Sense of achievement

Four weeks ago I joined the Verulam cycling club and did my first ever Sunday club ride. For the next three Sundays I had other commitments so could not make the ride, therefore I resolved to head out this Sunday whatever the weather. Big mistake!

 

 

Normally a Sunday ride has six or seven groups of riders with about 10-20 people in each group.   (Sociables, Social/Inters, Inters, Mods, Mods+, Rapides and Fast).  I ride in the Sociables group as this is the only one that I have a chance of keeping up with, that and it's friendly and Sociable!

Given the awful weather forecast this Sunday only 30 people turned up!  However, out of the 30 people that did show, 9 of them belonged to Sociables group.  That's a pretty impressive turn out and I reckon it means the Sociables are the most hard core of the whole club!

The rain was constant from the moment we set off and did not let up all morning.  The roads were so wet they were completely flooded in places, and it's quite nerve wracking riding through what is effectively a lake, hoping that there are no potholes hidden under the surface.

Somehow we survived and all arrived in one piece at the tea room in Chipperfield.

 

Here we all squashed around one table, since we are after all the Sociables group.  Jackets, hats and gloves were removed and hung over radiators in the vain hope that they would dry out.  I was dismayed to see that underneath my rain jacket all my warm layers were soaked too, since the seams on my jacket must now be failing.  I may have mentioned this a number of times during the break, as Lyndsey felt the need to point out that yes I had justified the purchase of a new jacket.

 

Most of the group opted for tea or coffee and a slice of cake.  I however felt the need for a sausage sandwich.  Last time I rode with the group I really struggled to keep up, so I figured some extra fuel wouldn't go amiss.  The sausage sandwich really hit the spot, although I was still thoroughly wet through as I sat eating it.  Did I mention that already?

 

On the return journey the rain did not let up.  If anything it got worse. Veronique who also uses Strava named this ride Canyoning not cycling, and she's not wrong! As we cycled up hills, the water cascading down the roads looked like rivers. Fortunately, Bill the ride leader opted for a slightly shorter route today, due to the inclement conditions, so we rode just over 40km today.  The sausage sandwich did the trick and I managed to keep up, although the fact that everyone was riding much slower due to the rain may also have helped!

 

 

 

 

Now that I am home sitting on front of a roaring log fire I do feel a certain  sense of achievement.

I achieved:-

• getting wet,
• finding out that my rain jacket is no longer waterproof
• learning that waterproof socks retain water inside them rather than prevent water getting in.

at least I'm toasty now!