Another warm Sunday (although not as warm as expected) and some 35 riders turned up to the Market Square for the club run. The club continues to grow and it's good to see new faces as well as people who have been out with us before but have joined the club recently.

 So welcome to Jodie, Sandra and Jon, and apologies to anyone else who I've missed. This week we had a long route group, two groups riding the medium length route and the short route group.

 Medium group No 2

This group included Wayne, fresh from another good result at Rockingham, Steve R, Alec, and the two women, one of whom was riding a road bike for the first time and who had competed in a 7 hour adventure race the previous day. The route took us north through the Offords, through Godmanchester and Huntingdon. Somewhere beyond Abbots Ripton, we were cut up by a driver who seemed to object to cyclists on principle, and although Wayne and Alec gave chase, he didn't stop to explain himself.  The group started splitting as we turned south and eventually split altogether on the ascent to Catworth. We decided at the top to ride home as two or three smaller groups at different paces which accomodated all the riders. Just over 40 miles at a steady pace.

Short Distance Group

There were just five riders opting for the short course led by Andy Holt. These were David, Ian and Hastan (H) - (apologies for mis-spelling your name in last weeks report).  We were also joined by Geoff Smith's wife Maureen (also known as Geoff's personal moderator - Ed) and it was really an honour to have her join us, particularly as she and Geoff have played such a part in the Club's recent history. 

It was a little overcast and cool as we took to the road north up to Great Paxton, and not the intense heat we were all expecting.  We were quickly passed by the Long Route riders before settling into the long grind up over the East Coast Main Line.  Our route then took us through the Offords and Godmanchester to Huntingdon.  The road under the A14 Viaduct was closed for construction work so we had to dismount and briefly take to the footpath before resuming our progress. Circling Brampton we then joined the narrow lane up to Grafham, known locally as the "wobbly-wobbly".  From Grafham it was on to Perry and Great Staughton and the testing climb up Spring Hill in Little Staughton before returning to St Neots via Bushmead.  We completed 29 miles at a very relaxed 12.5 mph average.  I am sure David and H will soon be seeking more challenging rides whilst Ian made significant progress over his initial run only the week previous.