Many thanks to all for turning what could have been a very cold wet lonely crawl, into a pleasurable day out. It was great to meet and put faces to some more names from the forum.
I started after a nights CM'ing the previous evening by getting up far earlier than was civil, so that I could wash the bike* for the ride. I then joined the Harrow feeder, where we were seen off by our councillor. We took an 'interesting' NCN route approved by the Harrow branch of the LCC. At first I didn't understand why the feeder had been allocated 2 hrs to cover the 10-12 miles from Harrow to Hyde Park, but once we got underway on the approved route, it all clicked. lots of back streets, alleys etc, including several "Cyclists Dismount" sections. In future, I thinks I'll give feeder rides a miss, cane it down the Harrow road or the A40, and give myself an extra hour in bed.
Once I reached the staging area, there were far more cyclists than I had anticipated, especially considering the weather, and having missed the meeting at the Animals at War memorial (which I only realised when I bared my YACF logo in a Superman stylee at two strangers at the memorial to be greeted with blank, slightly confused, slightly wary stares), It was extreme fortune that a little closer to the front I spotted the unmistakeable Charlotte).
We waited for an age whilst the obligatory speeches were made at the very front. We could only hear every 4th word or so, and we were in the front tenth of the ride. Those at the back would have no idea what was going on.
BTW. Sorry if I was a little cold with you Jurek, I didn't realise you were you until we were just about to set off, I just thought you were a random stranger until Charlotte spoke to you.
Aaanyway, we had a very slow pootle around the streets of london, making lots of noise, until near the end when Nutkin, Rob, NSTN, Wowbagger and I headed off in search of food and warmth. It was a shame that we lost Charlotte along the ride.
A very pleasant time was spent in the pub, where many calories were consumed, and fun was had.
It was good to finally meet Clarion and Butterfly, who looked remarkably good considering that they had just returned from the FNRttC, allthough the way they went for dessert first showed how drained they were! It was good to see Andrij again too.
I was bloody knackered at the end and dissapeared off around 4ish, and have to admit that I bottled out of the ride home and took the tube. I think an early night is in order.
A top day out, we really must do it again, but with better weather please.
* ETA what a waste of time that was, after riding the brakes all day in the wet, it's blacker that when I started.