Our first club run of the year saw about 25/30 of us gather for the start, including a couple of new faces which was good to see.
I joined the ‘B’ group, which due to numbers we decided to split into 2 after a few miles. Thanks to Chris’s navigational skills & memory of the route, we managed to stay on course as it became obvious that there was a problem with the .TCX file that I sent out & was using on my Garmin, it did not match the route sheet! The A group also had some navigational issues, they passed us somewhere around the Catworth area(?), and as we had not gone past them at the side of the road must have taken a different route to us. We then watched them go straight on when we took a right (at Tilbrook?) This is not any area of the world I’m familiar with (and I have only done this route once before, over 2 years ago), but from what I can make out there is a problem with the Garmin file. Having said that the .GPX route (long) looks correct when I look at it on MapMyRide.
If you are familiar with the route and you could spare a few minutes to check the files (both .GPX & .TCX) against the Word route sheet I’d much appreciate it. Also, if you have a copy of the course file that you know matches the Word doc. route (Tom?), please could you send me a copy.
Apologies to all concerned for the confusion, but it was good to see parts of the countryside we don’t often get out to, even if some of it was unplanned! We passed Jordon dealing with a puncture on his own somewhere in the Gt. Staughton area I think, he manfully told us that he did not need assistance as we came past. Our little group split not long before the stop, as some were keen to get onboard the ‘A’ express that were just ahead of us at that point.
After the Café, with the sky looking threatening the majority took the easy option of heading straight back on the short route. Tim & Jack formed an elite group & did the full long route – well done guys! Halfway back home, I leant that Jordon had come out of the stop to find a flat tyre. I’m pleased to report that he made it back OK to St. Ives, but had to stop several times on the way to deal with the slow puncture caused by sharp material embedded in the tyre carcass that he could not get out.
The other notable feature of the ride was the number of horses/riders/dogwalkers/joggers etc. out & about, if felt like there was something around every corner. A wayward dog almost went into my front wheel on the track down to the path across to the Hemmingfords. Oh & the Weather. I think we really had good luck, light-ish winds, no rain, just a little frost/ice during the early part of the ride, but as it turned out not as slippery as the previous week I think. Given how the wind picked up later in the day, I think we were lucky with the weather window we got.
Never a dull moment on a club run! Look forward to the next installment soon!
Best wishes
Richard Neil
