Another Northampton to London ride - Sat. 12th May

[BrumJim]

On train on the way home.
That was a fantastic ride. Thanks to all involved. Weather was about as good as you can ask for, company was great, and a few demons laid to rest.
A more comprehensive report will follow when I have had some sleep.

 

[Aperitif]

On train on the way home.
That was a fantastic ride. Thanks to all involved. Weather was about as good as you can ask for, company was great, and a few demons laid to rest.
A more comprehensive report will follow when I have had some sleep.

Wow! Did you leave Davy and his shorts in a ditch?

 

[Davywalnuts]

That was a fab ride, boy, is it great to be back in the saddle.

Many thanks to FD for a great ride and organization and everyone else for keeping it fun, great to see you all.

Am burnt, but 110.20 miles, first ton up this year, very chuffed with that I am.

Can't tell you much more as did most of the ride on my own, was a naughty boy... ;-). Haha, but all great non the less.

Cya ya all on the next ride!

 

[CharlieB]

Thank you Adam and all for a fine day's outing. A lot (A LOT) of bright yellow fields.
Why are people so rude about Newport Pagnall? I liked it so much I went back for a second look.
88 1/2 miles for me today, and a well earned hot bath.
Oh, dag nabbit, I've just dropped my iPh

 

[User10571]

What a fine ride that was!
Weather couldn't be better.
Wind direction: Check.
Excellent food stop which coped well in the face of adversity.
Plus the added bonus of one of 'User10571's tours of the unusual' because I was enjoying myself so much towards the end, I didn't want the day to finish.
Thank you muchly Adam and all those on the ride.
However, end it must, but not before I've been the beneficiary of some excellent hospitality from two soon to be emigres from another place.
I've just returned home and plunged my place into inky darkness when I turned on the hall light (dodgy eastern european blub, I expect).
Thing is, I don't appear to have any 5 amp fuse wire in the house - And I think The Claud knows why.....
And Kit-Kat wrappers no longer work as a substitute since they stopped putting them in tin foil.

Half a mile over an imperial ton for me today. Add that to yesterday's seventy something - and I think I'll be sleeping soundly tonight.

Edit: Having just exited the bath I've found that despite donning SPF36 this morning, I am burnt in places I'd rather not be. The Nivea after sun (with extra aloa vera) which lives in the fridge, has been deployed.

 

[StuAff]

Splendid day indeed. And a tailwind the whole way....!!! 82.74 miles Northampton-Waterloo (this month's ton will have to wait). Not entirely sure what happened with the navigation fails. First some of us managed to divert via South Mimms, then I managed to divert from them....before finding my way back onto the route and catching up with Adam's now reduced group. Never mind.
Thanks everyone!

 

[Mark Grant]

A very nice ride, thanks Adam.
Congrats to BrumJim for his imperial century and his metric double century.
Lovely weather, great company & a good lunch stop.
I'll post some pics when Photobucket has finished its work, though I expect it will freeze on the last frame and I'll have to start again!
110 miles for me.

 

[redflightuk]

103.9 miles for the day.
Left home just before 6, and after a quick visit to the stables i set off @ 6:31. I was only 2 miles from the route so it was an out and back ride along some very nice roads. Have to agree with Charlie Newport Pagnall Is not bad and the road from Northampton is nice and rolling. I didn't know about the cycle track on the big roundabout on the edge of Northampton but i had no trouble with the traffic coming into town. Arriving at the station just after 10 i couldn't see anyone, Ian turned up a minute or two later and i spotted all the others at the coffee shop inside the station. 10:30 and we were off, back the way i had just come. Some nice fast long stretches on the 13 mile road back to Newport Pagnall and nice lanes all the way apart from the rough surface as you come out of Lilley. The food and drink went down well at the pub, i was going to peel off in Whitwell at the right turn but thought i'd carry on to Kimpton(like the downhill bit to the church)and peeled off there. Both junctions are only 2 miles from the stables. That turned out to be a good call as they had the roads closed the other side of Whitwell for resurfacing, I had to weave my way through low loaders and lorries full of chippings as they were using the lane to the farm as a lorry park.
Safely home by 7 after feeding Red.
Thanks for organising Adam and see you all soon.

 

[mistral]

Another highly enjoyable FD ride, thanks Adam.

Good ride up to meet everyone at the Lilley Arms, delightful garden, lunch and company - of course.

Good pace on the return leg. Left the ride around Archway to head west and on to home. 104 miles in total with 4500 ft of ascent.

 

[Mark Grant]

Not too far from the start.

Brumjims Imperial century.

Obligatory celebration pic.

Back to the smoke.

All my pictures are HERE I think that I got everyone.

 

[GM]

Great photos Mark! a good record of a great day out with nice people, big thanks to Adam and tecs. I seem to have got off light with a mere 75 miles.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Brilliant ride. Sublime. Both gears fully employed. Excellent company (special mention to Charlie and Ian who are great at encouraging this great lump). Wonderful route. WONDERFUL lunch. Met up with two cyclists just back from Girona, with their bikes in hard cases, at Gatwick after parting company with Jenny. I was agog at the training camp they'd just attended, there were agog at tales of CC, FNRttC and FD's splendid rape seed ride. The lads from Barnet Ian and I spoke to just beofre the motorway were full of admiration; it's that charity ride thing, people always look at you twice when you say "it's just for fun and the craic"

Loved the way life flicks a switch at High Barnet and in the space of 500m you go from rural village feel to full on that Landan. Loved the detours round the back of deserted Kings X and the banter with the Asian kids that put us going in the right direction, and riding past St Pancras old Church and seeing the international station and thinking, 'this was a rural village outside London when that Church was built'.

View of the Shard at Archway made me go "W-H-O-A' the light was hitting it just so.

Does anyone want to do a list of what the participants real names are so when we meet again, or speak of them to others we do it with real names....?

Factor 50 failure on right calf and left wrist and given my farmers tan must stay below the knee this summer, 'the scars' he cried, 'the scars' I look a bit stupid. Nothing new under the sun, they say.

Adam, thank you so much. User10571, thanks for the lead into town.

 

[redjedi]

Thanks for the rise Adam, a wonderful route which I will definitely do again soon.
Great turn out and everything went fairly smoothly until the garminators struck several times in the last 12 miles. 92 miles on the clock and so tired I went straight to bed after a couple of pints of rehydration fluids.

 

[redjedi]

Nice pictures Mark..but

I don't remember this bridge, were we on the same ride?

 

[User10571]

Nice pictures Mark..but

I don't remember this bridge, were we on the same ride?

That bridge was part of 'User10571's tour of the unusual (Part I)' - which John was kind enough to lead, with his superior local knowledge, at that point.

Excellent photies, Mark. Thanks.