All present and correct for this ride, which had more than its fair share of “mechanicals” were Alex, Alastair, Brad, Fry Up Phil, Jack, Craig Newton, and myself, Doug.

The plan was to ride to Tickhill, but the ride “evolved” and we all decided on a shorter route to Wentworth. Craig had the first problem with his shiny new bike (very nice), which consisted of a spoke which worked itself loose, and a punctue. He did a sterling job of fixing it whilst we all waited to ensure that he didn’t cop out and go home.

Brad got a puncture shortly afterwards. We stopped in a remote location whilst he fixed the said puncture, whereupon Alastair wandered off into the woods in search of squirrels and beavers, returning five minutes later with a relieved expression on his face.

Off we then went and called at a Garden Centre for an early lunch. There were no fry ups today - just a selection of beans on toast and flapjacks, and Jack’s customary scone, which was devoured in his customary manner.

Captain Al devised a cunningly hilly route back which was tremendous. Even the changeable weather couldn’t spoil it. In the usual manner, there was a lot of hard riding up the hills (Jack and Alastair excelling, as usual - but the rest of us were pretty damn good too), and some fast descending. Craig had yet another puncture which happened at high speed - only expert bike control and a good dose of luck saved the day.

 Alastair left us before the final climb from Horbury. Jack was a speck in the distance, but a team effort (i.e. a bit of pacing from Alex and I) ensured that Brad caught him in his own inimitable style, a huge burst of power near to the end, passing him just before the crest of the hill.

This was a very good ride despite the lousy weather. The distance of 60 miles doesn’t sound that much; but it was tough on the way back. The average speed was 15.4 mph. In fact, the only thing that spoiled it were a couple of inane texts from Bolty about how he was riding from London, having missed the train, I presume, and holding court amongst a collection of bearded hippies and hairy women in a bus shelter somewhere.

 Doug