It seems I’m a popular leader when there’s a strong head wind and the seven who joined me in Hatfield soon formed a neat line astern as we headed straight into it on the first leg to Ware. We were due to meet a contingent from Havering CTC, on a return visit following our ride with them in Essex earlier in the year. We had picked a morning stop near Ware railway station, but it was only Stephen who chose to arrive by train. Three others from Havering (Alex, Gordon & Chan) impressed us by cycling the 30 miles – perhaps we should have chosen somewhere a bit further south.
River Path to Ware
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With Havering CTC in Ware
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We headed north on some narrow lanes through Barwick Ford, Puckeridge and Furneaux (pronounced Furnix) Pelham, Great Hornmead and Anstey. I was keen to show the ‘Essex Boys’ a scenic route, but it turned out to be quite hilly and there was some muttering in the ranks. Evidently the only hills in Essex were a few humpback bridges.
We arrived at the pub at 1 pm and Judy had let us go on, but I was a bit concerned when she hadn’t arrived 30 minutes later. Admittedly, the left turn in Great Hornmead is easily missed and she had put in an extra loop to Brent Pelham and stopped there for refuelling. Meanwhile we were enjoying beer from the barrel and some excellent sandwiches in the sunny garden.
Leaving Nuthampstead
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The ride to tea was sublime. The sun was out and the wind behind us as we coasted through Wyddial, Buntingford and Nasty. The Havering bunch left us to catch the 4:30 train back and we enjoyed tea on the golf club patio. Then it was an easy ride home to finish off a great day out in good company.
Jon 29/09/2013
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