Geoff’s Winter Warmer
Posted on Friday 12 December 2008 by Ken Peters
I knew that it was likely to be a big ride after two wet weekends and so it turned out. The prospect of dry weather and the leadership of Geoff Thomas were too much to resist for most of the usual suspects who come out on 3-star rides.
Before getting into the ride let me go back to my morning routine. Alarm was set for 07:00 and duly went off but having reluctantly got out of bed by 07:15 had decided that a chill morning and some tough Chiltern Hills, on fixed gear, was going to be too much so a lie-in and the easy option of a 09:30 start from Enfield Town, which is 10 minutes ride from my north London home, with the local club Southgate CC on their Xmas ride was the decision. By 07:20 there was a mind change and was up and dashing around but the indecision meant being too late to catch a train into town so had to settle for a ride through empty, early morning, streets to the meeting point at Baker Street. After my waking faff I was surprised to be the first at the station but I was soon joined by Erin, a South African guy who had been on the 2-star ride in Kent a week earlier but decided that a brisker pace on a 3-star ride would suit him better. Eventually there were 10 on the train from Baker Street and more joining at Finchley Road so by the time we met Simon Miller at Amersham station we were 16 strong a commendable turnout for a ride on a cold and crisp day so close to Christmas.
On the road things went smoothly after negotiating a minor traffic jam and a high complement of daft drivers at some road works in Amersham. We were quickly through Great Missenden and onto the road through the valley which would lead us to the crossing of the hills at Askett. There was a brief stop to regroup at the top of Longdown Hill and also to send a few volunteers off to check a potentially nasty descent, through Cadsden, onto the Oxfordshire plain. The descent was not too bad despite the cold and frosty roads but everyone took things pretty gently.
Familiar roads afterwards took us through Ford and along quiet and flat lanes towards our lunch venue at Waterperry. t was not exactly disaster that struck before passing through Long Crendon but we seemed to have managed to lose a few people for a short time just before so another stop had to be made.
Disaster then did strike as on the way out of Long Crendon the slippery conditions caused Geraldine to fall and from then on lots did happen. Soon afterwards Keith fell foul of the puncture fairy although it may have been assisted by the hedge cutting that was going on in several places. Further along the road I also had a puncture so the upshot was that the final group did not arrive at Waterperry until 12:30.
Lunch was good even though I only had soup and bread but it was filling and warming therefore it hot the spot on a cold day. There were even a number of purchases of fruit cake so maybe we are becoming a bit more like the 2-star group and all we need for the transformation to be complete is a few more people to have racks and panniers as well as utilizing more tracks and off-road sections.
Now, even more disaster as just before we were about to leave I realized my rear tyre was flat again and with the assistance of Paul took out several sharp objects which to my eye had not penetrated the tyre but it was better to have them out rather than in. Despite several attempts I failed to locate this puncture and eventually settled on using another new tube which to my dismay did not appear to fully inflate or hold pressure so I was mentally prepared for a short afternoon and bailing out at the first opportunity, which was likely to be at Thame. Fortunately for me my blushes were spared, for having delayed the ride yet again, as no sooner than I had declared myself ready to ride that simultaneously Inez and Geraldine discovered they had punctured also so something alarming had happened during the lunch stop.
Eventually we got underway again and surprisingly nothing happened for a long time. At Thame, Geoff prompted me to check whether I still wanted to bail out early but I had decided as the tube was holding up to carry on. From Thame we took to The Phoenix Trail and went to Princes Risborough where the ride split. About half decided to head for the station and finish riding in the light while the rest of us pressed on towards Amersham.
On the remainder of us went via Bledlow, Loosley Row, Lacey Green, Speen and Great Hampden, where we joined the route we had taken out in the morning, After that it was Great Missenden and back to Amersham. Several more took the opportunity to bale out at Great Missenden, to avoid the gathering gloom, so only four made it back to Amersham. The leader reported that the distance covered was 103Km so it had been a long day for an early December ride.
The last part of the ride was not without its share of problems as Erin, unfortunately, punctured part way up the steepest climb of the day at Darvilishill, near Speen. I looked at an old map to see that it used to be spelt Devilish Hill and can concur that the old spelling is correct.
Many thanks to Geoff for leading us on a splendid day and in providing a suitably challenging route that for me was perfect as once I was warmed up the chill of the day was not evident in my extremities apart from times when I was unfortunate enough to have the bike upside down mending those pesky punctures. New tyres for me as the wheel has definitely gone down again and I don’t wish to hold up next Sunday’s ride with a repeat puncture fest. Finally I hope that Geraldine has managed to have recovered from her fall and as most of us know the bruising should be only temporary.
Riders: Geraldine, Inez, Charlie, Erin, John S, Jon M, Keith, Ken, Martin, Nick B, Nick D, Paul, Roger C, Simon, Stephen and, of course, our leader Geoff Thomas.