Today’s WoW route to Velolife
This week’s WoW* ride had a great turn out of eight riders, namely Vyv, Anne, Juli-E, Marianne, Ian, Gerry, Pete and yours truly.
As we got ready, a buzz went around the groupetto as we began to notice Ian was quietly draped over a very fetching Italian e-bike. We all admired and approvingly cooed over the new addition to his bike family, which has already earned him a new sobriquet of “Eon Why”.
Conditions at the start were normal for a grey day at the end of October. Despite a forecasted dry day, we wanted to keep the run reasonably short in duration, but the P*nct*r* Fairy ws out to have her fun!
We agreed to go to Velolife via Cookham Bridge and Winter Hill. It is said that the P*nct*r* Fairy loves to make fools of people who make plans. She must have been listening to us with a smirk on her beautiful face. About half way into our ride she aimed her wand at Pete’s front tyre, which she had acquired a taste for from a previous ride. Her wand was waved and Pete instantly shouted “P*nct*r*!!!”.
A P*nct*r* Party was formed and Pete’s wheel, tyre and tube were efficiently separated from each other. The hunt was now on to find the exact spot where her magic wand had struck. Her work was hard to spot, but Anne eventually found a tiny, tiny hole in the tube. Our attention then shifted to the tyre, to pluck out either the tiny shard of glass, microscopic flint or whooping 6 inch nail that had caused the flat. Despite a very thorough and diligent search no culprit could be found. This was most unsatisfying. I had an uneasy feeling that the P*nct*r* Fairy was out to sport with us today.
The first of our P*nct*r* parties.
Velolife was reached and was bustling with non-cycling clientele. We found a table an enjoyed our break, Campervans seemed to be one of our main topics. When we returned to our bikes the clouds had vanished, the roads were dry and the skies were blue, but Pete had a look of concern on his face. His tyre was soft. More air was sought from the cafe’s track pump. As Pete got to grips with an unfamiliar track pump, he involuntarily opted for a complete change of air in the tube. Once full pressure was restored, we gingerly returned to Beaconsfield, with a strategy of regular stops to check and pump up as necessary.
Pumped up…but not for long, as Pete’s pump caddy earns his crust :o)
On the route back to Beaco’, the stops to pump up Pete’s tyre became more and more frequent. By Burnham Pete had decided to call a minicab, however Marianne wouldn’t hear of it and said she would return with her car to collect him . Thanks Marianne, you saved the day.
Despite our encounters with the P. Fairy it was a great day out on what turned out to be a gentle and warm afternoon in friendly company.
Miles Back
—————————
* What are WoW (Willesden on Wednesday) Rides?
- We meet in Beaconsfield, but we also meet in other locations to vary our routes and cafe stops. For example WoW rides start from Biggleswade, Alton (Work in progress) and Willesden itself!
- Our WoW cafe stops are “Slow-cial”, rather then a rapid coffee + wee pit stop.
- We aim to ride all winter, provided if conditions are safe and the forecast is dry and over 4C, but we confirm via a Whatsapp group earlier in the week.
- We ride as a group and have a “no-Drop” policy – no-one is ever left behind.
- GPS routes available.
- Non-Willesden members are welcome to join us for a taste of what our wonderful club has to offer.
If you would like to join us, then email me on willesdencyclingclub@yahoo.co.uk and I will send you a QR Code to join the Whatsappgroup.
Miles Back
