Wheelsucker

The plan had been to ride out to Hog Hill and take part in the San Fairy Ann (best cycling club name ever in my book) 3/4 crit on Saturday. But come Friday night the excuses started to appear - I'd been ill all week (only a cold, but a niggly, persistent cold), I was tired and felt out of breath at the top of a flight of stairs, the weather looked pretty grim, no one else I knew was going (not a problem for the race, but it's a long journey there and back with no company) - so I decided to chill out at home, enjoy the red wine and do the park ride on Saturday instead.

The weather lived up to the billing - it rained a few times on Saturday morning, with the park being part-flooded and absolutely filthy. Riding in a group meant a constant spray of muck off the wheel in front, grit in the teeth and small spatterings of tar over all my clothing, my skin and my bike. The sooner they sort out the road surface the better - roll on May.

The café post-ride was a sight. Every time the door swung open another Dynamo rider would enter looking like he'd just finished a cross race (a particularly dirty cross race). It was good to catch up with people, even though we were all cold and shivering. As predicted, a plan started to hatch mid-coffee and several of us decided to continue with a longer ride out into Surrey. Five of us set out - by the time we'd left the warmth of the café we'd lost one, then five minutes later another! Luckily the weather brightened a bit and we remaining three had a fairly gentle run out to Box Hill and back. It was a good leg-stretcher even though the roads were awful- rutted with potholes and mud all over the place.

Still, 70 miles in total for a Saturday, made all the better by a massive bowl of cereal on my return. Simple pleasures. It only took me 30 minutes in the shower to get all the tar off me as well...!