Wednesday, February 10, 2016

A Ride – Wednesday 10 Feb



Cold and damp for the start of today’s ride, so I was pleasantly surprised to see 18 Wayfarers, including a couple of escapees from the ranks of the B’s, willing to ride across west London to Harrow Hill. To reduce the impact of too many boring suburban streets I had planned to take in as many green spaces as I could, as well as a few interesting former villages which had retained some of their character, such as Isleworth and Brentford.
This required some intricate navigation, thanks to Garmin to reduce the mental strain of having to remember it all. Thanks also to the very willing corner markers who helped to keep the ride moving and reduce the need for regrouping.
We crossed the A40 at Perivale with its pretty wooden church and scaled Horsendon Hill before crossing Northwick Park. The sting in the tail of this generally flattish ride was the climb up the north face of Harrow Hill, rarely attempted by anyone of sound mind. Mark rated it steeper than the Bec hill climb. Most rode, some walked the last bit of uneven tarmac, but all made to to the top, where we were assured on a clear day you could see as far as Whitchurch in Hants, around 60 miles away, and the tops of office buildings in Basingstoke. More scholarly Wayfarers noted that Lord Byron had expounded poetically on the view from here, though he omitted to mention Basingstoke.
Lunch at the White Horse, rated by CAMRA, where we were made welcome with a table near the open fire. A few commented on the small portions, unsuitable given the exertions of the morning, though nobody complained about the prices.
Refreshed, we descended to Greenford and took the canal path to Southall, cutting across the railway line along Glade Lane to Norwood Green and Osterley Park. Tea was at The Pheasantry in Bushey Park, though by then some of the Twickenham/Richmond based Wayfarers had elected to go directly home.
Many thanks to Mike, a willing volunteer for back marking throughout. As leader the sight of his fluorescent orange jacket behind reassured me that all was well with the peloton. Thanks also to Mark for the stats.

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