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@Oliver Schick
Just had a wonderfully refreshing cold shower--got back at around 10.
The headwind was actually OK until after Ongar, when it turned into a bit of a joke. No issues from Abridge to Chigwell, where the road was sheltered, but a determined resumption of hostilities on the exposed A104.
I'll have a go at mapping my total route, as my computer wasn't working well. Should be around 120 miles or so.
Bumped into another rider on the B184 who said he was trying an out-and-back '10' course. When I first saw him, he was flying northbound, and a little while later I saw him coming past just as I was finishing up a pint outside the Axe & Compasses. He stopped a little further on and we had a quick chat. Not many other riders around--a slow couple outside Great Bardfield, a mystery rider going north along the A113 Ongar Road (couldn't really see him, but his bike looked like a mountain bike), and then, as the icing on the cake, just as I was crawling up the last incline to the Lea Bridge roundabout (I was really finished by that time), I got overtaken by a young woman in a red frock on a Plug (who was herself going quite slowly, just not quite as slowly as I was). :)
Good to find a food shop open just north of the Ongar roundabout--got some nice spring rolls there. The actual reason why I'd stopped had been that I needed new batteries for my front light. The old ones were still OK and giving enough light, but weren't bright enough to get drivers going the opposite way to dip their lights. Drivers not dipping their lights is a pet hate of mine and the only thing I don't like about night riding. Following a battery swap, it was mostly OK as they could see me more easily.
Not much else to report--daylight until the Axe & Compasses, and then quite a nice night ride. I wouldn't have complained had it been five miles shorter, but it was OK in the end.
Great to ride with you all today! Good to see rab and Stu again and to meet Joe and Bill.
Right, I'll map this now quickly before going to bed.