Wednesday 22nd January ride report

A warm welcome from The Ferry at Shepperton Lock enabled us all the set off feeling warm and re-fuelled. Great to see Tim and Pat on their bikes, and Paul and Maggie who had cycled from Banstead and were ready for another 20 miles before lunch. Not to mention Pam on her new bike. Julie's Pippins set off first. The Coxes orange pippins set off towards Windsor- passing all the reservoirs around Heathrow. Steph had planned wonderful views of Windsor Castle en route. We stopped for lunch at the friendly Crown pub in Harmondsworth, while Bernard and Sabina set off to St Marys Churchyard to find the tomb of Richard Cox. In 1830 Mr Cox developed the Coxes orange pippin apple - our namesake. The Heathrow area was mostly orchards before the airport was built in 1945. Sabina won said apple as her prize. Tea at the Pheasantry was very welcome to warm us all up on a very cold day. Thanks to my little apples for their jolly company- Sabina, Bernard, Davey, Mick, Geoff - and to Tim for backmarking.

The second group, named Black Eagles after the famous brewery in Bermondsey where Richard Cox toiled away brewing the dark porter ales, til retirement took him back to Colnebrook and gardening. We wheeled along merrily til a very bunged up front mudguard stopped the leader just as we reached the newish bit of Thames path near Runnymede. Various tools were used to poke out a decent amount of compacted mud,two of the party taking advantage of toilet facilities in a nearby establishment. We continued on briskly stopping for photos in front of Windsor castle gates. This proved not a simple task as the willing photographer (a passing member of the public) had to wait everytime a van emerged as the bollards we were resting on submerged beneath the pavement,to slide up again once the van was out. This was repeated a couple of times to the amusement of the armed police officers but eventually we set off again with a photo that didn't have a large white van in it. Swiftly through Datchet,Horton and Colnbrook (where the importance of the London to Bath coach and horses trade hits home with large numbers of old dwellings with large coach entrances onto the street. Not to speak of the horrors of the Ostrich Inn, now a very fine dining establishment. We then had a brief separation of the ways at the final junction as Ray abandoned the rear and made a solo dash for the pub (arriving before us) having the Nor'westers secret knowledge of the hidden ways of Harmondsworth. The Five Bells was a different pub from our Saturday reccy with the big stove lit and tables laid, the food was hot and did the job. Soon we left to head in a straight line to a right turn for the pleasures of the Mogden sewage works and onwards to tea. We left Ray, Pam and Gill pondering their return route and absorbing a bit more heat from the wonderful stove.