England : Bedfordshire Luton Slightly Hilly House Warming Cake ride - Sat. 12th January 2013

[ianmac62]

How's it going, then? Here, in Derbyshire it's a lovely day!

 

[Flying Dodo]

Well, what a wonderful day. All those concerns about cold, snow, water, wind, ice............pah!

We rolled down the hill to the station on dry roads, where a surprise guest in the form of TC1 had turned up. John arrived just after 10, shortly after his text did, which he'd sent 20 minutes earlier saying he'd got a puncture and so would be a few minutes late. So that made a merry team of 7 of us on 6 bikes and we set off on the cycle path to Harpenden, which led to the first hill.

I forgot to stop in Kimpton to photograph a particularly large pothole, which was large enough to hide a few illegal immigrants in. You can understand why the residents have to have 4x4 vehicles around there, in order to get across the crevices.

As highlighted in the opening post, there were hills on this ride, but I'd tried to avoid anything too drastic, but I think everyone got a reasonable work out.

At times we saw a bit of blue sky and loads of wildlife. Fortunately nothing tried to run under our wheels. However the roads themselves were quite busy with cars which surprised me, as on the recce it had been very quiet, although Rebecca did subsequently point out I'd done that on 1st January.

Skirting the edge of Harpenden saw our first traffic jam of the day, no doubt due to the queues of shoppers desperate to get to Waitrose, so we rapidly pedalled away to the quiet backwater of Redbourn, which probably holds the record for the length of time taken from a bypass first being discussed to actually having one built (1935 to 1984). LonJogers will be familiar with the little diversion they took through the village. Then there was only a couple of miles to the pub, where a feast awaited us.

Heading back, I thought we'd risk the road which 2 weeks earlier had a stretch about 200m long under water. There was still a bit submerged, but I think John got away fairly unscathed, although the whole road for a mile or so was completely caked in mud.

Back home, the cakes were devoured and then I led the train-bound people back to the station.

So around 35 miles or so on a very nice day in wonderful company. Thanks all.


The rest of the photos are shown here.

 

[velovoice]

Thank you to srw and mrs srw (whose CC name escapes me at the moment), redflightuk, stuaff and - surprise of the day - topcat1 for coming out to make warm tracks on a circuit round our home. It was cold but not freezing, with overcast skies but absolutely no precipitation of any kind, and the parts of the route that took us briefly into that easterly wind were also lined with hedgerows so that we hardly even noticed. The day was livened up by a few flooded fords which fortunately weren't disguising any truly nasty potholes. Yes, there were a few hills but I only walked one.

The pub landlord greeted us with "do you want to put all the bikes in the barn?" (with padlock) - well, yes, don't mind if we do! Lovely food served quickly - real (i.e. not gentrified) country pub.

And less than 10 miles later, we were tucking into delicious carrot cake baked by Flying Dodo's talented daughter.

srw and mrs srw and myself were all testing new winter gear (they for their imminent holiday to Finland, me in an effort to make commuting possible no matter what mother nature throws at me). I don't know what their various verdicts were but my stuff all performed superbly bar an annoying chamois in my new dhb Ladies Vaeon Zero Padded Bib Tight (which knocks what would otherwise be a 5* review down to about 3*). Shame because the fabric, though lightweight, kept me warm enough - the "windslam" panels down the front of the legs were especially appreciated. New Shimano boots were unqualified success and I even got the cleats aligned more or less correctly last night.

I think Flying Dodo is working on photos as we speak [ETA: which, it transpires, were posted as I was writing!]. No doubt Topcat1 will present a brilliant selection as per usual shortly as well.

Again - thanks to all who came today - hope your homeward journeys were smooth and uneventful and you're all tucked up in the warm now - possibly with your hands cradling something stronger than tea!

 

[ianmac62]

Sounds really good. I enjoyed good weather and lots of beer in Chesterfield. Unfortunately the Cobblers went to sleep for ten crucial minutes in the first half and conceded three goals. Drowned my sorrows in a town centre pub and am now sharing a train carriage with some surprisingly pleasant Leeds supporters.

Your photos look good.

 

[Aperitif]

Thank you to srw and 'rvw'

Ruth
Well done everyone. I'm still cold from this morning! (Did you take the Mercy Merc Dave ian?) Trans: Dave, did you take the Mercian?

 

[srw]

They definitely do! By the time you've factored in the cold and all the various sorts of precipitation, they probably count quintuple.

I'll claim 180 miles, then. Doubled because it's a tandem - so that's a good 360 mile workout to start the new year, which might explain why I felt rather more leaden-legged than I might have done. It honestly wasn't the gin I had last night. Honest, it really wasn't.

We packed the bike last night to ensure we had no excuse; I listened to heavy rain fall and hoped that the forecast would prove correct. Fortunately it did - the only precipitation we were faced with fell upwards from several mega-puddles. Oddly, in Hertfordshire the big puddles don't just form at the bottom of hills, but also half-way down them. A planned 8:30 departure was delayed a number of times as it's been a while since we went out on the bike, but we arrived chez Dodo at 9:15, in time to reconstruct the bike and follow a pleasant route through parks and along bike paths to the station.

