On a warm but distinctly drizzly morning we met in Colney Heath after deriving the pleasure of holding up the traffic at the lights on the longabout. Eamonn proudly displayed his new purchase: a steel-framed gravel/tourer with a plethora of bolts on the fork blades, supposedly for fixing frames for fork bags, now the latest trend in the era of bike-packing. Noticing an increase in the precipitation, we all donned rain jackets before setting off through Welham Green and Brookmans Park. It turned out to be a wise move, as the drizzle soon morphed into rain. After crossing the A1000 we headed due east through Epping Green and Broxbourne Woods, passing several groups of cyclists coming the other way. After a couple of incidents of overtaking drivers pulling in sharply to avoid oncoming traffic, we arrived safely in Hoddesdon where Carol led us on a devious route towards Rye House avoiding the traffic and large roundabouts. We settled in to the Anatolia's cafe, where Gary's eyes lit up when he saw that liver was on their menu. However, disappointment clouded his face when the waitress informed him that the last piece had been served yesterday, and he substituted a Mediterranean breakfast. Our return journey, now in the dry, took us along a byway (ideal for Eamonn's gravel bike) to Brickendon, after which Gary noticed that Eamonn's rear tyre looked a bit flat, so we turned into a nearby driveway to get off the country road to change its tube. Levering off the 38mm tyre was an unexpected challenge, but eventually we got it off and inspected the inner tube for the hole. Once found, we mapped the hole back to the tyre to find a very sharp flint in the shape of a thorn, which was extracted. Getting the tyre on again with a new tube was an even greater challenge, but Eamonn managed it with difficulty after trying a putting-on tool, which he didn't know how to use, and ensuring the tyre was seated into the well of the rim.
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| Sartorial elegance! |
After inflating the tube to what he thought was about 40 psi he unscrewed his pump only for the valve barrel to come out! Replacing the barrel, he used my push-on pump to re-inflate again to about 40 psi.
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| A two-puncture day |
Passing through Wild Hill Eamonn noticed that his front tyre was going flat, so again we pulled into a property entrance to get off the road. This time the hole in the tyre took some effort to find, and Gary found a tiny slit with nothing in it at the corresponding place on the tyre. Fortunately, Eamonn had a second spare tube, as the rest of us didn't have spare tubes for 38mm tyres. This time he got the tyre off and on slightly more easily, no doubt due to his previous experience half an hour earlier.
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| Can we hear the air leaking? |
When all was done we returned in the sunshine to St Albans via Welham Green, Colney Heath and the Alban Way after a shorter ride of about 31miles from the start point.
Steve
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