Saturday 26 July 2025 - fed by farmers

Considering how dark the grey skies were, we did well to just have a a few drops only of rain.  The six Further Faster riders set off first:

We went north via Valley Road and Harpenden Road to Ayres End Lane where we encountered some hedge trimming in action.

Up Pipers Lane and a quick flick along the Wheathampstead Road before we plummeted down Leasey Bridge Lane, across the eponymous Lea then over Marshalls Heath and up to The Slype. Eastward now to Ayot St Lawrence via Bibbs Hall Lane. 

We admired the old church as we cycled right through ASL and down Hill Farm Lane, then  along Codicote Road to Wheathamstead, admiring the neatly trimmed hedges and checking the map.

In Wheathampstead we met with temporary traffic lights.... and only some of the group got through in one turn of the lights.  The two groups did not quite manage to coalesce thereafter, glimpsing each other but not re-connecting, and so they arrived separately having both followed a broadly similar route via Dyke Lane and Nomansland.

The longish outward ride meant that the slower group had already had their coffee and sausage rolls / scones and we just had a brief chat before they left.  Arriving late in the morning meant that the café was quiet!

We returned along the Nomansland bridleway to Sandridge, then split, with some going up Sandridgebury Lane, and others House Lane and Jersey Lane. It was a longer ride than usual - about twenty miles - but the weather was not too hot, and there was no wind or rain to speak of!

So how did the Fabulous ride go:

If the Fabulous ride leader had done a more thorough bike check before we set off it would have been obvious why one of the Fabulous trio was behind schedule at the start.  Tip for forgetful leaders: if one of your riders is going slower than you expect, are the tyres soft?  The answer was yes, and the issue was soon remedied, Rona's first proper use of her new pump and a resounding success in restoring pace and comfort.  We went gliding easily down Jersey Lane after that.

Sandridge was delightfully motor-free as we passed through, care was needed on the Nomansland track though, the prolonged dry weather means extensive loose fine gravel.  Some generous horse droppings in the middle of the twisty section gave extra challenge to bike control, we were fine though.

Given the dry conditions we decided to ride across the common, cycling is permitted on paths.

Into West End Barns, we enjoyed our food and drinks and a good chat.  We forgot to take any more pictures.  We wondered whether the Further Faster group were still heading our way or had been so speedy that they had been and gone.  Well, by the time we got up to make a homeward move, we had the answer - it was the former.  They arrived as were were retrieving our bikes.  A quick chat ensued, but we needed to be moving, and off we went.

Back along Ferrers Lane and Drovers Lane, Sandridge again very quiet, we turned off up Sandridgebury Lane and bimbled along to the Harpenden Road.  The gap in traffic came along reasonably soon, a quick nip and a quick zip along Green Lane got us to NCN6 and then the Green Ring, which we followed anti-clockwise through Ladies Grove, St Michaels and Verulamium Park, where we said our farewells and headed off.  Eleven miles covered together.

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100 miles to Fabulous

 One of our leaders, Rona, took herself off to Cheshire in early July to ride the CTC Triennial Veterans 100 mile ride with the Chester and North Wales CTC.

"It was a great day out, good weather and good company.  Participants are split into groups and I was delighted to be in Sue Booth's group.  In case you don't know, Sue runs the Chester Fabulous Ladies, find the blog here: Chester Fabulous Ladies

"This is one of the joys of belonging to a national cycling organisation and I was not the only rider to have come from some distance for the ride.  The event ran super smoothly and the catering was of course fabulous, chapeau to all the volunteers who made it happen.

"We set off from the village hall in Duddon and went roughly south, along the eastern edge of the Dee floodplain and soon after we crossed into Wales we enjoyed an elevenses stop in Overton.  

We continued southward through Ellesmere and after some wiggles and not long after we crossed the Severn / Hafren we had lunch at Four Crosses.  Then we were heading north-ish, with a stop to admire St Peter's Melverley on the banks of the Vrynwy. 

We were grateful for the two strong riders who steadily towed our group up the A road back to Ellesmere, the morning's tailwind now in our faces.  Afternoonses at Overton gave us the oomph to get back to Duddon.

"It was lovely riding in a group and ours was quite a mixed group of individuals, we all got on very well.  I enjoyed exploring a part of the country I had never been to before."

Chester & North Wales CTC organise this ride and others every year.  Other larger CTC groups also organise annual 'event' rides, Rona has enjoyed a Trivets and a 100km Challenge with Coventry CTC in previous years.  Easily accessible by train from Watford Junction and if you have a slower LNWR-only ticket, you don't need to reserve a bike space, although you'll likely have to change at Milton Keynes!