A group 30 October: Addlestone - Sunningdale - Shepperton

It was one of those gorgeous Autumn mornings. Not the mild, misty-moisty mellow fruitfulness kind, but the crisp, clear, cool kind, with a nip in the crystal clear air, hinting of colder days to come and perfect for cycling. A good crowd at Addlestone but people were still queueing for coffee at 11am so 19 riders, including new joiner Ben (welcome Ben!) set off a bit late, heading west towards St Peter's Hospital, and onto Stonehill Road. There was no sign of wind in the trees, but it was definitely against us as we pedalled towards Chobham.

When I recce'd the route last week there was definitely more autumn colour in the trees - now it seemed to be mainly on the ground, so perhaps the remaining leaves were shocked into stillness by the recent storm. But I digress, as in fact we were. A long loop south-westwards added a few miles as we headed through Chobham and Pennypot, through West End and Donkey Town. Turning North on a mile or so of off-road which started with mud and a wide ditch across the road, before improving to a sandy-stony heathland track next to the MOD grenade and mortar firing range. No casualties thankfully, to riders or tyres, so we continued North, sidestepping Lightwater and Windlesham en route to South Ascot, with an unexpected little hill before lunch at the Royal Oak in Sunningdale. (Our usual haunt, the Nag's Head just round the corner, is 'temporarily closed'). A good selection of food and beer was offered but it took a while to take all our orders and to serve the food, so we were about an hour and a half at the pub.

Ray and Vic (plus later Mark) decided to make their own way home and a smaller group did a circuit of Windsor Great Park, where we were stopped by one of the park wardens and asked to cycle in groups of no more than 6 - as larger groups can be intimidating to walkers. Seems fair enough. We reassembled at the exit gate to descend Tite Hill into Egham, through Staines and onto Shepperton Bakery for tea, a bit later than planned, so my apologies to those who had to use lights to get home. Thanks and apologies are due to Mike Barrett as back marker, who we lost at traffic lights on almost the final turn in Staines.