While those members brave enough to take on the 100 mile club run would have been getting limbered up and loading up on carbs for the long day in the saddle ahead I was loading up the bike and setting off for the Evans cycles Hatfield sportive.  Of course had I known the club would be doing its 100 miler on this day my club loyalty would have taken precedence and I would have been driving down to the Market Square instead but while trawling the net for possible local sportives I could do later in the year and dreaming of the balmy weather that would surely be here come mid-May, this one caught my eye and was subsequently booked back in early January.

I arrived after just an hour at the still relatively quiet school in Brookmans Park which was serving as the event centre for the day. As I was arriving almost on the dot of the 8am opening time, I was among the first of the 550 riders expected to attend on the day, and easily found a spot in the car park. The registration process was quickly dispatched in the school hall without too much of a queue and at this point electronic timing chips were stuck on helmets (which all seems a bit pointless to me if you are going to spend time hanging around at feed stations) and we were given not one but two boxes of assorted high five goodies.  There were surprisingly no numbers given out to affix to bikes and no photos would be taken of riders on the day. This did not bother me as it would be highly unlikely I would be buying any unless I happened to be doing something very out of character when the photographer clicked his shutter - like passing another rider going up a hill.

Hatfield 1

So at 8:30 am I was lined up with the first batch of riders proudly sporting my new hot of the press SNCC jersey and very soon we were heading out through the leafy lanes lined with palatial looking properties, some of which are said to be the residences of premier league footballers with the north London clubs – and by the look of them a premier league salary would be needed to buy one.

It was not long before we were passing along narrow yet well surfaced roads through sun dappled woods carpeted with bluebells and alive with birdsong and out into the beautiful Hertfordshire lanes. The main thing on my mind at this stage was to try and find a group of suitably paced riders to join or at least attempt to hang on to and not many miles in, I managed this and we in this group of six or seven kept together up until the first feed station at around 30 miles in.
 
Having paid the princely sum of £15.00 to partake in this event while other organisations are charging double and sometimes more for theirs, I was expecting there to be a catch and thought it may be at the feed stations but as we pulled in to the primary school playing host on the day, we were met by friendly staff manning tables well stocked with all the necessary food, drinks and gels. This first feed station was near the split for the shorter 60 mile route and the extra 30 mile loop was designed in such a way that riders like me doing the 90 miles would come back here again later in the day.

Hatfield 2

Unfortunately it seemed most of the group I had been able to infiltrate were doing the shorter route so they headed off in a different direction at this point and as we were still very near the front of the field for the ride it was now difficult to find many other riders around, let alone any going at a pace I wanted to ride at.  I did spend some time trying to hang on to a couple of guys who seemed to be looking for a good finishing time but with the best part of 60 miles still to go it seemed that it might be unwise of me to try and stick with them so I eased off a touch and let them disappear off into the distance.  
    
The route now was heading out into the rolling chalk hills and more open arable landscapes towards Buntingford.  For long stretches of the ride now I found myself completely alone without another cyclist to be seen and I began to realise that it would have been sensible of me to bring the two different scale maps we had been given at the start which I could not make head nor tail of so had left in the car, while at the same time cursing the fact that despite having GPS on the bike I hadn’t bothered to download the route.
    
It was also around this point that I realised despite bringing everything I thought I could possibly need including all the necessary tools and three spare tubes just in case of multiple punctures I had forgotten to bring my pump.  Well what could I do now but put my faith in the Gods above (and Continental).  Well there were a few hundred people behind me – surely someone would be kind enough to lend me a pump?
    
Anyway luck was on my side and I arrived without incident back at the feed station with about 60 miles on the clock to find it still well stocked and still very sparsely populated and where a rider who had been one of the group I had been in earlier was just about ready to set off but he duly waited while I refilled my water bottles and bolted down a piece of cake and an energy gel before we headed off together having decided not to stop at the remaining feed station on the way back to the finishing point.
    
Alan kindly allowed me to cling on to his wheel for most of the remaining 30 miles with me taking the lead on a couple of fairly brief stretches.  At this point we were catching and passing a fair number of slower riders who were on the shorter route which while disheartening if you are one of those being passed (as I know only to well) does spur you on if you are the one doing the passing but anyway it is all relative and as we all know sometimes you are the passer and sometimes you are the passee.
    
Arrival back at HQ was around 2:00 pm with just shy of 90 miles covered at an average speed of just over 17 mph.  After a very welcome cup of coffee and a few minutes sit down on something that did not feel like a brick I was ready for home and with perfect timing as I walked back to the car the raindrops started to fall – result!
    
So all in all an excellent day on a superbly planned and signed route mostly of very quiet and scenic roads and to yours truly who only ever rides around the Cambs flatlands it was surprisingly hilly too.  All credit to Evans Cycles for putting these events on at the bargain price of £15.00 and I can highly recommend this one if they hold it again next year – but book early as it did sell out and hopefully the club will not plan its epic 100 mile club run on the same day!