Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The Breakfast Run..

This years London to Brighton training ride took place in wonderful sunshine.
Did we miss the wind and rain of last years??......

..er... no.

12 intrepid riders took part in this yearly event.
10 mountain bikes and only 2 road bikes this time.
They are learning slowly what "real" bikes are.
There was actually one real bike with us on Sunday.
Eric's lovely 1951 restored road bike.
We tried not to make too bigger fuss over it in case his head got big and he couldn't get his crash helmet on.
We took in 16 miles of warm and sunny country lanes on the way out to our breakfast stop.
It was just like an Enid Blighton book.
Five go riding in Surrey.

Except...there was 12 of us.

...and we weren't in Surrey..
The breakfast stop was a bit longer than normal.
There was a wait of 45 mins to get our food.
I had 2 cups of coffee while waiting and don't even drink coffee!!
I think they only had 3 plates so had to wait for people to finish before washing up and recycling the crockery.
It was worth waiting for though.
Hmmmm..... A number 6.
(drool)
The biggest fry-up in cafe history for a fiver.
On the return journey we split up into two groups.
The roadies did a road loop back home while the off-roaders zig zagged all over the county for the next 28 miles and 3 1/2 hours.
The trails were in very good condition considering that it had rained for several days before our ride.
Only a few mechanicals to report.
Two punctures and one broken chain.
To the rescue came both Steves producing rubber gloves from their bags.
What the hell they get up to on normal rides I wouldn't like to know.
Steve Elms also had a range of brass fittings in his saddlebag along with a large can of Brasso for those longer stops where you may need some extreme polishing to while away the time.
Everyone had a great day out and I bet will want to do it all over again soon.
Anyone seen my Baboon impression?
Many thanks to our leader for the day Haydn.
A sterling job done.
Many thanks also to Steve and Tracy for feeding us after the ride.
Those home made baked beans were just wonderful.
(parp!)

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