Thanks everyone. Bridges too far next up…and yes, I've got that week off as well…
Yes, dear reader, that did mean what you think it meant. Week off, nice weather, the riding mojo is restored to full health after a convalescent period last year, so…century last Saturday, another on Tuesday (other days off the bike or short ones only), and Friday…yup, rode up, again.
In view of Good Friday's misadventures in Kingston, I went for belt, braces and another set of braces for navigation purposes: GPX track on the eTrex, set to display, the same track in Osmand on the phone (usually much much easier for a quick location fix), and a GPX route for (hopefully) turn by turn on the problematic bit. Worked out pretty well, as it turned out…
Set off north east slightly later than the other week, and overall pace was slightly down. Only slightly, mind. In view of the absolute certainty there would be COR, went for the Litespeed. As ever, a very easy machine on which to tackle triple-figure mileages. Heavier than the stablemate, but fat slicks and disc brakes have advantages of their own, so swings and roundabouts. Usual route, usual stop at Petersfield Tesco, traffic mostly light. Crosswind, but it was no bother. One slight 'mechanical'- a chain drop on the A3 bike path, before I got to Ripley just after 6.30. Handwashing, the half- (or one-third) time sandwich, loading up that aforementioned route, and an encounter with a friendly dog before heading off again just after seven.
On, through Ockham, up Plough Lane and on the A307, and time to test the new navigation system. Got beeps on the turns, but no actual directional instructions. No bother, it was more of an aide-memoire, and although I made the turn eastwards in Kingston earlier than planned, it was still going the right way, so no bother. Up round Richmond Park, where for some reason I went left rather than right & ended up at Richmond Gate rather than Roehampton Gate. Again, not a problem, through East Sheen rather than straight into Putney. Reached Pizza Express just before ten, so the overall trip was barely slower than the previous installment. Fed and watered, just after eleven I set off again for Tooley Street. Navigation went a bit Eric Morecambe at this point, but not a problem, still at Potters Fields in plenty of time.
A smaller than usual peloton awaited, with just a couple of new riders. And
@Mark Grant for the first time in ages, along with the returning
@mmmmartin. After the safety talk, off we went, for the first of many crossings- Tower Bridge. Followed (relatively) rapidly, then increasingly slowly as we moved west, by London Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Millennium Bridge (I think a first for me), Blackfriars, Waterloo, Westminster, Lambeth, Vauxhall, Chelsea, Albert, Battersea, Wandsworth, and Putney. Hammersmith was off route (though it is open to dismounted riders, frankly I wouldn't want to go over it anyway, horrible surface), though we went nearby. Round the bend in the river, down through Barnes, and then over Chiswick Bridge. This most definitely was not speedy. Apart from the simple fact we weren't, as ever, in a rush, there were a few deflations, a bent chainring, and a rider delayed by a train who had to join us on route. Oh, and drizzle, which was nice (no, it wasn't).
Next up, Kew Bridge, down to Twickenham Bridge, then Richmond Bridge, Teddington Lock (walked, naturally, apart from a couple of naughty riders), Kingston Bridge, just for a change the A307 (!
), Hampton Court Bridge, and then, rather later than halfway, our halfway stop, a church hall in Hampton. Tea, coffee, whatever food people brought, and cakes to share (most excellent) from
@BromyG and Adrian.
Then, off into the dawn. Along, back over the river on Walton Bridge. Through Weybridge, over Chertsey Bridge, up through Laleham to the massive Staines, where we joined the A308. Perhaps the most nervewracking part of the trip. 40 mph single carriageway. Fine on a bike- I've ridden it before. If you're bombing along at 15-20 mph or more, that is. Nick, however, was resolutely keeping to 9 or 10 mph and resisted calls to speed up a bit. Not a good idea. We'd have been far safer, and far easier to overtake, if we'd been faster. After Old Windsor, off towards Datchet (over Albert Bridge), into Windsor on the north side, before crossing the Windsor Bridge. Through Eton and Dorney, by which time it was gone eight and my stomach was grumbling. Oh, and there was more rain. One last stretch of COR, where one of our new riders overcooked it going round a corner and went down. Thankfully, more embarrassment than injury. And finally, at 8.45 or so, to Maidenhead, and our riverside stop at Jenners Cafe. Functional breakfast, but friendly efficient service in a great spot. Even in drizzle. We coincided with a group of bikers meeting for a ride out, and yes they were using the same waymarking/TEC system as us!
Refuelled, I left the last couple of stragglers for the station and the next one-an-hour service to Reading. Ended up with 143 miles on the clock since home. Got the TfL service west (train quiet, plenty of room for the bike) then from Reading, a rammed Virgin Trains service to Southampton, followed by an even more rammed (two-carriage!) GWR train to Pompey. Off at Cosham, just after 12.30, and bed soon after.
Thanks Nick and everyone else. Windsor next- on a work night, so no triple-figure mileage this time!
