Inaugural LB 'R' Cycle Club ride

Well inaugural 100km 'proper' group ride under the LB'R'CC banner rather than the usual 'let off the leash' and 'spread over three counties' LBCC rides that have been the norm since they started.

At the end of last weeks yo-yo'ing ride we agreed that we needed to organise ourselves into an efficient and coherrent group, a proper club, a stand alone road club. And to that end we decided that Luton CCs 100km reliability trial route would be an ideal route to achieve such a goal. Afterwards the Redbourn ride became the 'default' ride for days when there were no plans.
However the Sunday allocated for that first ride was a full on windy day, and last weeks eight man turn out had dwindled down to just four die hards....true 'Flahutes' Tim, Simon, Paul and myself.
We pressed on hard into a headwind hoping that it would return the favour at the next turn, no chance. It was a choice of nose to the grindstone and press on hard, or sit up and spend all day getting round. Nose to the grindstone it was. The effort wasn't too telling as we were passing every other cyclist in sight and the banter was in full flow. All was well until we hit what I call 'chapter 2' of the ride or in other words the hills. Hill one, Toms Hill was over with swiftly, hill two in Studham stretched the elastic and hill three that marks the start of the return near Redbourn nearly broke it.
By the start of chapter 3, the final chapter things were looking grim and banter was minimal.
The dash for home was a silent affair and was spent huddled in the drops trying to cheat the wind, the last mile home being a storm induced killer.
Once near the finish we checked I-Phones against bike computers and came up with a ride that was just sub 3 hours 25 minutes. Which I can tell you for 100km in those conditions was pretty respectable.
Now I've ridden that route many many times before, but that day was a real killer. Partly the conditions and more than partly my own fault for not eating and drinking properly the whole ride.
All in all though a good ride for such a newly formed group of riders. LBRCC was born.
Well done guys.

Drawn by crayon in the bottom Bell...the original