Twenty five stalwart St Neots CC riders met at the Market Square on this foggy damp morning to be greeted by “Del Boy” (David Lindsay) selling caps out of a bag at £10 only. Cries of this is my best offer and only good while stocks last echoed across the Square. Have to say the caps were excellent and many were being worn out on the road this morning.
Mark Colmer volunteered to lead Group 2 and Richard Wales Group 1. Delighted to see Stephen Lyons and Andrew Jackson back with us having joined the Club last Sunday and also welcome to Andrew Maple who has been out with the Club a few times.
Group 2
Group 2’s plan was to head up the Bushmead Road then out to Harrold. About 14 were in this group until the Bushmead crossroads and then Ashley decided that he had enough (circa 3 miles) and headed back home. He blamed this on his morning porridge - however others were more cynical and suggested that it might have been self-inflicted from the night before. Ash has now been nominated (along with a few other members) for the ‘Best Excuse of the Year Award’ which will be given out at the Annual Dinner and Awards Evening.
All was going well until Pertenhall but then Jon Keefe punctured and, having sorted that one out, he punctured again (different tyre this time) about three miles further on. Trevor, Alistair and Jon watched Group 2 disappear into the far yonder as they worked on the second puncture. Steve P cycled back to make sure all was OK and the rough plan was to meet again at Harrold . Probably more by good fortune than good planning, five of us met at the café at Harrold (no time to stop though) as Steve and David W were trying to catch the Group as well.
A mile outside Harold we were back together and the next obstacle was the flooded road which thankfully has a raised path beside it so this was used although Alistair ploughed on through the flood with no ill effects. A good pace now being set with plenty of sharing the workload at the front until puncture Number 3 from Gareth. Mark decided to keep going with some of the slower riders to allow the rest of the group to catch them up (you know what they say "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley") as the rest waited for Gareth to sort the puncture.
Mark’s group continued to Thurleigh then turned off to Ravensden where David unfortunately not only suffered leg cramp but also lost his chain and had to walk up the last part of the hill. The group then carried on through Wilden onto Wyboston but along Colesden Road, Mark hit a large pot hole and had a tumble, however most importantly, his bike was fine. From Wyboston we continued back to St.Neots for a much needed cup of coffee.
The group completed 42 miles in what turned out to be a very interesting club run which, no doubt will not be forgotten in a long time.
Back on the road again , after Gareth’s puncture , the other part of Group 2 headed of in pursuit of Mark’s breakaway down to Milton Ernest , Thurleigh and then the Bushmead Sprint however there was no sign of them. At the Bushmead crossroads we saw Jason sorting a puncture so with the two punctures in Group 1 that was six on the day which must be another record for a club run.
Honours were apparently shared in the Sprint with Andrew, Stephen, Rob and Steve crossing the line together.
Group 1
Group 1 was led by the mountain whippet Richard Wales who decided that we would run a shorter version of the Autumn Breeze Sportive route. Hurrah! A band of 10 merry cyclists set forth into the fog…. A relaxed pace ensued and began to improve throughout the “pea-soup” hour of the ride.
Our first casualty was Mr Adrian “T”, also known as Phat Pantani. His brand new Conti 4000 tyre and tube had decided enough was enough, with a serious cut in the fresh rubber it was third tube lucky to get him back on the road or it was to be rim only job (ha ha). Next puncture was of course another Adrian, “Bomber” this time. Hey, we could have predicted this couldn’t we? A quick change and we were off again.
Tim P bonked badly getting towards Kimbolton and was nursed home by Adrian T. Very unlike him - perhaps man-flu is coming?
As we got to Kimbolton we decided for a shorter option via the chaingang route and here the pace increased significantly. Irish Joe won the “Ian Stannard” award and was untouchable through the last segment into St Neots. Most of the group managed at least 2 well deserved coffees at Nero’s….
Second award of this ride goes to David Smith, who looked the most covered in mud, “Roubaix style” - especially with his new St Neots CC cap adding to the overall look.
In the region of 58 miles ridden at over 19mph.