Ride report

A great ride and good company. But there were a few hiccups to begin with. Where do I start? For those of you who are ride leaders, have you ever set off (by bike) to ride to the start and then realised, about half way, that you have forgotten to bring your rucksack/pannier with your money, your phone, your spare clothes, map etc.? I quickly calculated that even riding flat out, I was going to be at least 10-15 minutes late. Would they wait? How long? Might they think “maybe he’s had a puncture”. Well, I was just 10 minutes late (thanks to slip-streaming a bus all the way down the Abingdon Road) and, thankfully, they were all there. But this comedy of errors had only just begun. Riding ahead and chatting, I somehow lost the other 4 in the first couple of miles. Riding back, I expected to see them stopped to mend a puncture. But no sign. Went right back to the start. Still no sign. Panic. I had broken all the rules of good leadership – in the space of the first few miles. And there were still 50 more miles to go.

All’s well that ends well and I think I was forgiven. The route from Kizzies to Charlbury included some of the remotest country lanes – those that have a couple of feet of grass down the middle and never a car to be seen. And then the sun came out at lunchtime. A good day out, with a bit of drama to make it a ride to remember.