Mid-Essex Mid-Week Nocturnal Series

[delthebike]

Of course! Not sure when we are leaving yet. What time are the cyclists expecting to be there?

Thank you.

I'm going to walk  to your domicile this evening, I need to stretch the wind out of my legs! Let me know what time to arrive.

[Wowbagger]

Of course! Not sure when we are leaving yet. What time are the cyclists expecting to be there?

Thank you.

I'm going to walk  to your domicile this evening, I need to stretch the wind out of my legs! Let me know what time to arrive.

8pm start from here should give us ample time to get there before the athletes roll in. There may not be any beer left, mind you, and I might have ben given the bum's rush for being beastly to Simon Heffer - if he's there.

[huggy]

I said above we should be at the pub by 9:30pm but Huggy has been ripping the pi55 via BBM suggesting my ETAs are, as usual, wildly optimistic, particularly bearing in mind the wind. 

Me take the pi55, surely no one believes that   

[Wowbagger]

I suspect that the whole thing is an elaborate April Fool anyway.

[Wowbagger]

And I forgot to ask: is the tea-towel to put in an appearance?

[Wowbagger]

The tea-towel played itself with masterly aplomb whilst the rest of us - and it was quite a few - sat round a table drinking things. It seems that Del has given up alcohol for an unspecified period of time, and Oscar's Dad seemed very unhappy with this arrangement. Mrs. & Mrs Tomsk and Tomsk Minor put in an appearance, as did a couple of other chaps whose forum names escape me (sorry!) although one of them seemed to know who I was.

The ale was good, and thankfully Simon Heffer did not turn up so I was not forced to waste some by pouring it over his head. A good Wednesday evening out and I don't think I will get another chance to attend until July at the earliest.

[Oscar's dad]

Another great evening on our bikes 

The wind was not half as bad as anticipated and the rain largely held off until our ride home.  I was actually quite glad it did rain as having seen the forecast on Look East I set off from home in a waterproof jacket and Rainlegs - thankfully my wardrobe efforts weren't wasted.

I am pleased to report (Huggy  ) that 2048hrs saw myself and Andy C33 arrive at The House of Tomsk so just 3 minutes behind schedule.  However we landed at The Compasses a gnat's cock prior to 2130hrs so I'll take no more ribbing about the accuracy of my ETAs thankyou very much 

Wow, Dez and Del were already at the pub so once beers were bought and the selfie stick extended it was time to get out the Marsh Gibbon tea towel ...



Then Mrs Tomsk and Soupy arrived ...



Followed a short while later by Carlosfandango all the way from Colchester ...



Del was nursing a green drink cos he's given up the beer.  This concerns me greatly as his uber healthy lifestyle appears to be causing dear Del to fade away in front of us!  Don't go!

Anyhow, what was left of the wind helped the Witham peloton (plus honorary member Carlos) back home and won't have caused Tomsk too much trouble.  At the Spa Road roundabout we gave Carlos some vague instructions about how to find Colchester - he didn't seem keen on the A12 cycle path.

There's some exciting news breaking about The Flitch of Bacon!  Good, honest pub grub overseen by a Michelin starred chef, decent beers and local wines (I wonder if they'll do Merlot?).  Sounds like we've got some treats in store.

[Wowbagger]

That's a bit disappointing that the Flitch of Bacon has changed hands. It was previously run by a Mr. and Mrs. Bacon. I had lunch there once. It was pretty good, but it was whilst I was on one of my solo rides out from Southend so I wasn't able to share the experience with anyone. I do remember that there was a bunch of old blokes sitting round a table really laying into Margaret Thatcher and her government, even though she had been out of office for about 20 years. My kind of pubs!

[Oscar's dad]

That's a bit disappointing that the Flitch of Bacon has changed hands. It was previously run by a Mr. and Mrs. Bacon. I had lunch there once. It was pretty good, but it was whilst I was on one of my solo rides out from Southend so I wasn't able to share the experience with anyone. I do remember that there was a bunch of old blokes sitting round a table really laying into Margaret Thatcher and her government, even though she had been out of office for about 20 years. My kind of pubs!

I've been to the FoB a couple of times.  On my first visit I gently tried the door as it looked closed from the outside.  Inside there was a single barperson and a handful of customers.  On my second visit it wasn't exactly buzzing either. 

