"Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters"

Wind was the element of the day on Sunday.  Viewed through a window, it looked the perfect day for cycling, but there were moments in the saddle that made it feel like the perfect day for looking through a window.

The blue skies and a promise of double-digit temperatures were enough to tempt 8 members to the Market Square for the Group 1 ride, and 19 riders for Group 2, and also made for some interesting kit dilemmas: the optimists were dressed for summer, the pessimists were dressed for winter and the realists were dressed for some combination of both.

Group 1

We had an interestingly lumpy route planned which was basically a big loop clockwise, centred on Bedford, starting from St Neots south through Blunham and Northill. Not only did this take us to some interesting places that were new to some of us, such as Houghton Conquest, Millbrook, Marston Moretaine (testing climb) and Newton Blossomville, but it meant that we had a lot more head wind and cross wind than tail wind, and more than if we'd done a more conventional out and back route. In truth, only the section from Ampthill to Turvey offered a really strong tail wind.

The only mishaps were that Geoff left us early owing to a loose crank, and we had, as is usual with Group 1, a couple of testing moments with navigation.  It was my first Group 1 ride of the year, so thanks to the stronger riders who dragged me round and waited for me a couple of times, but everyone was a little worn out at the end by the wind and the lumps. Stuart, Tim and little Richard contested the Bushmead sprint, which Stuart won, while Richard O headed home from the crossroads and the other three of us toured back more sedately to the Market Square. We did about 62 miles at around 18.5 mph - not bad given the conditions.

Group 2

We made our way up through Eynesbury, along the battle-scarred tarmac of Berkley Street, before turning south-east on Potton Road.  Our first real taste of the strong winds enforced a gentle pace, despite hard work being done at the front of the group, which started to splinter as we made our way along Drewels Lane.  The pace dropped a little further, allowing people to bridge before we took the back road to Waresley and the short, sharp climb on Manor Farm Road opened up gaps again, before the group came back together along the Gamlingay Road.  We were heading south again, into the wind, toward Potton, which kept the pace slow as we kept the group together, although the climb toward Cockayne Hatley resulted in another split.  The descent into Wrestlingworth, along the buttery smooth surface and sweeping corners of the High Street, allowed us to regroup before we climbed upwards again at Water End.  Reaching the crossroads at the top, the rider now at the head of the group went straight over toward Guilden Morden, with a number of riders following him.  Unfortunately, that rider wasn't with us: "He looked like he knew where he was going", someone protested.  He probably did, but it wasn't where we were going.

Heading south-east through Dunton we were lucky enough to meet a very important car driver, whose presence was required urgently elsewhere, no doubt on matters of vital national importance. Why else would they sound their horn at us as they buzzed closely by?  Being responsible citizens of the road, we singled up and turned south through Millow, straight into the punishing wind, and the riders at the front of the group were now working extremely hard to maintain pace.  There was to be a sting in the tail, however, before we started to turn for home.  The climb up and over the A1 at Edworth was the most difficult section of the day, and the higher we climbed the harder it got.  The group seemed to splinter further with each turn of the pedal and so we stopped briefly just after the climb to allow a regrouping, before heading downwards again into Langford.  The descent provided little respite though, and a number of riders could be seen battling a vicious crosswind that threatened to push them into the centre of the road at times.  We turned south again after leaving Langford, but after the Edworth section, the headwind didn't seem quite so bad now.

By now, the group was struggling to keep together, and the imminent turn for home offered a chance to split into two groups, and we agreed that we'd separate at Henlow.  The faster group moved off the front on the climb up through Clifton and we started to enjoy the feeling of the wind at our backs as we made our way up through Southill, Old Warden, Ickwell and Northill.  As we approached Moggerhanger, Steve R peeled off the group and took a more direct route home due to a mechanical problem, leaving six of us to cross the Barford Bridge and head north through Wilden to join Bushmead Road and the sprint for home.

It transpired that the second group split further had a somewhat more eventful journey home.  Tony had the first puncture of the day shortly after the split, but once mended the group set a cracking pace through Old Warden and on to Ickwell and Northill.  However, just before Moggerhanger, Jake's tyre let go a massive hiss for the second puncture of the day and, while this was being repaired, Tony's bike decided enough was enough and punctured again, while leaning against a post with nobody near it.  After much hilarity directed at Tony's mechanical prowess, the group set about repairing the third puncture of the day, noticing a huge split in the tyre wall that proved to be the cause.  However, the valve in the newly-installed tube then proceeded to shear off during some heavy-handed pump action (I say, Matron! Steady on!), leaving Tony considering whether to phone the 4th emergency service (his wife).  Chris came to the rescue with his sparkling new CO2 inflator and with the tyre successfully inflated, but spare tubes running low, a shorter route home was decided upon.  The group took the Tempsford Route through Little Barford and crossed the A428 into St Neots and home, though not before they tried to catch Jake's horses up to no good in Blunham (don't ask me, I wasn't there!).

A beautiful late-morning awaited our return to the Market Square and we sat outide Caffe Nero, enjoying the spring sun.  In total, the faster group did around 50 miles, with the second group taking a slightly shorter route home.