What a miracle - beautiful weather on a Bank Holiday Sunday! We split into three groups, with Nathan, Pete Wilson and Phil Earl going on a fast ride; Eileen and Chris took the slow route and the rest of us bumbled around Cotterstock, Fotheringhay and Kings Cliffe to the cafe stop at Bulwick - about 30 miles. We were joined by James - hopefully a new member, who seemed to have no trouble in keeping up. The 'fast group' rolled in about twenty minutes afterwards and it turned out that Pete had had four punctures. He has now officially asked Phil to rescind the curse. The photo shows delivery of much-needed refreshments.
Another fine morning with a rather Autumnal feel and about 15 riders set off toward our cafe. Had had already ridden from Kings Cliffe, so had about 75 miles to do today, as we were going away from home.
We took the route down through Haselbech toward Cottesbrooke and then through Guilsborough and East Haddon to the cafe, which is attached to a large horse riding stables. The grub was good, so everyone seemed happy. The return ride went through Teeton and Stratton to Brixworth. When you see a cyclist coming at about 40 mph down the hill that you're about to ride up you know it's going to be steep (and it was). After that a bit of a chain gang formed, which left a few people hanging off the back. Not a good idea if they don't know their way back. Luckily I was there to mop up - perhaps that's my role on return rides. This week's photo is of the group just leaving the cafe. I think I might have short changed people today, as we arrived at the cafe slightly before 11:00. Never mind, it was a good ride. We were accompanied by Andrew from Telford, who was staying in the area and had emailed me to ask if he could come along on our ride. What a good idea - perhaps more people should do that.
It was a lovely day and we went out via Foxton and Gumley to Mowsley and back through Marston Trussell and East Farndon. We met up with Eileen and Norman at the cafe stop and were joined, separately, by Peter Nix (looking remarkably fresh after his London-Edinburgh-London epic) and John Dainty on, of course, a single speed. This week's photo is of Neil enjoying his sausage and caramelised onion roll. Highly recommended apparently (sorry Neil, but I couldn't resist). My goodness, here we are in August already. A nice sunny start brought out a fair number of riders. Norman and Eileen led the slower group by a direct route while the main ride went to Carlton Curlieu and Billesdon to Tilton, where we took the Halstead road and came into Launde from the Owston direction. That last hill was 17% according to my Garmin.
After the usual excellent cafe stop it was up the hill toward Loddington and we came home through East Norton and Hallaton. A hilly ride all round but a very pleasant 42 miles. Here we are (some of us), just about to leave Launde. |
Steve Wickham
Club Captain 2021. I'm a keen cyclist, but my fitness doesn't quite match my ambitions! I look for interesting rides, and try and encourage good group ride etiquette. We ensure that nobody gets dropped on rides. Archives
June 2021
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