Club run reports - 30th May

Category 2 ride led by Chris Boulton

Great ride today to a new café for the Cat 2s. El Cafecito, was not planned, but it had plenty of space, was bike friendly and is 5 minutes from Shepreth.

Category 3 ride led by Paul Henderson

A loss of three, a gain of one and a crash. Not my recent investment record, but the number of Wheelers on the category 3 ride to The Hay Barn on Sunday.

Eleven riders started and the first loss occurred just 4 1/2 minutes into the ride! A broken chain meant Hanif on his first cat 3 ride didn’t even get to leave Ware. Getting going again we headed towards Much Hadham via Wareside, and then onto Furneux Pelham into the north Herts country side, and precious few cars. Through Anstey, Nuthampstead and a loop around to Barkway, where we lost our second rider. Across to Reed, and to the coffee stop having completed 30 miles.

Here we found numerous other Wheelers from cats 4 & 6 sitting in the sunshine. I think Dos Santos got lost on his way to the originally posted destination of Shenley!!

Here we lost our final rider, but gained one from the aforementioned group, who I think just wanted a longer stop. Onwards to Cromer, Ardeley and on the way to Great Munden, the crash. Mikel, who joined at the Hay Barn found the only patch of ice in Hertfordshire on a corner and lost his back wheel from under him. No damage to the bike, flesh wounds to the elbow and knee, and as Mikel himself put it, the only damage was to his pride.

After a brief rest and dust down, we continued south from Great Munden, turned left up Whitehill, a right at the top of the hill through Sacombe, up the hill from Thundridge and back into Ware.

On a pretty much a perfect day for cycling we completed 50 miles at 14.8mph average, nearly 2,300 feet elevation, and in the ride leader’s case, sunburnt arms!