Good to be home again after another great edition of the Steam Ride. It was about 10degC colder than last year's edition with a chilling NE wind making for difficult riding conditions at times. But, a much improved course and good company all day made this a fine day to be out on the bike.
We managed to form a good group of strong riders right from the off and stuck together all the way to Oxford, arriving at the halfway point in a shade over 3.5 hours. Nice to see Jonah on card stamping duties but we didn't hang around and pushed on the Didcot. I like the different use of bikeways and off-road sections on this ride, including a strada bianchi section around the back of the Cooling Towers. To Didcot them and the welcoming embrace of the Spar next to the station. Last year we sat in the sun, it was 18degC but today there wasn't much hanging around and we pushed on. The headwind really got up on the exposed sections around Ewelme and the elastic finally snapped with my partners on a long uphill drag. I struggled for a while alone, but the Co-Op at Chinnor restored flagging spirits. I have to say the counter assistant here, and in the Spar were both engaged and interested in what we were doing, a sign perhaps of the growing acceptance in the UK of cycling as a sporting activity.
I was a little apprehensive about the climb up Bledlow Ridge, feeling a little overcooked at that stage, but this years route didn't include the hairpin turn towards High Wycombe so the punishment was over mercifully quickly. This was followed by a glorious, tailwind assisted blast down the valley into West Wycombe and the roads and terrain become familiar as I closed in on our final destination. I picked up an ailing zigzag somewhere near Burnham Beeches and we rode back together, one or two nasty title rises were despatched in short order and then we were back. A little confusion in finding the final control meant a few minutes lost at the end but hey, it's not a race is it? There were a few riders ahead of us during the day but it transpired that my two buddies from earlier were the only finisher so far. We settled in for a pint and a full debrief of the day as a steady trickle of riders came through. Good to see a few old faces, Parky, ekimeno etc. at the finish. I do think the pub makes a more convivial post-ride venue, a pint of Pride certainly hits the spot after a ride like today's.
Thanks to all at ACHackney, but especially RideHard for organising, and Ivan ( I think) for not only lending me the track pump at Quainton to inflate the tire post-puncture, but doing the hard work of actually pumping it up for me - I had a very fine bacon sandwich to eat at the time. I met a fair few PBP aspirants today, all fast and on their first audax so I wish them all the best for the coming months.