Club run reports - 9th January

Category 4 ride led by Peter Bloomfield

Well, if nothing happened there would be nothing to write about would there…

First up, after only eight miles was a road closure sign.  They’re everywhere these days and this one said “for one day”  -  then I noticed that the one day was Sunday!  Never mind, there’s always room for cyclists to squeeze through isn’t there  -  not when they’ve dug a trench across the entire road, including the verges on both sides there isn’t.  One of the workmen suggested that behind the hedge the driveway in front of the houses should get us through.  Said driveway was a bit like a service road so we didn’t feel too bad cycling quietly along it.  Problem one dealt with.

Seven miles later there was a shout from behind as Denis crashed on an icy bend.  Luckily he had not been going fast and there was no damage to either bike or rider.  No sooner did we put foot to pedal on the restart when Ian’s front tyre deflated.  A sunny spot was chosen and work commenced.  The tyre was replaced but would not inflate, at first a different pump seemed to be doing the trick but that was a deception, the tyre went down again.  Wheel off, another tube and this time it held air  -  until the pump was removed and the valve core came with it!  Luckily a valve core tool was available and the problem was solved, the wheel was refitted and off we went.  But crash and puncture(s) cost us 40 minutes  -  no wonder we were a tad late arriving at the café.

The Cat 2 crew were visiting Thremhall Park as well and they were just getting ready to leave as we arrived (although with their own puncture and crash tales).  A temperamental coffee machine delayed things a bit and after some football chat we were back on our way.

This was where it all started to go wrong for your intrepid ride leader…  Inadequate food intake during the extended first part of the ride?  General unfitness after a long Christmas/New Year layoff?  Whatever, after a couple of miles into the headwind of the return journey my legs started to say they’d had enough and I went from leading the ride to being dragged along at the back.  Gamely the others insisted on sticking with me, even as we got nearer to Ware and I tried to insist they push on.  There’s nothing like knowing you’ve got Kettle Green Lane to face as you get towards the end of a ride feeling knackered!  Still, they towed me home and I was grateful for the team spirit that kept us together, and we finally reached the end of Cold Christmas Lane where two turned off for Hertford.

The ride still had one last trick to pull though…  It’s all downhill from there, isn’t it, so I boldly set off at the front only to arrive at Allenbury’s alone.  My legs couldn’t cope with riding back to see where people were so having put the bike in the car I was just about to drive back over the route when two rolled into the car park with the tale that just after I set off Enzo punctured!  After that was fixed they rode on and the adventure was really over.

So a beautiful sunny but cold day, one crash, three punctures and a case of exhaustion, 47 miles and all’s well at the end.  Oh, and well done to new member Andy who played a central part in all the puncture repairs.  Now I must go and get fit…

Category 2 ride led by Chris Boulton

This was the second eventful ride of the year, this time to Thremhall Park Café. 

The ride was damp with a low of 2C and we were unlucky to find the only patch of black ice on the route with 3 of us crashing our bikes .

All riders were able to complete the remainder 55km of the route.