2013-11-9/10 Lilliput and Back

... well that was a weekend to remember!

to start off, it took me a bit less time to get to West Drayton and it was quite a pleasant trip through some leafy parts of NW London. I gather, compared to the Tooting mob, that I was lucky in that I only got rained on for about 20mins before arriving at the station. Then enjoyed a nice cuppa in the local greasy-spoon, watching the rain coming down in sheets. By about 11:40 the last three arrived, also had some refreshment/nourishment and ten of us were on our way by about 12pm under clouds, but not rain. (Sorry, I really should have a list of runners and riders, but my memory for names is pathetic.) Unfortunately it started raining about 15 mins later and continued on and off for an hour. The rest of the trip was pretty good really, very damp but it didn't rain, and most importantly, my wanky looking shoe covers kept my feet warm and dry all day.

Someone foolishly remarked that we'd had a puncture free journey, and just as we came into town I had a slow one on the front tyre! Des declared that it didn't count cos I got away with reinflating it and we we already in Oxford. So we sojourned at the splendid Turf Tavern where we met up with Dumps and his father who had journeyed from somewhere else. I spent the first half an hour f-ing about with tubes and dodgy valves. About half of the contingent were not doing a 'sleep-over' and the first I heard was "yeh, we'll get the 6:45 train." So several hours (and several beers) later they left for the station. The remainder of us left quite a while later after toasting our toes, and wet shoes and socks on a brazier which Bernie referred to as “England’s worst barbecue”.

We all left the pub a little inebriated, but as far as I know, no one was past the point of cycling in a relatively straight line. There were plans of meeting up in the hotel bar, or finding some other hostelry after showering and doing our ablutions, but that was never going to happen! I shared a room with Branwen who was plotzing about his phone which he’d left in the pub. I called the Turf and they said they’d ring me back if the found a Nexus when they were clearing up after closing. We never did get that call because as Tim reclined on the sofa-bed he felt something Nexus shape digging into his back!

My alarm went off at 8am, two hours after I woke up, and we were downstairs enjoying breakfast by 8.30. We set off for London bang on time (9:30) and were met with impeccable timing by Clubman (the fair-weather cyclist). It was agreed that we’d take the A40 so that I wouldn’t get a bollocking from Mrs Conker by being “out all day” and the weather really couldn’t have been any more different to Saturday – clear blue skies and a light tailwind. The pace was brisk, and I for one was very pleased when Clubman took over the lead from Branwen who seemed to my legs to be doing a time trial! Unfortunately the homeward journey did have a few punctures, and at about the fourth one (somewhere just after Uxbridge) Clubman suggested, quite rightly in my opinion, that it might be better for me to go on my way rather than waiting while the puncture was fixed. Can’t help thinking that this probably speeded up everyone else’s journey without me! The rest of my journey was uneventful, but not very nice, going via Yeading, Harrow, Kingsbury Hendon and Finchley, though it did allow me to stop off at my Finchley workshop to aply a final coat of paint to a job!

Low-points:
Rain
Rain
Punctures on the way home
… oh, and rain

Hi-points:
Tim’s Nexus
Bernie calling “car back” while we rode to the hotel through Oxford
Beer
Highland Park
and a nice bunch of folks on both days

Chapeau to Bernie for organising and Branwen for leading us the on Saturday

Branwen I owe you a tube/or beer
Dumps’ dad, I owe you a beer and a whisky!