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Holy Saturday Essex Ride
15 April 2006
Following the Greenwich ride to Gravesend Gary, Dave and I decided that we needed some additional saddle time. We had different reasons for wanting to ride on that day as Gary and Dave were looking for additional fitness work prior to the Highlands Tour and I was just at a loose end and decided to ride as I had not been out very much.
So, at 07.15 we met at the Green Bridge and fairly quickly set off on the route that was very familiar to Gary and me. It turns out that Dave has only ever ridden in excess of 100 miles once before so this was going to be a ride into new territory in many ways for him.
Not a lot happened as we made our way through Stratford, Leytonstone and the outer suburbs of Wanstead and Woodford before we broke out into Footballers Wives territory in Chigwell. Unfortunately it was a cloudy morning and we were unable to get the spectacular view of central London from the high point at Grange Hill.
Soon after 09.00 we arrived at Norton Heath to find that the welcoming greasy spoon where we usually stop for breakfast was closed for the Easter weekend. That did not stop us as we all pulled out sandwiches and other stuff for breakfast and ate outside the café. As the café was not open it meant that our rest was shorter than usual so we were soon on our way through the picturesque lanes and villages that make up that part of the world.
Dave was proving exceptionally strong and unusually it was Gary who was mostly found bringing up the rear but as I knew most of the route our progress was relatively serene until we made our lunchtime stop at Finchingfield where we pulled in at The Red Lion which we have used before.
 Lunch was great value as it always is and it certainly explains why this welcoming pub features in the Good Pub Guide which I recommend to everyone. Dave managed to get what seemed to be the best value as he ordered an egg and sausage huffer which included four sausages. For those who don't know a huffer is a large triangular bap which on its own would make a substantial meal. I had an excellent dish of ham and eggs which included some lovely ham carved off the bone.
Once we had rested we got back on the road quickly and pressed on, once more with little to impede our fairly rapid progress. At Hatfield Broad Oak we stopped at a pub in the hope of getting a cup of tea but they were shutting and would not remain open unless we were purchasing and consuming alcohol.
On a day when there were few incidents there is not a great deal to say apart from the fact that we reached the end of the days ride without any major incident and had finished riding soon after 17.30, the earliest that we have finished this long ride by several hours. It is amazing how the mileage is eaten up when a small but well matched group goes out.
All that remains to say is thanks to Gary for the navigation and to Dave for providing a wind break for most of the day.
STATISTICS
Distance ridden: Approx 174.15K
Average speed: Not recorded on the bike I used
Maximum speed: 48.4Kph
Deflates: None
Weather: Good even though we had a short afternoon shower
Overview: A very good ride especially as Dave did much of the pacemaking.
Ken
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