It was a hot dry day as six people left the Stag statue in Hertford on the Sunday ride. After leaving Hertford using the Balls Park bridleway, it was an easy wind assisted cycle to Bishops Stortford for coffee. En-route we stopped for a culture break to examine the Henry Moore sculpture near Perry Green, conveniently situated on a public footpath in a field adjacent to the road so no trespassing was necessary. There was lively debate about what it was meant to represent. As we were ahead of schedule we approached Bishops Stortford from the south after putting in a loop via Little Hallingbury, which allowed us to cycle up the High street for a change.
After a quick coffee stop we took small roads via Manuden and Newport before reaching our destination pub (The Temeraire) in Saffron Walden. This branch of the JD Wetherspoon empire seemed quite quiet for Sunday lunchtime and the staff intimated that they have reduced custom since the roast dinners were stopped. They said the reason the roasts were stopped was because they didn’t make any profit on the deal. I wonder whether they should have just put up the price a bit instead.
We looped around north Herts into a strong headwind to put in 20 miles or so to Braughing church hall for a tea stop before those with cars went back to Hertford while the WGC/Hatfield trio peeled off at High Cross to get back via Sacombe. We welcomed new rider Leon who had no trouble keeping up and I hope we will see him again on a Sunday ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment