London to Cambridge, again.
Posted on Tuesday 16 June 2009 by Ken Peters
June 13th 2009.
Great a sunny Saturday and I’m off to Cambridge. This is the 3rd year I have led this ride which is usually popular and has brought out different people from the normal Sunday group.
On arrival at Finsbury Park there is a lively bunch waiting. I have to confess to being lazy and taking the train from Winchmore Hill as it is one the same line and does save me about 15 minutes. The first duty was to find any new riders but Sarah had saved me that problem and introduced me to Florencia who is Argentinian.
There was a slight delay before starting as Rory called to say that he was in transit so the group departed slightly after the advertised time. The first part of the ride was always going to be the most difficult as we went towards Crouch End before turning off and reaching Holloway Road where the right turn was safely negotiated. From there it was the tricky gyratory at Archway station then a little bit of climbing to Highgate which was good to get heart and lungs going. Soon after we picked up Charlie at East Finchley and had the full complement for the day.
Very little of note happened to break up the steady riding through North Finchley, Whetstone and Barnet before the roads became easier. After that it was a fast blast to and through Potters Bar before reaching countryside proper as we headed to the first stop at Panshanger Aerodrome where we had coffee. We did meet three familiar faces on the road as Keith, Naomi and Steve were returning from their morning ride. I knew that they would have stopped at Panshanger and when we were stopped I noticed a text from Keith about the water bottle he had forgotten but I was unable to locate it.
There were one or two enquiries about when we would get to the promised flat parts of the route but we still had a bit of rolling road to cover as we skirted Hertford and then hit the old A10 at Westmill for what I promised was the final bit of climbing before the promised flat route. It was pointed out that flat is relative and that I consider anything I can ride a fixed gear up to be relatively flat so there were not too many complaints.
Lunch was later than usual at about 13.15 at the excellent Cricketers at Clavering. Service was good and we had a very enjoyable break sat in the warm sunshine outside the pub. I still describe it as a pub but it is really a hotel/restaurant operating in premises that were once a pub.
On the road again after about an hour we quickly covered the last 30 or so kilometers into Cambridge but managed to just miss a fast train due to the inevitable ticket buying faff and also due to the fact that the group was fragmented by the time we reached the station. Mike swiftly pedaled off to catch the last bit of cricket at Fenners where the visitors were Essex and Alex and Florencia were staying overnight/doing some sightseeing before returning.
Distance for the day was 105Km according to my route planning software. I can’t confirm that as the very cheap cycle computer I had mounted was extremely reluctant to work continuously so had only recorded about 50% of the distance travelled. A very pleasant day in all, due to the excellent weather and fine company on the road, but that is my opinion.
Riders
Derek Adlam, Florencia Curto, Paul Foster, Charlie Keep, Sarah Khedouri, Alex McKinnell, Mike Oliver, Rory Rhodes, Kate Sandall, Rob Saunders and leader Ken Peters