A Ride into Leicestershire

It was a fine day today for cycling, but there was work to be done, so I split the day 60/40. That is 40% work, which seems about the right ratio to me.
So work done, and on the bike from Mickleover via Sinfin to join Route 6 at Swarkestone Lock, but hey, what's this in the road ahead? A rising bollard has sprung up on Sinfin Moor Lane, preventing access by motor vehicles, except for those whose drivers know the code required to key in, lowering the bollard. This will keep out various four-wheeled litter louts who have desecrated the area with their fly-tipping in the past.
Lots of cyclists on Route 6 today, sadly none sufficiently photogenic to appear on this Blog (we have high standards!), but including biking boaters who had moored their craft on the nearby Trent & Mersey Canal. The path looked resplendant in it's Summer foliage, with the verges neatly trimmed by the Sustrans contractors. The path surface now is almost entirely covered with tarmac, rather bumpy though, but so much better than the original dust path.

Sad that we see little sign of Melbourne, or it's demolished station, since the path lies in a deep cutting and there are just some steps to suggest where the station actually stood. The cutting is spanned by several magnificent stone bridges, in as good condition as they were 150 years ago (as I recall).
At Wilson, which is on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border, and the limit of our area, I met Peter Ford going in the opposite direction (ie home) having done 85km already.
Having ventured only a couple of miles into Leicestershire, I turned round and came home via Melbourne, Swarkestone, and Sinfin, just making it before lighting up time.

Soon it will be time to carry lights for possible late rides home.