November 2015 in the Life of Ben (Blog)
Half a 3* Ride (9th November 2015)
This was another Central London CTC Ride. It started just 3 miles East from Fiona’s new place so I persuaded her that we had to go.
We missed the start! We managed to join in later on, though.
Time Waits for No-One
I hadn’t spotted the departure time had been brought forward by 15 minutes. This change was made 2 weeks before the ride but I’d put it in the calendar even before that.
After a miserable morning on busy A-grade roads (with diversions for Memorial Sunday events) we cheated. Jumped on a train to the lunch stop, going from Chislehurst to Dunton Green for the princely sum of £3.65.
The train we were on terminated early. There was a break-down further ahead on the line. We were directed to a different train. It didn’t seem like it would stop at our station. We got on it and realised this just before it left. Happily the guard announced extra stops had been added, so we were OK after all.
Lunch
We arrived at the lunch stop about halfway through – apparently service had been rather slow for the rest of the group. Fiona and I ordered simple sandwiches and paid with the order, to avoid queuing again at the end.
Afternoon
The group resumed at a level noticably above the 2* pace we are used to! I guess that’s because 3 is 1 higher than 2…it was to be expected. Quite different to experience it, though.
Towards the end we were both in our stride and enjoying the increased progress. The terrain changed from countryside back to urban which made us glad to be getting along the roads quicker.
Epilogue
At the end of the ride we congregated and said our farewells.
Fiona and I rolled home slowly, taking a scenic route through Fiona’s new local parks. Having just moved to the area this was an enjoyable way to check out the local neighbourhoods and open spaces.
Very happy to have pushed ourselves to find new limits – and new friends.