I got the first train out of Southend Vic (6.15) and I think I had it to myself to begin with. A couple of late-night revellers got on at Hockley (quite a nightlife in Hockley, evidently) and when I got out at Billericay I discovered, to my annoyance, that the lift was behind a locked metal gate that no-one had bothered to open at that time in the morning. This meant carrying my bike up a flight of stairs, which normally is no problem, but I struggled today because the Sodding Arthritis was attacking my right shoulder. Picking up the bike was painful, as was putting my arm behind my back to retrieve anything from my pocket.
I arrived at the appointed place to find one bloke there. He was wearing a Wallace & Grommit top, in the manner of Rower40, and we were shortly joined by a few others. The first two blokes clearly knew each other and nattered a fair bit. The final four cyclists to arrive included Kajsa herself, and after a brief conversation in which she said that I was the only member of the group she recognised from FB photos, we had just enough time to discover that Wallace & Grommit Man had a rear wheel puncture and we were away, leaving W & G M to fix his puncture and attempt to catch up.
I have to say that I was a little concerned when I saw the assembled company that I might have trouble staying with them, as they were a) not old and b) not fat. Kajsa was reassuring in that she claimed that she was riding very slowly so I shouldn't have a problem, and for the first 3 or 4 miles I did indeed stay with the others. However, as soon as a climb appeared for which I did not have the momentum to get up in highish gear, I lost ground and try as I might, the last time I saw them disappear over the horizon was around the 6.5 mile mark, so clearly Basil did not use a big enough font. Thereafter I was on my own until, just before the café at Norton Heath, W & G M came storming past with an "Ello mate!" and, like Rabbit*, was gone again before I had time to think of a reply.
I headed towards Willingale on the narrow-windy road and quite enjoyed a little watery sunshine, but in the end I pottered in the general direction of Chelmsford via Radley and Newney Greens with their ornithologically-named pubs (The Cuckoo and The Duck). YACFers may remember rides I have organised which involved lunches there. Both, of course, were firmly closed whilst I was going through, at about 9am on a Sunday.
At one point I was awoken from my scarcely-mobile reverie by a lady who overtook me on the inside, it being entirely my fault for riding on the right-hand-side of the road as I climbed a modest slope at about 4mph. She said "Good morning!" just in time to stop me swerving into her, and she too left me well behind. Half-an-hour or so later I saw her sitting on a bench in Admiral's Park, reading a book and eating some breakfast. I stopped and apologised for my random riding earlier, and she told me that she had wondered which side to go. She was on a planned 120-mile ride from Harlow to Colchester and back and showed me the book, which was a miniature AA road atlas. It's quite refreshing to see people doing things the old-fashioned way.
Soon afterwards I was in Chelmsford station drinking coffee and awaiting the arrival of the delayed 9.58 to Liverpool Street.
Kajsa Tylen leads the way into a car park in Billericay.
*A. A. Milne's version, not the esteemed Rabbit OTP.
