Ken’s not-all-that-big-birthday ride
Posted on Monday 2 July 2007 by John Snuggs
I was unexpectedly excused grandfather duty on Saturday and went to meet the hordes I was led to believe would be on Ken’s ride.
It started raining at the station. The horde consisted of Inez “The Dormouse” Thorn, formerly notorious for diving back under the duvet (and the cat) if it’s raining at 8am on a ride day, and Ken himself.
By the time we’d reached Flitwick the rain had stopped and a warm sun was beating down and lighting up the wide fields of sunflowers and fragrant lavender rows of Bedfordshire.
We swept off at a good pace on a loop to the east which ended up at Old Warden, where Ken had thoughtfully booked us a table at the Hare and Hounds, a pub that has degenerated into a quite good restaurant (and is in the Michelin Guide). After retreating from the merciless mid-day sun into the smoking gazebo to cool off for a while (and exchange suggestions for names for pretentious parents’ kids - little Verruca and Gazebo? young Rorqual and Cachelot?) - we had a pretty fine lunch (although I wish I’d had the half a local pig Ken ordered).
I was rather left wondering what the good burghers of Old Warden do for a pub these days.
More superb, almost Mediterranean weather as we continued on a loop north around Bedford via Harrold-Odell country park and back into Bunyan’s birthplace. Along the way there were some superb Fast Bits where we could keep up a good 35-40kph. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!.
I ended up doing 110km altogether at a remarkable (for Central London CTC) 24kph. Nice.
So where was everybody?
PS I lied about the weather. And the sunflowers. And the lavender.