Kent Country Lanes
14 March 2004
A small bunch met up at the usual spot on the Green Bridge on 14-03-04. Sarah from the Hackney LCC Group; Fiona, Ken who was making a return to the saddle after sustaining a knee injury that has curtailed his ambitions to run in the Paris Marathon and Ride Leader, Steve. We were to meet up with Alison a Greenwich rider at London Bridge to complete a varied quintet.
All went well until Steve was forced to demonstrate to the group his puncture repair skills soon after we had gone through Stepney. However, this slight delay did not prevent our rendezvous at London Bridge with Alison and we still made the train that we intended to take to Headcorn.
Once on the road the miles slipped by easily on the remarkably pleasant and flat terrain that is found in this part of the Weald of Kent. Lunch, after 14 miles, found the small group in the very welcoming Walnut Tree at Yalding. Once again, Steve had excelled in the choice of pub for lunch and we filled up with excellent food in the pub restaurant as well as the obligatory libation or two. The only blot on the landscape was that it had already started drizzling by the lunch stop.
The afternoon ride was much less pleasant as during the lunch stop the rain became more persistent and after having ridden with a welcoming tail wind in the pre-lunch session we found ourselves immediately facing a nasty head wind which made the riding conditions fairly unpleasant. Despite this change of conditions we plodded on until Alison had, reluctantly, to leave at Paddock Wood in order to return home and write an important report. Undeterred the remaining riders proceeded and eventually after the advertised 30 miles returned from Staplehurst in order to make sure of catching the hourly rail service. We will gloss over the state of the carriage that we found ourselves in on the return trip. The only good thing about the leak from the toilet is that it appeared to be fresh water!
Many thanks, as usual, to all those who rode and a special thanks to Steve for leading and only getting off-route once. That's all he will admit to.
Scorecard for the ride:
Riders: 5
Strays picked up: 0
Fallers: 0
Riders lost: 0
Deflates: 1
Breakdowns: 0
Detours: 1
Enjoyment quotient: Very high despite the post-lunch rain
Wind chill factor: Low
Pub stop: 8/10 - an excellent choice
Ken Peters.
Sometimes Winchmore Hill but this week Bethnal Green
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2 miles from lunch
Fiona looking very pleased
Sarah begins the final push
Alison refuels on the road
At Headcorn
Steve followed by Alison
 Steve looking content at lunch
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