On Sunday 48 riders assembled at the Wonder Cafe in Uxbridge for a Winter Boat Ride out to the Boat Inn, Stoke Bruerne. It was one of those days when we had four seasons and one of them wasn't summer. The riders set off on a bright and sunny day, unfortunately it was into about 80km of a cold headwind. Happily the wind didn't turn but the weather did and and the afternoon saw flurries of show and hail. Happily the wind meant it was mainly on their backs, but this wasn't your soft northern snow, this was southern snow, a few flakes of which can paralyse an entire region. Here's Alan Parkinson at the Arrivee, beaten and bowed from the blizzard.
Actually, every rider rolled in with a smile and spoke of how much they enjoyed the day, including a fair number who were on their first audax/100 mile ride. Hardcore the lot of them!
My thanks to all the riders, Dave Morrison for route checking and Rick Perry, Controller at The Boat Inn.
See you all in the summer for the London Ditchling Devil!