Club run reports - 2nd April

Category 6 ride led by Tony Dos Santos 

It was a cold morning, the temperature was 7°C and we needed to wrap up well. Luckily the forecast was no rain. However many fords (not the motor car) were flooded due to precipitation (big word, eh) in the last few days. Alex Powell told me about the flooding the day before, so did a last minute change to the route. Riding down from Enfield the roads all looked OK.

I got to Allenbury’s in plenty of time and assumed (I know, I know I shouldn’t) there would not be a lot of riders. How wrong was I. Fourteen (including me) had turned up. Amazed and gobsmacked! Davina gets her bike off the car and says “there’s something wrong with my bike, it won’t move”; upon closer inspection we realised Davina had put the front wheel on incorrectly and the disc was on the wrong side. We all laughed like drains. All fixed. David, as normal, was sorting his Garmin out. It’s nice to have Davina, Rebecca and Amanda Richard back on the rides. I’d also like to welcome Den Fitzpatrick to the club, his first ride out with us. 

We knew there was going to be a headwind on the way out and it was going to be tough. We left at three minutes past nine (confirmed by David’s Strava), a tad tardy again, due in part to Kev gabbering away.

Up through Fanhams was hard going with David cracking more jokes than a baker cracks eggs. We got to Much Hadham and the route change worked a treat as everyone was happy we didn’t have to go up Stansted Hill. Cheers of “hoorah” I heard from one and all! Instead we went up Winding Hill. You get the picture, I’m not going to bore you to death with all where we went, am I! The miles passed by and the banter was good. Leigh and David were cracking me up. 

Now, this is the bit everyone would be interested in. We rode past Hatfield Forest. Obviously, Kev’s bike tried to turn left, but luckily Den was on the left! Phew, one disaster avoided. We were getting closer and closer to Dunmow Road. If you know the area there is a bridge that you have to go under with quite a big dip. As we approached, it became clear it was flooded. We all thought it would be a good idea to go back and do a detour. But, no, Bruno said he would give it a go. Bruno, then “goes in”, I mean he really needed snorkel and flippers; the further he went in, the water kept going up and up and up. We were all gobsmacked as it went to Bruno’s waist. He didn’t murmur and didn’t even look back. Absolutely amazing. Aghast, the decision was then made to divert and take the long route. 

We got to Thremhall Park later than scheduled and there was a very wet Bruno. The place was mobbed as we ordered our food - there were more cyclists than the Tour De France!  After all eating their food, Chris decided to have a nice chat in the cafe with his third cup of coffee! We finally left Thremhall a few hours later, due to Chris’s good ol’ chin wag! 

A pretty uneventful ride on the way back. Well, apart from David cracking some awful jokes. 

We got to Stanstead Abbotts where Leigh and I said our goodbyes. As we turned left and I had a crash. The kerb jumped out at me and down I went. My knee looking a little worse for wear, Leigh decided he would go and get the car and take me home. By then, my little knee was throbbing and decided going in the car was the best decision. 

Luckily, Leigh only lives round the corner. He was back within minutes and took me home - it was really appreciated. Thank you so much. 

All in all, a great ride. 

Obviously written from the throne, with plasters on my leg and my pride bruised.