Left the house at 08:20 - must remember not to keep leaving the door open...
Popped in to ask for a bit of decent weather...
"good evening i'm from essex
in case you couldn't tell
my given name is Dickie, I come from Billericay
and I'm doing very well..."
BigonaBianchi was doing some impromptu shadow puppetry when I arrived - much to the amusement of ChrisKH and tdr1nka
The peloton (well, a couple of tons actually) waiting for 'white van men' to jeer at...
Declining a cake at the outset, FFFF relented - "Oh all right then, that tray of doughnuts looks lonely over there..."
tdr1nka doing what comes naturally...
So we did the Tour, said our goodbyes and I headed back via Brentwood. The best thing about Brentwood is actually leaving it behind.
The second best thing was to see the setting sun - Silhouetting the London City skyline.
This photo does not do it justice but might give a flavour...
Came back through the City - all bright and bushy - and very quiet.
Got to the 'Gherkin' and got a punctu*e. Turned around to find a 64ft cocktail stick in my back tyre.
Actually, it was slow but noticeable - like me, so I pumped it up and continued.
This palaver carried on, through Holborn, St Giles and, deciding to go
Route 1 - Oxford St. Big mistake. Six hours and two thousand buses later I reached Marble Arch. (Remember I was stopping every 2km or so for a quick pump up...) Got to Hounslow without sitting down - I really couldn't be 'bothered' to change. Until.
The slow puncture speeded up and I found myself outside a delicious smelling curry house which was casting adequate light on the pavement. Everyone walking past was speaking in an Eastern European language - but it was the smell of the spices doing
me in...Mmmmmmmm!
Fixed the tyre, cleaned up - it was flat again!
Repeat the sentence above - it happened again. (Continental tubes - having a few issues with them) Not totally flat - again so...
...decided to stand up and ride for the last 5km or so. Took the edge off a lovely day out for me but ho hum, these things happen. Got in, opened the fridge door and sucked hard. Now sustained, I thank BoaB for his organisation and theother riders for their company. It was nice to meet you all.
Total? 204km - including a circuit or two of um Ilford, Romford, Tower Hill etc etc... logical signposting is pants in this part of the world.
My average dropped considerably to 24kph + a bit - given that I was limping home. Up to the Gherkin it was 28+ - thanks to the fast A12.