Extended End-of-the-Month Ride to Ashfields Carriage Club 31/06/2024

It was a hot and sunny day, so Peter Sk had planned a shady 30-mile route to Ashfields Carriage Club, and ended up with 17 riders for the ride, quite a few of whom had never been there before.  This extended ride had an early start time of 0930 from Weavers Park, and an optional 0945 start point of Rayne Station for people living that side of town.

Health & safety tip for the day is to take two water bottles with you on a hot day, if possible.  You may want to freeze them overnight (leave them partially unsealed to allow for expansion), and they will defrost during the ride.

Our ride split very sensibly into two groups and pedalled off towards Felsted, then headed down Mill Lane, where it was still flooded, 5 days after the most recent downpours.  Following Peter’s lead, we all cycled through it.  I’ve checked the road several times at this point when it’s been dry, and I’m confident the road surface is solid and even, and there are no unseen hazardous potholes.  Notable good-riding-of-the-day was that our group were really good at calling out the frequent pothole hazards along the route.  Bill Baker, who was sitting on the back of the Peter’s lead group, was particularly good at sitting on the junctions so the second group could negotiate the turns correctly.

At the break at Ashfields, Gavin happened to say he’d been entertaining his 2- and 4-year-old grandchildren in his garden, and they had made ‘energetic’ use of his lawn!  He’d also built them a slide and other play apparatus.  When he was out on his bike, he’d found a slide abandoned on the roadside, called his wife so they could retrieve it by car, and took it home.  He built steps up to it, and then decided it needed to be nice and slippy, so he polished it.  The oldest granddaughter enthusiastically leapt on it to try it out.  She discovered she flew down it like greased lightening and landed rather further away from the bottom than expected!  What fun!  Jet-propelled granddaughter! Gavin is now looking for multiple cushions to create a soft-landing area – a large one!  Oh, the joys of having a grandad with skills to build a child’s playground!  They are so lucky!  Gavin was also sporting a recent Father’s Day present – an ace cycling t-shirt and was wearing a helmet that made him look like the Action Man owned by my brother in the 1960s!  See photo!

On the return journey we were able to cycle past all the ‘road closed’ signs that had been put up since we rode in, even though the vintage car ahead of us had been turned back. as the roadworkers were ok with us riding past them while they removed a telegraph pole.

30 miles, hot, safe and sociable.

 Cathy MacTaggart