31 January 2016

31 Jan 2016: St Albans to Bovingdon

Jon had gone down with a cold (could have had something to do with the cold I had the previous week), so I (Judy) was deputised to lead the ride to Bovingdon in the Chilterns, using a route Jon had planned.  The forecast was for light rain, followed by proper rain from 9.00 to 13.00, which might be the reason for the eventual poor turn out.

I set off ready for the rain with all my waterproofs on and, sure enough, by 9.15 my hood went up, the proper rain had arrived.  I reached St Albans in good time and Richard turned up just after me, looking a bit bemused as to why he was wet.  He must have seen a different forecast.  Steve then entered looking very wet, considering he lived just around the corner.  Carol had a sick note and Steve had left her coughing at home.  Just as we were thinking of leaving we spotted two yellow jackets and Peter and Bill appeared and joined us.

The five of us took a winding route to Bovingdon looping around the edges of Hemel. Jon had provided detailed directions, but my Trice wasn't happy with the complicated barriers on Old Fishery Lane in Hemel, so I took a road route and rejoined the group on the other side.  Then at the cross roads in Felden, we opted for Bulstode Lane rather than Felden Lane in the hope it would be less mucky.  Fortunately, the rains stopped earlier than forecast, so we reached the pub in the dry and had a dry ride home.  Many thanks to Peter for spotting and rescuing my rear light, when it jumped off my trike on a fast descent.  Bill gets the prize for the strongest bladder.

Cyclists in bright jackets
Four of us at pub table

This was the last of our 10:30 am Sunday starts. They were designed to avoid icy mornings, although this year the winter has turned out to be mild and good for cycling except for the one day when it snowed and the ride was cancelled. Dawn is earlier now and the next Sunday rides start at 9:15 to allow us to venture a bit further.


Judy 31/01/2016

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