immediately right up a fairly long hill, followed by a pleasant descent to meet Enville Common Road. Here we shall turn left, passing the golf course and then right at the golf course edge to the cross road where we shall turn right along Highgate Road to pass the Enville Golf Club building. This road is moderately busy and undulating to Crab Lane and we shall bear right to descend to Halfpenny Green along Gospel Ash Road, passing the local airfield on our left. At Halfpenny Green we shall turn right onto Tom Lane, passing the now closed down pub on our right. Shortly afterwards, we shall take the track to our left along a track which is quite uneven in places and has a short, sharp hill to reach the Vineyard where we shall stop for refreshments. Afterwards, we shall descend back to Tom Lane where we turn left for a couple of hundred yards and then first right along New Road. This is quite a long climb to a corner that levels out passing another golf club and then bears left and climbs again through trees. There is then a delightful long descent to meet Church Road at the bottom of the hill. Care at this T-junction as there is gravel all across New Road. Turn right along an undulating lane to the T-junction by the Green Man pub in Swindon. Turn left and almost immediately turn right and go through an unusual barrier to join the canal towpath for approximately 1.5 miles to reach the Navigation Inn. This towpath could be muddy after a lot of rain. Re-join the lane by the pub and turn left, uphill and with great care, turn right on a blind bend on to Ashwood Lower Lane. Retrace the outward route over the bridge at Ashwood Marina back to Ashwood Nurseries – bearing in mind the signs for right of way over the narrow bridge. This ride is being delivered through Age UK Dudley’s Get Cycling for 50 Plus scheme and riders are requested to give a donation of £1.50 for taking part. Thank you.