Another great turn out at Sainsbury’s on Sunday morning saw 13 riders set off south through Pytchley into a string head wind. A couple of regrouping stops took place before a front group of Andrea Woollcott, Darren Gillings, Steve Wong, Scott Barber, Mike Castelete, Will Lawton, Iain Callaghan, Ian Bird and Haythem Rashed sped on to Moulton whilst the returning Roger Reed, Mark Brockway and James Belton joined Andy Parker to follow on – at a pretty good pace and join up at Moulton.
Local knowledge and a wrong turn in Boughton split the group further and the split was exacerbated by a slow-unclipping and a tumble by Mark Brockway at the A5199 turn. Re-grouping in Chapel Brampton after the slow slog of Sandy Lane, we turned to pick up a tail wind heading north to Holdenby and on to Guilsborough. The Holdenby hill often claims casualities and this Sunday was no exception and Andy, Roger and James were left in a group to forge their way forward.
Joining the peloton
About this time a stray cockerel tried to enter the peloton but skilful riding (or pure luck) meant that not even the bird was a casualty.
Mini-Meadows was the café destination in Welford. Remodelled during the lockdown, we were no longer able to take bikes through to the veranda and so Haythem Rashed acted as security guard throughout the coffee stop to protect the very valuable selection of bikes on display (see picture). Still there are plenty of animals and a great place for young families.
Homeward
A slightly reduced group set off again homeward bound through Naseby and Kelmarsh, picking up a fair bit of pace for the long straight into Loddington.
Weather has been unpredictable this year and it’s still a challenge every Sunday to decide whether to wear leg warmers, gilets, jackets or strip down to racing weight – this week was no exception, but we did manage to avoid the rain which came down soon after our return home.
About this time a stray cockerel tried to enter the peloton but skilful riding (or pure luck) meant that not even the bird was a casualty.