The route to Harpenden is a model of what bike paths ought to be - smooth tarmac and wide enough to pass in comfort, with a few gentle gradients thrown in to keep up interest, and no barriers to trip up the unsuspecting tandemist. I only hope its kept pothole-free and swept - other than us there were several customers choosing it over what looked like a nasty twisty narrow road.

Actually, there were a lot of cyclists out on the whole route. I don't know whether the sport is generally more popular in Bedfordshire and East Herts than it is in Bucks and West Herts, but I though there were as many riders out on a bitterly cold January day as I'd expect to see locally in May warmth.

Our various warm-weather protections worked well. For the record I was slightly overheated in a long-sleeved base layer, a thin summer long-sleeved jersey, a thick winter long-sleeved jersey and a waterproof top; my windstopper and buff protected my head well; my three-quarters plus tights kept my legs toasty, while the revelations were the additional warmth provided by a thin glove liner inside winter waterproof gloves, and the fact that my feet stayed warm with thin socks under Sealskins under cycling shoes under overshoes.

It's been long enough since I did any sort of endurance event that the pub stop came when I was just at the end of my stamina. I'd pre-ordered a jacket potato thinking that carb-heavy was what I'd need. In fact I was overcome by a craving for a bag of dry roasted peanuts - I must have been short of protein. Something probably confirmed by the empty Chinese takeaway containers sitting in the kitchen. After some lovely cakes baked by a junior Dodo, we took ourselves home, I enjoyed a shower and a snooze with the paper and Jazz Record Requests then we stoked up on wok-fried goodness.

I'm now ready to fall asleep and intent on it not being another several months before I get out for another proper pootle. We are intending to ride 2000 miles on the tandem between April 2013 and April 2014, including 100 miles a month. Thank you to FD and Rebecca for confirming that with the proper equipment January is a very good month to ride - and that riding is the best way to see our local area, a slightly unkempt and bleak mixture of arable and rough pasture separating 1930s estates and the occasional older gem.

 

[StuAff]

Terrific day. It has been raining pretty much all day in Pompey (match at Fratton Park off due to waterlogging...) but thankfully the weather in London and northwards was considerably better. Those who bailed on account of the forecast got it wrong. Not a drop of rain (except that down here). Hopefully there'll be a rerun, this was well worth the trip. Great route, splendid pub stop, most excellent cake (thanks to young Amii), and of course splendid company! Made home at 7ish, when it was still raining. Spirits certainly not dampened though. Thanks everyone!

 

[redflightuk]

Set off for Parkway station just after 9 and after 2 miles i had a visitation as i approached Kimpton, replaced the tube removed the offending thorn then set off again, gave Adam a call but ended up leaving a voicemail which arrived on Adams phone just as i arrived at the station.
The cycle path to Harpenden is great as it keeps you away from a fast winding road and the surface is good at the moment unlike the disgusting state of Kimpton high street. Trouble is i keep finding my self returning from rides along that road. Apart from that and a few muddy stretches it was a great ride. Nice pub stop and fab cakes at the tea stop. Thanks Adam for getting us back to the station and thanks to all for a great day out. Arrived back at the stables just as the girls turned up to get everything ready for the re scheduled farm christmas party. Think i've had a bit too much mulled wine. Night all.

 

[topcat1]

first proper ride of the new year was just what i needed

yes it was raining when i left home but it was only 10 minutes to the station
(Blackfriars station, it's the whole of the bridge next to blackfriars bridge)

Becs you would have had a hard time on those hills, I used them to warm up

Martin thanks for the fish & chips but could you order the plowmans next time

welldone Adam and Becca they've got cats

i was wearing a pink gillet, when we were leaving the pub everyone stopped talking
and you could hear a pin drop, good thing i went to the loo i wet meself laughing
tc1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62382682@N07/sets/72157632510022562/

 

[Flying Dodo]

i was wearing a pink gillet, when we were leaving the pub everyone stopped talking
and you could hear a pin drop, good thing i went to the loo i wet meself laughing

Yes, they could tell you weren't from around there. Some of the locals have only just got colour TV, so a metropolitan chap like you is like an alien unfortunately.

 

[velovoice]

Yes, they could tell you weren't from around there. Some of the locals have only just got colour TV, so a metropolitan metrosexual chap like you is like an alien unfortunately.

FTFY

 

[velovoice]

We chose the right day for it. It's fah-fah-freeeeeeezing out there this morning!

 

[jayonabike]

Shame I missed out on this ride, looks like I judged the weather wrong. It wasn't a complete waste of a day though, we went to John Lewis in Watford and bought a new coffee percolator.

 

[sheddy]

Apologies for not reading the whole thread, but which Pub or Cafe did you go to ?

 

[StuAff]

http://www.crownandsceptrepub.co.uk Bridens Camp. Excellent place.