A Group—17th May

Here's a quick note of the A ride for the time being........

Nine of us from the A Group—Vic, Pete B, John B, John S, Nigel, Toni, Mike M, Julian and leader Ed—left Addlestone at a sprightly pace for Windsor and Eton. On the cycle track alongside Woburn Hill Mike M ran over a discarded mobile phone, which amazingly survived his monster tyres. From there until lunch he dealt with a series of business propositions of varying propriety as we made our way over Chertsey Bridge, along the towpath past Chertsey Lock (where Vic spotted a pair of Egyptian geese), Laleham and Penton Hook Lock, through Staines (where Ed told us a cautionary tale about winning the pools) over Runnymede to the A308, Burfield Road, Datchet, Windsor and across the river to the Waterman's Arms at Eton. Here the beer and food were good and the meal was enlivened by the mobile's owner arriving to reclaim it.

As we started off homewards through Eton, the rain set in as promised. On the way to Staines we enjoyed an extra stretch of (high quality) traffic-free route, courtesy of Thames Water and an enormous reservoir project which has closed part of the B376 near Sunnymeads until February 2007. At Staines Ed stopped for tea and most of the rest of us made for home, either by towpath or Laleham Road. Thanks to Ed for an enjoyable, scenic ride—rather more built-up than when Ed first rode it in the early fifties.

Julian