Being a perfect summer’s morning I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that twelve people had turned up for the Tempo/Fast ride. This included a new prospective member who had bumped into the Saturday Spin riders yesterday and was persuaded to come along!
At the Down Hatherley/A38 junction we picked up number thirteen, and we continued with this unlucky number for several miles before the new recruit started to drop off the back – we were flying along so chapeau for doing so well on a first group ride. The Ex President kindly offered to lead the two of them on an easier ride, but still managed a genuine tempo ride pace.
That left a not so unlucky eleven to have a great time pushing on through Pendock, Clencher’s Mill, and Eastnor before climbing up to Wellington Heath. From there we zipped through Bosbury with the lure of cake keeping the pace high.
We arrived at The Hop Pocket a few minutes after the Steady ride, and with a group of motor bikers also turning up there was a huge queue at the counter. Eight of the group opted to move on to the The Nest instead, but to compensate we picked up one rider from the Steady group plus a Tempo rider who had been late for the start after an enforced last minute bike change. It was definitely one of those days when I was never entirely sure how many people I was leading.
So it was five of us to enjoy the return route through Much Markle and Newent, with warm sunshine and a modest tailwind, before joining the queue of traffic for the Over roundabout.
Splendid fun, 62.5 miles, 3,346 ft, 16.4 mph.
SP