31 Jul 2016: Hatfield to Tawney Common

It was a perfect day for escaping the urban scene, by heading off to the tranquil settings for our three stops for today. The first of these was the café next to the marina at Roydon.  It was a warm, sunny day, so I opted for the shade provided on the disused railway line that is the Cole Green Way. The only hazard along there was the guy running ahead of us wearing headphones, and no amount of shouting seemed to be getting through to his ears. Safely past him, we made for Hartham Common and the cycle path along the River Lea – the top dressing in the central section, either side of the A10 flyover, is now completely eroded away and it’s really only fit for mountain bikes.  

A stop on the Cole Green Way

More photos can be seen here.

We are a pretty tolerant lot generally, but we were being shaken to bits and this cycle path is getting beyond a joke.  Cycling UK is pushing the Space for Cycling campaign, so you can help by writing to Councillor David Andrews, Ware North at Hertfordshire County Council and asking if he can assist in any way.

After a rather scary slope down from the Ware road bridge, the towpath was actually quite smooth and we followed this as far as Stanstead Abbotts. It was now a short stretch on tarmac to the secluded marina, tucked away near the village of Roydon.  Neil and Tracey loved the relaxed atmosphere so much they didn’t want to leave, so we left them there.  We cycled off, passing Ray Winstone’s favourite pub, and found a quiet route through Harlow on NCR 1 and out to the Essex lanes.  

What a pleasant county Essex is for cycling.  Many lanes had been resurfaced recently and looking back I don’t recall seeing a single pothole between Harlow and Epping Forest. It just shows that by contrast Hertfordshire really needs to get its act together.

At the isolated pub in Tawney Common we saw the usual veteran motorcycles had arrived, including a pre-war BSA in fine condition and a wartime despatch bike. 

It wasn’t far to tea at Upshire Church.  This time I arrived in time to grab a piece of their fantastic homemade strawberry gateau. That was worth cycling up Sixteen String Jack hill for. Reluctantly, we headed for home to complete the 62-mile circuit.

Jon 31/07/2016

24 Jul 2016: St Albans to Silsoe

Large crowds watch Chris Froome as he wins the Tour de France again.  It was the first weekend of the school holidays and no doubt some of us Brits heading for Paris were still stuck on the M2 at the whim of the French customs official vetting their entry. Meanwhile, we met up in St Albans for a lovely ride to Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.

Away we went along Gaddesden Row and via Studham up onto Dunstable Downs. At the top soaring along the ridge, as well as the unmanned kites, were seven brightly coloured paragliders, almost as acrobatic as the usual birds seen around here and an amazing and a very pretty sight. Then it was a fast descent down into Dunstable itself and the Cafe Latte for elevenses. Just as we were scoffing Jackie arrived to join us. Now we were five.

From there we headed northwest towards Sundon. We got a bit snarled up where our route crossed the M1 and the railway. Roads were closed, as they appear to be building a new link road from the A5 onto the M1. From there it was on to Sharpenhoe and down the 'Clappers', a lovely downhill leading into Barton le Clay where Steve joined us making us six.

We went in a large loop approaching Silsoe from the east via an initially rough track that led into and through Wrest Park. Some of us had sandwiches and others went into the Star and Garter for a pub lunch. Whilst there Adrian joined us and now there were seven heading for the tea stop at Whitwell by going to the east of Luton. This involved the steep climb from Hexton up Gravel Hill followed by a quick dash along Lilley Bottom to arrive at Emily's for the traditional tea and cakes.

From here the group started to split up as people headed towards their homes. When I got back to St Albans I had done about 60 miles and although it had been hot it hadn't been too bad. In summary a nice ride on a warm day.

Peter 24/07/2016

23 Jul 2016: Fun Ride to Potters Bar

It was a great morning as 6 of us met at Jenny’s café in Hatfield; we welcomed new riders Jane and Tony. After a quick cuppa we got down to the business of tackling the lanes to Potters Bar. I took the group out past a quiet University of Hertfordshire, through Bullen’s Green, up Tollgate Road and on to Waterend. There was some huffing and puffing as we tackled the rises in the route, but everyone coped really well and we kept a nice steady pace. From Waterend I chose to use the footpath beside the old A1 to get up to South Mimms, this path proved to be very overgrown and bit of an obstacle course for Judy our recumbent trike rider. On approaching South Mimms Judy had made the decision to head home (due to heat). It’s known that recumbent riders have trouble with thermoregulation as they expose about 3 times more of their surface area to the sun’s radiation, as opposed to upright riders.  They also suffer from the harsher micro-climate at ground level, which is known to gently fry their brains.

But in South Mymms we passed Judy coming in the other direction, at this point she had changed her mind and decided to re-join us down to Trotters Bottom. It was a beautifully sunny summer’s morning and it was actually getting to be very hot. As we passed through the lanes around the Ridge, we lost Jon and Judy. I asked the group to stop at the top of a hill so I could back track and see if I could find them but to no avail, so after sweating like Tony Blair reading the Chilcot report, I made my way back up the hill to join the rest of the group.  I heard later that Judy & Jon had stopped to fix a flat tyre back in Ridge, no doubt caused on the overgrown cycle path as trikes can’t avoid the brambles at the edge of the path.

We made short work of heading down to the tri-bridge (for horses, walkers and cyclists) that spans the A1; once over that it’s a small matter of passing through Trotters Bottom, not as painful as it sounds. It’s a lovely lane that skirts Dyrham Park, then it was up Dancer’s Hill to access Baker Street and into Potters Bar. Now this place has a plethora of cafes to choose from, but I chose an establishment that had just been refurbished as N’s Kitchen and very smart it was, but it’s really not a suitable place as they had slight trouble with us and didn’t split the bill as requested. While we were here I got the text from Jon informing me that they had suffered a puncture and had headed home.

Soon after we made our way back to Hatfield in midday sun. Our route led us through the back of the town, up Billy Lowes lane. Then I took a familiar and very short way back via Hawkshead lane, down past the Royal Veterinary College, another visit to Waterend and then through Welham Green. It was a really pleasant morning’s ride.

Neil 23/07/2016