I suspect it was one of the those pubs that was withering on the vine and not making any money hence it being bought by someone of obvious means (or good line of credit) who can make a significant investment and give the place a new lease of life - hopefully.

[TimC]

Just for info, if anyone wants to come out this way, the Henny Swan has reopened under new ownership (of the kind OD describes above) and seems to be doing well. The new owners, Tracey and James, are locals and have a very different style to the chain that owned it before. 18 different (some very different!) beers and a tapas-style menu. Not cheap, but very pleasant.

[Oscar's dad]

Sounds excellent. I know your schedule is different to predict but if you think you'll be around one Wednesday evening let us know.

[tippers_kiwi]

Henny Swan 

Spent a Saturday there one summer with an old friend from Switzerland. On a nice day the garden by the river is fantastic.

[tedshred]

And in more pub news, The Compasses at Totham is open again under new management.

Apparently there will be three guest ales.

Looks like Huggy's magical mystery ride is on again 

[Oscar's dad]

Despite having been past The Compasses at Great Totham dozens of times I've never been in. 

[tedshred]

I understand that is why the last owners gave up.

They just couldn't bear to see mid-Essex's premier real ale cycling guru ignoring them again.

[Oscar's dad]

 

[The Retiree]

So I was thinking about the Dog and Pheasant East Mersea this week how does this sound to anyone thats riding? I have a route mapped from Witham which I will endeavour to post on here before the day is out!

[Oscar's dad]

 

[tedshred]

No complaints from me !  I'll head out along your route and wait for the lights coming the other way.

Here's another shout for a nice summer evening - the Anchor or Ye Olde Albion in Rowhedge.

The Anchor is right on the river, has a terrace and is a Shepherd Neame pub.  The Albion is more of a traditional boozer.

We were only a few minutes away from them when we turned back towards the H&H the other evening.

It's not easy trying to find pubs you lot haven't already been to so you've probably already been to these.

[Oscar's dad]

No complaints from me !  I'll head out along your route and wait for the lights coming the other way.

Here's another shout for a nice summer evening - the Anchor or Ye Olde Albion in Rowhedge.

The Anchor is right on the river, has a terrace and is a Shepherd Neame pub.  The Albion is more of a traditional boozer.

We were only a few minutes away from them when we turned back towards the H&H the other evening.

It's not easy trying to find pubs you lot haven't already been to so you've probably already been to these.

The Albion at Rowhedge is an unvisited Good Beer Guide pub so I'd like to tick it off sometime soon.

[tippers_kiwi]

So I was thinking about the Dog and Pheasant East Mersea this week how does this sound to anyone thats riding? I have a route mapped from Witham which I will endeavour to post on here before the day is out!

I will likely be popping home to put the new cassette on the bike and joining you en route. Want to make sure it all works for the Green and yellow fields.

Tomsk pointed out the kind of place we might be aiming to ride to in the Summer while we were on our Arrow on Friday  ....hope you all have valid passports 

[The Retiree]

Looking good for Wednesday here is my planned route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/9079551 I'm afraid with BRT not running I haven't had the time to plot the route in any other website for those without Edge devices, maybe Huggy could do the honours if he has time 

[tippers_kiwi]

 

[huggy]

Looking good for Wednesday here is my planned route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/9079551 I'm afraid with BRT not running I haven't had the time to plot the route in any other website for those without Edge devices, maybe Huggy could do the honours if he has time 

Right, the Garmin Connect route file can be downloaded directly to your PC with the correct format of URL, such as:

TCX = http://connect.garmin.com/proxy/course-service-1.0/tcx/course/9229387
GPX = http://connect.garmin.com/proxy/course-service-1.0/gpx/course/9229387
FIT = http://connect.garmin.com/proxy/course-service-1.0/fit/course/9229387

once downloaded you can do as you wish with it, e.g. upload it to your editor of choice and push to your own flavour of Garmin device.

EDIT: For my own use of DL's diligent work I have imported the downloaded TCX file to BaseCamp and created a route then uploaded both track and route to my eTrex.  Now locked & loaded for Wednesday evening 

[Oscar's dad]

This is why we love you sooooooo much ^^^