Club members had a choice to make today, to do the Hill Climb starting at 10am at Staughton Moor or the Club Run starting, as usual, at 8.30am.
David L and Bomber decided that they would try the Club Run and then do the Hill Climb but quickly decided that the Club Run route would take them too far south and they would not get back in time for the Hill Climb so they left us at the Market Square to clock some miles until the start of the Hill Climb.
The Hill Climb clearly proved to be a a more popular option for some as it attracted 14 riders, however, with the 12 who opted for the Sunday run, that did mean there was 26 SNCC folk on the road which is an excellent turnout.
So the 12 Sunday Runners headed out from the Market Square on a fine, cold autumnal morning. Joining us was Andrew Jackson who completed the Sportive last Sunday and thought that he would give us a try. Not only did he enjoy the experience, he also joined the Club today and he is Number 70 for 2012. Also joining us for another run were Stephen and Martin. We seem to be attracting interest from outside the St Neots environs as Andrew lives at Brington near Molesworth and Stephen lives in Sandy.
Mark had planned the route which took us down to Tempsford and then to Old Warden with a planned coffee stop at Thurleigh where we hoped to meet up with the Hill Climbers who we thought would have finished the Hill Climb followed by a few miles to unwind their legs.
The weather could not have been better. The early morning chill disappeared and we were bathed in wonderful sunshine for the rest of the run. Wind was minimal.
There was no sign of the Hill Climbers at Thurleigh café as we all enjoyed sitting in the sunshine - timing obviously didn't work out. After Thurleigh we enjoyed the brilliantly smooth slightly downhill road behind the old Thurleigh airbase - what a contrast with the nasty rough surface-dressed roads that have been completed recently courtesy of Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire County Councils.
Alistair and Andy Holt took a different route home after Alistair punctured, and Alec and Mark, (having contested the Bushmead sprint, won by Alec after an excellent lead out from Martin) even set off back up the Bushmead Road to try and find them as they were “no shows” at the Market Square, and passed the Hill Climbers heading in the opposite direction towards St Neots and their own Bushmead sprint. The Club run itself was about 45 miles although Mark and Alec clocked up quite a few more.