Nearly 50 riders congregated at the Market Square this morning - 35 club members spread across the three rides with 12 guests taking part in the Introductory Ride. It was very good to see some "old faces" who have been threatening to come out for months and finally made it in the shape of Andy Oxborough and Jason Dixon.

Probably the last time the club has had this many members on the road it was in the 1990's. (No - it must have been earlier than that - I don't remember club runs with that many riders in the '90s - Ed). With the routes selected we made sure that the SNCC colours were visible in most parts of the county today and we will need our own floor at Nero's soon with so many coming back for a coffee and general banter.

Intro ride 3

Group 1
 
Nine departed from the square which included Ian Turner taking a break from the TT bike. Joe took advantage of the calm weather to lead the group into the fens for a visit to the delightful town of Whittlesey! A straightforward start saw us through the Offords, Huntingdon and on to Ramsey before the pace increased on Herne Rd for the long straight to Whittlesey, some good turns taken by all keeping the speed in the twenties. A tactical wee stop reduced the average but with excess weight ditched, Ian showed his form and towed us into town. Exiting toward Forty Foot we crossed the drain onto Puddock Rd, which should be renamed, as a road it is not - one to bypass in future routes! A nice pacey display saw us through Warboys, St. Ives and Graveley before a sprint down the Toseland straight was interrupted by Tim hitting a pothole. With tyre fixed he blitzed his way through the field to take the St.Neots sign. An enjoyable ride in the Fens, a very rare event with 64 miles covered at an average of 19.8mph.
 

Group 2

A beautiful fresh Sunday morning awaited the 21 strong Group 2, which included a new face in the shape of the splendidly-named Andy. Andy Mc and Trevor made the early pace out towards the Gransdens, with Steve Lyons looking strong and intent on picking up as many town and village signs as he could. The group kept together until the only significant climb of the day, at Chapel Hill. For some of the group's more senior members, the effort was more than their bladders could take and a comfort break was required at the top: something the unfortunate young lady doing hill repeats may never forget.

The majority of the group continued rapidly down into Barrington, eager to disassociate themselves from public exposure, and the smaller, now significantly lighter group gave chase. Alistair and Andy Mc were caught out by the railway crossing at Shepreth, and then by Alistair's first water bottle mishap of the day. The chasing group caught the main pack just before Kneesworth, and the reformed group continued through Bassingbourn and Litlington, before turning for home at Steeple Morden. The group separated again on the climb out of Wrestlingworth, after another water bottle mishap, with the leading group taking the official route home via Gamlingay, and the chasers stealing a march on them by cutting across Gamlingay Heath, to avoid the queues at Cafe Neros. Good to see Steve Pleasance on the road today albeit .....

Somewhere in Heaven, John Lennon, Gram Parsons and Lowell George are jamming, and I bet it sounds just like Wilco..

Introductory Ride

This was the second SNCC Introductory Ride and once again thanks to Ruth for organising and planning the route. Gareth S lead off from the Market Square, with Dan and Andy H on hand to give guidance. Dan also planned to take a number of photographs on the way round to help publicise future events.

Intro Ride 2

The run out towards Great Paxton and the Offords was at a steady pace with Group 1 coming past just before Paxton Hill. As expected the group fragmented a little over the hills but with Ruth keeping an eye on everyone and support from Dan/Andy as needed we were all regrouped by the level crossing at Offord Cluny. Single file was maintained through the tight section by Buckden Marina and we had a minor mechanical by the turn into the underpass. Everyone had been made aware of this at the start as there had been some concern about trying to cross the Buckden roundabout.

Hills again broke the group up through to Little Staughton but management of pace allowed people to form back up once on the level again. Dan jumped ahead a few times to get photographs from just outside Great Staughton onwards. Also as this was an introductory ride a good pace was maintained along Bushmead Road but no push for the town sign.

Back at the coffee shop there was some discussion about the ride and it seemed that people felt the pace and distance was a good entry level, further discussion on the SNCC forum was proposed which would also help to highlight the introductory ride from the point of view of the newer members/attendees. The ride covered 22 miles altogether.

Intro ride 1