B Group Jan 26th

At the Greeno Centre this morning, there was a cast of thousands - well, a total of 27 - wishing to take part in the B Group ride. Concerned at the large number, I checked with the pub and they felt they could manage, Terry kindly offered to be a mid-group leader to ensure there was a reasonable gap to enable traffic to pass and then three people (equally kindly) switched to A Group. We were down to 24 and that felt much better, though on arrival at the pub I found we'd somehow gained an extra two riders and another unknown (Geoffrey ) had fallen off the back somewhere despite Pete M's shepherding skills! After all this palaver, it was good to set off at last - the tail end of the A Group could just be seen disappearing ahead of us as we too headed towards Shepperton Church Square on our way to Chertsey Bridge. From here we followed a series of paths and smaller roads through Chertsey to St Ann's Hill, over the M25 to Lyne and then Thorpe Green. After this, it was a straight run through the village of Virginia Water to the Lake. It was a pity it wasn't a nicer day, but it was still a pleasant ride beside the lake to Blacknest Gate and round via Heartbreak Hill to the Polo Grounds in Windsor Great Park. Turning off at the top of the hill, we cycled past the Guards Polo Club and on towards Savill Gardens where we came out through the car park on to Wick Lane and shortly afterwards arrived at the Sun pub. We were given a warm welcome, with a cheery fire in the fireplace. With only two to take our orders, the ladies did their best but it was a lengthy process and I thank those who had to wait the longest for their meals for their good-natured patience. Particular thanks go to the five who had generously suggested we leave without them - luckily they were relatively 'local'. The return route was as speedy as I could make it - to Englefield Green, down Tite Hill to Egham, across the M25, to Thorpe, across to the A 320 cycle path, over the M3 into Chertsey and back over the bridge to Shepperton by which time it was drizzling quite hard. Somewhere on the return, we had lost John G. (who'd punctured & got a train from Egham), Jed and Terry. Imagine our surprise when four of us turned up to have tea at the bakery in Shepperton to find Terry and Jed already ensconced!! Thanks to everyone and especially to Terry and John G. for their assistance throughout the ride. Gill.