Straight out of the door in a slightly overcast, cold (60°F) and windy morning, we were communting on a very busy highway with no shoulder.  For five miles cars and trucks screamed by us, not the most relaxing way to start the morning.  As we were biking past Worcester, we could see this in the distanceand could not resist the stop.  The Worcester Cathedral was amazing, every pipe of the massive organ was playing as we entered……it does something to the soul!   The quick tour of “The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester” was a well worth it. The ceiling (sorry for the angle, but it was the best way to see it),

 the stain glass, the many tombs were incredible. Finally tore ourselves away from this incredible testament to the architecture and faith (built between 1084 and 1504)and resumed our ride, but now on less hectic roads.  We definitely prefer the country roads, though we still had traffic to deal with.

The winds were persistently in our face and it did not take long for them to start gusting to 20-30 mph; oddly, the gusts swirled, occasionally offering very brief boost to the back.  The roads had a slight roll, but the wind was giving us such a workout, we really could not tell an up from a down.  We crossed the River Severninto Tewkesbury. The Duckies decided it was time for a spot of tea and maybe something sweet to eat.  As we left our “sweet” break, the winds blew in a quick shower, we didn’t even have time to put our rain jackets on.  With our earlier stop in Worcester, all we could manage of the Tewkesbury Abbey was one photo, though parishioners have managed to stop (and pray) here since the 7th Century.

Back out into the country to face the gusting winds for our final 12 miles. Another quick shower came through, but the wind was so strong we never got wet.  Our ride through the town was colored with beautiful architecture and centuries old buildings. We strolled through the town and St. Michaels’ Gateand passed the home of Beatrix Potter’s “Tailor of Gloucester”.But the main attraction in this city is “Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity”, more commonly known as the Gloucester Cathedral.  Upon entering, the voices of the choir filled the immense edifice, once again stirring the soul.  The history, the tombs (King Edward II), the detail of architecture were amazing.  Most of the church has been restored and it was very obvious what had not been touched.  The streets are charming and the city is rich in English history and though we took this photo strictly for it’s charm, it holds a certain history to the monarchy.Between the ride and walking all over the city, it was time to replenish and then go to bed.