The ride on the 16th March 2008, started from Kingham Green and was led by Adrian.
Despite dire forecasts (of weather, not leadership) we were hardly
rained on at all. The surface water, however, was deep. In places broad
enough to need pedalling through and deep enough to reach our ankles,
keeping feet dry and warm was impossible. Some had high-tech footwear.
Adrian tried plastic bags inside his shoes. Roger grinned and bore it,
as is his wont. Nothing, however, worked. We stopped at Lower Slaughter
Mill cafe for lunch as planned. Their power cut was not. We were urged
to order hot drinks fast, while there was stll warm water in the
boiler. The hot chocolates (all but one of us having two!) were
welcome. As was Martin's torch, which we shared for independent visits
to the loos, which are windowless. All in all a ride we enjoyed
enormously, shrugging off adversity and finding our feet again later in
the day, after they'd thawed.
|