Wednesday’s ride was the first for two years from Walton DC. They greeted us with a well-balanced mixture of charm and safety measures, not to mention the chance to warm up after a chilly ride from home. My temperature on entry was recorded as minus 2° which meant that I was free of covid fever even if I could hardly speak through frozen lips.
Simon’s group was the first off, so here’s his report:
On a freezing day, we had a warm welcome in Walton Day Centre, and it was lovely to be able to say hello to some of our long-lost B group friends. We were treated to tea and cake by our chairman, ride leader, and birthday boy Dave Vine. But too soon, we were cast out into the cold to start our ride. Dave's ride strung together a shedload of parks, so many in fact that my Garmin categorized it as a Cyclocross ride! This despite the fact that the gnarliest part of the ride was a few tree roots.
We left Walton via Shepperton and the curly bridge to Nutty Lane, before hitting the off-road in Hanworth Air Parks and Leitrim Park, where we detoured to see the cultural highlight, the amazing graffiti on the (thankfully disused) sewage ponds.
Crane Park led us to a quiet route through Twickenham, gorgeous views of the river in Isleworth on the way to Syon Park, where we befriended a stray rider who looked lost. Nice chap, called Ged; he joined us for the rest of the ride.
Then it was on to Kew where we were relieved to see the National Archives, and paid a short visit. Gina used to work there, so luckily we were not subject to the 30-year rule.
We were allowed to leave to brave the worst bit of the ride, 100 yards of snarling stationary traffic in Kew Retail Park, all the drivers at their pre-Christmas maximum stress levels. By contrast, we were completely relaxed after such a lovely ride, and headed straight for more therapy in Richmond Park before the short ride to a long lunch. Thank you to David (W) for looking after our back end.
My group left next:
We enjoyed the same scenic delights Simon has described. We stopped to admire the street art at the Sistine Chapel of settling ponds for a group photo (thanks NeilW) but not for long; once stationary the cold was insidious and we still had a long way to go.
In Isleworth after a brief scenic pause at Lion Wharf we passed the home of Eileen Sheridan now aged 98 but famous as one of our most successful time triallists, and unbeaten holder of the London Edinburgh record (20h 11m 35s). More details here and here. Or for an excruciatingly embarrassing contemporary newsreel see here.
Neil’s group passed us in Brentford, but not so fast that I couldn’t keep them in sight. This was helpful as I had forgotten to load the route into my Garmin and I wasn’t sure I could remember the intricate Kew to Mortlake leg. Thanks Neil.
Janice left us in Richmond Park, prudently seeking the warmth of home.
Shortly after we met up with Simon’s group, and our three groups together totalling 15 riders crossed to Ham Gate in something approaching the old style.
And now Neil’s account of his “chase group”
I arrived at Walton a little later than planned so just waited outside and watched the entertainment of the (non-)sliding entrance doors. Finally all those outside waiting to get in managed to attract the attention of those inside and entered, and all those cyclists inside managed to get out.
So just a few minutes late we set off on Dave's intricately crafted route. There were plenty of calls of "I've no idea where we are" followed shortly after by "I recognise this junction but I've never arrived from this direction". There were many quiet side streets, but the courier vans seemed to be having a competition to see who could stop in the most inconvenient location. There were some world class entries but they were trumped by the van reversing down a narrow road oblivious to the approaching cyclists.
After an interesting loop around the tranquil surroundings of The National Archives we entered the Kew Retail Park. Here the car drivers were having their own competition to see who could inconvenience the cyclists the most. First prize went to a big black BMW 4X4.
Then it was back to quiet riverside paths and Richmond Park before arriving at lunch in The Swan.
Thanks Dave for a great ride and Happy Christmas to all.
To sum up. We arrived at Ye Olde Swan in Thames Ditton together, and of the meal even Patrick expressed himself “impressed with the sandwich sizes” so hopefully all appetites were satisfied. By my reckoning we spent 2 hours 20 minutes riding and 2 hours over lunch, so I think the balance was about right.
Many thanks to Simon and Neil for so-ably co-leading, and to Simon for briefing me on the not-to-be missed sights en route. And thanks everyone for coming out on a chilly day.
A merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
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