It was the first day of September and, sad to say, there was a hint of autumn in the air. Not that that deterred anyone, because well over 40 riders were in the Market Square for the club run. A few arm warmers and gilets, and even the odd pair of longs were in evidence, but the morning warmed up nicely.
We organised ourselves into four groups - the short ride led by Andy Holt and Colin Mullins (welcome to Rebecca and her Mum), two medium distance groups and a long distance group. The ride set off up the Crosshall Road and continued through Hail Weston to Stonely. Now, with this being a relatively busy road we had two problems. First the groups set off too close together in time so that overtaking cars were faced with quite small gaps between one group and the next. Second, at least one of the middle distance groups was too big, with about 18 riders, which presented a difficult overtake for drivers. All the motorists were patient and there was no aggro, but we shouldn't cause frustration unnecessarily. The big middle distance group should have been split in two - in fact that is what happened when we got to Barham. So for the future the plan should be no groups bigger than ten riders and decent (minimum two minute) gaps between groups setting off.
Faster middle distance group
We started off with about eighteen riders in this group and everything was tranquilo until we got to Stoneley and turned up the road to Stow Longa where the first splits started to appear. The Barham climbs caused further splits and we decided to split the group deliberately, so about 12 riders set off followed by a group of six. We continued through Hamerton where we crossed the B660 and headed up to Thurning. At Barnwell, a few of us missed the turning just before the stone bridge and headed up the hill - had we continued we'd have have ended up in the same place, but we re-traced our steps and found the others waiting for us. Just beyond Barnwell we saw the six riders who had split off going the other way - what the...? They had turned right at the B660 and were doing the northern loop in reverse.
We continued back through Polebrook to the B660 where the lumps through and beyond Winwick stretched a few legs, especially with Bomber, Cambourne Mark, Wayne and a couple of other strong riders on the front. Heading back through Catworth and down Bustard Hill, the discussion was whether to go straight on at Kimbolton or turn towards Pertenhall. The Pertenhall route won out, and I suppose the rest of the ride was a familiar grind up Spring Hill and the Bushmead sprint. I can't say for sure as I elected to go straight home from Kimbolton. About 57 miles at just under 19mph for me and about the same for those who went back to St Neots I suppose.
There is a discussion on the forum about whether we continue to use Nero's every week for the coffee after the club run or mix it up a bit, and use some other cafes about town. Log in and have your say.
