Central London CTC blog

For those who didn’t get to Ghent for the track, it was meant to be Danbury. But we didn’t get to Danbury. Your correspondent had punctured on the way to the station, and broken two sets of levers attempting to remove an elderly Ricorso (cheap and tough, but make Gatorskins seem buttery). The wire was so tough it even bent my little adjustable spanner. There were eight on the train to meet Kelvin at Upminster, , plus another at the station. A distinct chill had layered us all up, but a brisk pace kept us warm into the lanes. Unfortunately my hasty patch soon failed, and it was time to break some more levers, further scratch my rim with a steel survival tool used as last resort, lose precious time. We pressed on, but another puncture in Bob’s knobblies just out of Billericay meant we would not reach our lunch stop in good time. A hasty unfolding of maps, a conference of Essex experts, and Kelvin re-routed to Hanningfield. Into the wind, of course up a steady drag, but just past twelve we crested opposite the pub. As we locked, we were chased off the patio by the landlady, but once inside there was indeed warmth and welcome. Good decent food without frill, Angela eagerly tucking into the Spotted Dick.

None of us fancied riding the lanes in the dark, so various options were again discussed. Till we realised that heading back to Upminster as planned was both straightforward and sensible. Again, no hanging around, a distinct breeze keeping us working. But in a way it almost seemed a pity to be back at the station, our day defined by the short daylight hours. Thanks to Kelvin for some excellent re-routing - we’ll be back for some more opf Essex very soon.