Whoosh 26 Day 4
May 4th, 2026
Whoosh 2026 Day 4 Stourport to Newent 55.9 miles; 1,414ft of climbing
Just over 17 miles into Monday’s fourth day of riding in this year’s Herne Hill Whoosh, we stopped for morning coffee by the Severn in the centre of Worcester. The mood was good, despite unseasonably cold weather. We had made good time along rolling, pleasant roads from our overnight stop in Stourport.
But my attention was drawn away from the café towards the narrow boats making their way beneath the railway bridge. They reminded me that I last visited Worcester when I was a teenager 40 years ago. I piloted the family’s hired narrow boat down the Severn from Stourport, through the locks at Worcester and onto the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
The recollection made me wonder what the 15-year-old would have made of the person returning to the spot 40 years later on a bicycle. It was one of several moments during the day that made me reflect how people, over life, remain to some extent the same but are also reshaped by experience. I am the same person who piloted the canal boat but also entirely different.
As I often do when riding on Whoosh, I was also prompted to reflect on how that shaping of people’s lives and personalities was reflected in the work of the charities the ride was supporting.
My thoughts were able to roam because Monday was rather different riding-wise from the days that preceded it. There was plenty of tough climbing on the first two days and then, on Sunday, unforgiving riding surfaces. Monday offered far more opportunity for relaxed conversation.
We reflected on lives changed in the recent past by serious illnesses, the vicissitudes of parenting and other transforming life events. Just as one can never step in the same river twice, it occurred to me, one never speaks twice to precisely the same person.
I talked first, for a while, to Sarah as we headed out from Stourport over undulating hills through the idyllic villages of the Malvern Hills. For most of the day, I then rode with Richard, one of several members of the party using an electric-assist bike. After the coffee in Worcester, we lunched at the café attached to Tewkesbury Abbey, before participating in a re-enactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury, the decisive 1471 battle in England’s Wars of the Roses. The re-enactment was arranged by Colin, a keen amateur historian. For the final stretch, meanwhile, I rode with Philip after we had both struggled to keep up with the rapid pace set by the fastest and fittest riders into a sapping headwind.
Each of us, I sensed, was gradually adjusting our narratives to explain the place of that unexpected illness or the struggle to find a new job, retirement or the joy of new grandchildren. We were being shaped even by the experience of undertaking the ride, discovering an unexpected ability to climb steep hills or feeling dismayed at our inability to keep up or surprised by our resourcefulness when things went wrong.
The international charity we are supporting – World Bicycle Relief – seeks to get people in poorer countries reliable bicycles so that they can be shaped by positive life experiences. Our UK charity – Thames21 – offers people volunteering opportunities that will shape their lives for the better.
The day’s riding made me appreciate the power of positive experience on a personality. It felt good to accelerate up hills and ride fast and exhilarating to see the miles click by at speed. I had enjoyed a journey of exploration of several kinds that maybe the 15-year-old would understand and appreciate.