Re:
Well, that one was memorable!
A welcome cup of tea and a pre ride cake (as recomended by team Sky - honest)! Pretty soon everybody was assembled and off we headed out into the rolling Cotswold countryside. Very picturesque it is too. Great roads, punchy climbs - some punchier than others, weaving our way through villages, buildings clad in classic yellow Cotswold stone. Quiet lanes cutting through a landscape of fields, golden crops swaying in the breeze. Sounds idyllic doesn't it?
Our lunchtime cafe stop had us eventually all fed and watered, ready for the afternoon session with a climb to wake the legs back up. Pausing at the top of one of the more taxing hills, I look up. "Those clouds look rather dark over there. Which direction are they travelling in"? They were heading our way folks, and they were not just dark, they were black.... Just as we regroup, the first rumble of thunder and there was the ominous rustle of synthetic material as a rainjacket emerged. "Maybe it will just miss us, maybe we can outrun it". The power of optimism!
As we set off, Daj and I simultaniously look at each others bikes and wonder which is a better conductor of electricity - steel or carbon.... We got all of a few hundred yards before it started to rain. Then it slashed down. Then it got heavier. Pausing for a few minutes shelter under some trees, it was decided we should make break for it and head for Daj H.Q. After all, we were wet already. Out from under the trees we shot into open parkland - in a thunderstorm. The rain got heavier, glasses steamed up, and the lightning started to strike. When there is no gap between the flash and the bang, I get worried. A huge fork hit the ground and a deafening clap of thunder. Folks - we all shat ourselves. The rain got heavier. A small effort out of the saddle, reseated I thought I had lost control of my bodily functions as warm water poured down the back of my legs. Enough water was running down my back that it would fill the padding in my shorts in a few seconds like a sponge. The roads turned to rivers. It was Biblical.
At last, the rain eased and the sky brightened a few miles and a few hills out of Stowe. The intrepid retrobikers hauled themselves soggily over the last few climbs and back to a most welcome cup of tea and of course cake (as recomended by team Sky- honest) at Daj H.Q.
Many thanks to Bobbinogs and Daj for putting this ride together. As usual good company and a friendly bunch to ride with. A great day out. Put it in your calender next year folks.