Nine riders met at Ware for a rather hot ride to High Easter. We lost one due to a chain gremlin but the rest carried on through Essex on good roads to our watering hole. We then lost another one who had a better offer of a BBQ in Halstead. The last of us rode back in temperatures equal to those in the Vuelta!
I was not expecting that many today because of holidays and the TT. I was therefore surprised as the numbers amassing at the start grew and grew. By the time we'd reached the end of Ware High Street we were numbering fifteen.
After expecting some sunshine for today's ride, it was disappointing to wake up to the sound of rain. I was amazed to be met at the start by none other than the bionic man himself, Franco Fiorentini. Not fully up for the club ride but back on his bike and making a great recovery. It was great to have another of our regular riders back today. It's been a long time Kev, hope to see you again next week, mate. It's a short ride back next week too.
Eight Wheelers turned out for an anti-clockwise trip to Dores Kitchen High Roding, some recently returned from “Mont Ventoux”! Just to prove this they donned newly purchased Ventoux kit, so I had high expectations of these individuals and they didn’t disappoint particularly around the Toot Hill area. Mind you, the 36 miles to the cafe with a following wind made this “Easy Peasy”!
Seven of us took a tour to Ickleton on a wind assisted outward bound journey that could have done without the rain, but as the current weather is not perfect it was (at least) not a cold day. Got wet, soon dried out in the wind. Got wet again...etc etc. Did 58 miles and got back about 2:15pm.
Not sure what to expect on my ride to the start. How many would be wanting to do 62 miles today? I was surprised at the turn out of twenty-one, a melange from all club ride groups. It did soon become clear that the majority had shorter ride ambitions. However, all agreed to follow the pre-audax audax route as far as Mill Green Tea Room, some 50km from Ware.
***STOP THE PRESS - DOS SANTOS LOSES 6 RIDERS***
Well this was a ride and a half. First half of the ride went well, except when Peter Eldon decided to have a puncture. Peter was trying to be a martyr by telling us all to go on, whilst he fixes the puncture. No one gets left behind on my watch! We helped poor old Peter fix the puncture as he was all thumbs, and we went on our merry way. All went well. We got to Thremhall Park, the service was a little slow, but the food was lovely as ever.
Extinction Rebellion is over. What did we learn? First, club activities probably qualify for some form of green accreditation - all those emission free miles. Smug virtue signalling all round. Could we do more? - enforcing a rule on riding to the start! Secondly, they demonstrated the multifarious uses of superglue. So, if you arrive at the cafe and have forgotten your lock? No problem - just glue your bike to a nearby wall while you refuel.
The bank holiday weekend meant that the 'Wings' café at North Weald airfield were doing some much needed refurbishment. Knowing that the village café at Hatfield Heath have catered for us before on Easter Sunday, I booked us a table there. The café was unusually quiet, quiet in the number of customers not in noise level, although lacking the two motor mouths who were asked to keep it down a couple of years ago on the same Easter Sunday. We were in fact quiet in noise level too.
