That was a cracking ride that rarely had to use main roads for any distance. Thanks to Titus and everyone that developed and tested the route - I know a lot of effort goes into making it all look so easy.
There were thirteen of us, fourteen once Seamus caught up. I’ve never been on a Fridays ride with so few riders, but it meant that the need for way marking was much reduced and hence the early progress was unusually brisk. Starting away from London helped too as we were alone on nearly empty roads almost from the beginning.
There were a few spots of rain in the air when I rode to the start, which turned to persistent drizzle about an hour after we set off. It was never torrential but there was a lot of standing water on many of the roads from start to finish. I came a cropper when I hit a deep water filled pothole at speed, pinch puncturing the tube. Fortunately I managed to aim for a soft landing on the grass verge before I parted company with the bike. It’s OK, CdF fans, a slightly bent left hand brifter and some mudguard stay straightening were the only damage apart from needing a new inner tube.
The half way stop at Basingstoke’s premier all night McDonalds was exactly as expected - adequate - before we braved the hillier second half. Neither of the two hills Titus warned about seemed particularly steep although the first did carry on for a bit. Anyone that was part of the Eastbourne ride last year tackled far more demanding terrain.
The last few miles into Winchester were marked by another puncture and a loud bang as a replacement tube that had been trapped during fitting exploded spectacularly when a CO2 cartridge was applied. Considering the wet roads we did well to only collect four or five (I think) punctures during the ride.
Once in our destination Wetherspoons the food was quickly delivered and reasonable value as ever. For once we arrived before beer was able to be served so I had a rare Fridays breakfast sans Guinness, followed by a fast train with three other riders back to Clapham Junction.
For the record, I recorded 137 km and 808 m climbing, of which 100 km or so and the vast majority of the elevation gain was Windsor to Winchester.Once again, thanks to all for a thoroughly enjoyable night.
Incroyable!! 
