22 July 2017

22 July 2017: St Albans to Redbourn

One of the pleasant things about doing these rides is the returning riders from a few months ago, it sort of proves that you’re doing the right thing and it’s even better when they come back with a new bike and full of go.

Emma's new bike

The route I had chosen had to be changed quickly to accommodate a recumbent, so we took a lovely route through Childwickbury and past Stanley Kubrick’s old abode. It really is a quaint, sedate estate that is not too far off the beaten track and it leads down to the Redbourn Road; this can be a very busy road but thankfully the traffic was at a minimum. We took on Hogg End Lane then diverted to Old Jerome’s, avoiding the industrial estate at the end of the lane. We were soon onto Cherry Trees Lane then heading down the winding lane that is Holtsmere End, which leads to Gadsden Lane and then Redbourn. As we were just edging on to North Common a few spots of the wet stuff were felt and, as we came to the Hub, the clouds let go of their dribbley cargo. The hub (a usually quite sedentary place) became a hive of activity due to this and there was standing room only for dripping cyclists at one point.



Sheltering inside The Hub

The rain persisted and we decided to shorten the ride.  Jon and Judy beat a hasty retreat back home whilst we decided to shoot down the Redbourn Road and cut across past the mill. As we did this the rain eased off, but never really left us. The route back was a mixture of Ayres End, Nomansland Common and the lanes through to Sandridge and Jersey farm. We headed through to Oaklands College and as we did this rain got heavier, so we made our soggy way back via the Alban Way.

Despite the rain it was a very enjoyable morning’s ride.
Neil 22/07/2017

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