27 Feb 2022: St Albans to Hawridge

 Six riders met at the Waterend Barn on a dazzling bright morning with not a cloud in the sky. Tim proudly displayed his new titanium bike from Spa Cycles, a Christmas present to himself, rivalling Ben on his titanium Croix De Fer from Genesis. In contrast, Philip was riding his steel-framed Sun bike from the 1970s with its 5-speed block. We headed north up the Redbourn road, negotiating the humps and bumps on the road surface  near the Prae Hotel, hoping they would be eliminated in the resurfacing work scheduled for March. Turning west into Hogg End Lane, we passed the usual flytips by the motorway bridge to enter the Maylands industrial area and went through to Piccott’s End.We went through Berkhamsted before climbing the hill to Hawridge and the new Cafe Velo, hoping it was not already overwhelmed with cyclists. It was busy, judging by the number of bikes hanging from the bike bars, but there was room for us both inside and out . 

Chiltern Velo terrace in the sun 

We also met Phil and Sue who had cycled directly from Bedmond to meet us. We sat outside facing east with a beautiful view over the valley, with the sun shining and complete absence of wind. After coffees, the eight of us cycled together until Tim left us to go home via Berkhamsted while the rest of us continued through Ashley Green, Bovingdon Green, and down Rucklers Lane.Most of us turned up Hyde Lane to Bedmond, but Phil and Sue chose to go home via Tom's Lane. We carried on to Potters Crouch where Ben pointed out that Gary’s rear tyre looked soft and it was indeed a puncture. As he was only a mile from home he decided to walk there and the rest of us got back to St Albans at 2 pm after around trip of about 36 miles.

Steve

20 Feb 2022: St Albans to Great Offley

 There’s  no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. That’s what the Fearless Foursome thought as they rode out across the precinct of the doomed Alban Arena, past the discarded bottles of the previous night’s festivities, on a distinctly cold and damp Sunday morning. I was already handicapped by only having 3 gears; I had noticed on my way to the start that my rear changer wasn’t working and inspection at the Waterend Barn showed that the outer casing of the gear cable had burst. Perhaps fortunately, I was using my touring bike with triple chainrings, so my lowest gear was 22/11 x 26 = 52 inches and steep hills would be a challenge. 

Steve's gear cable housing

We headed out through Nomansland and Marshalls Heath, and courteously pulled in on a narrow lane to let through a trailing Land Rover. To our astonishment, it was followed by at least ten others, all with shoulder-level exhaust pipes spewing their noxious contents into our lungs. Next time we wouldn’t be so generous. Continuing through Breachwood Green and Lilley Bottom we arrived at the café at Great Offley in a small complex of industrial units next to the Farm Butcher shop. The persistent rain meant we would not sit outside, as during our last visit; but inside their new internal seating area. This was in a separate building and had a rather Spartan barn-like ambience, and was definitely not warm. 

Barn Café

After consuming some rather watery and expensive coffees, we left heading south and immediately encountered an apparition of 5 warriors dressed in chainmail and carrying swords and round shields advancing across a field. Was this part of the British Army on manoeuvres?  We knew they were always complaining about having to use out-of-date equipment! (No, we looked them up later on the internet to see they were the Swords of Penda - an Early Saxon re-enactment group rehearsing.) The light rain persisted in being persistent, so we took the shortest route back through Whitwell & Kimpton. 

Windswept Gary near Kimpton

 

I anticipated having to get off on Ballslough Hill to Gustard Wood, but managed to ride up with a very low cadence and much honking (that means standing on the pedals, not making a donkey-like noise). After that everything seemed easy and we arrived home at 1:30pm after a short ride of just about 31 miles.

Steve B