Summer Riding

We last spoke when the full susser was in the shop to be fixed. When this was fixed I had a big plan to rebuild it in a carpark at Swinley and pop out on a fun lap. It turned out that a new chain on an old cassette didn’t want to behave and the ride was frustratingly abandoned.

Since then the hardtail has been getting some serious action around home. This included taking full advantage of the dry weather to head out onto those paths that are impossible to ride in the winter. At this time of year there are clattering field edges to ride fast, sweeping past crops that are slowly ripening from green to gold as the summer progresses.

I also headed North West to explore the winter ride in faster and drier conditions. This was a ride that would also inspire a visitor from Australia to follow the route having found it on Strava, and validate my view of it by enjoying his ride. In the end I did it both ways round to see what was best.

In order to not restrict myself to riding to the North of London I also ventured round the M25 to explore another ride on the Eastern end of the North Downs. I had been hoping for wide open spaces here, but found a ride dominated by woods and steep climbs up onto the escarpment. This was no bad thing in the sunshine and made it all the more dramatic to come out of the woods to a view of the Medway.

Looping back and forth over motorways and the Eurostar line, this was a feature-filled looping ride.

As the good weather settles in I find myself wanting to make the most of it by being on the bike for longer. It’s always satisfying to achieve something, and a loop around a city is as good a target as any. I’ve investigated ways to circumnavigate Hertford before but this version took some of the closer options, giving a taste of the combination of woods and sweeping waves of crops that make up the countryside around the town.

The medium circuit of what Hertfordshire has to offer got me thinking further about a plan that I’ve had since last year. This involved a wider loop, taking in the edges of all the rides I’ve done in recent years, and with the aim to hit 100km. During the week I planned it out using the excellent justgoride website and felt the nerves build. It came in just over the target at 116km, which I expected would take around 6 hours. The distance is more than I’ve ever ridden in one go, but I’ve done 6 hour rides before and it would be interesting to see which had the bigger impact.

The Hertfordshire Hundred

For this day out I planned much more thoroughly than I usually do for a ride here. I bled my brakes and gave the bike a once over, adding a bottle cage. I made sure I packed spares and tools, but added food and several bottles of water and energy drinks.

Rolling out I switched my watch over to a map view so as not to watch the distance tick by, and settled into a routine of thinking about what I was riding and no more than one section ahead. On this basis I rolled through the wooded areas, in the early morning clouds and started to make sure I drank plenty on every tarmac section where I could relax slightly. I worked round the mix of lanes and singletrack and through my first checkpoint at Hertingfordbury and then out into the more open North West, towards Tewin and then on towards Watton at Stone.

After Watton there are more fields with a section on the second Roman road of the day before turning south to make my way into the really wide open corn field sections with main road crossings sharp climbs and a couple of fords as the route snaked East towards Much Hadham.

The village of Much Hadham had me just short of the 100 and felt like a real landmark as it represented the last portion of the ride, briefly out towards Bishops Stortford and then south back towards the start. Here it started to get hard, as the time riding ramped up and the tiredness in my body and mind made everything harder. A silly crash, dropping my front wheel in a rut and my body in the corn, woke me up a little and I pressed on, eating the last of my food and switching to Lucozade rather than mixed energy drinks. The last field edges and the final climb were an effort, but I was soon rewarded with the sight of the car and the satisfaction of not feeling as bad as I feared I might.

This was a brilliant, long, tough but hugely rewarding ride that covered the whole range of what Hertfordshire can offer. It’s hard to remember the start as you hit the end of the ride and every section offers something new and extra variety. There’s the landmark of the hundred km and I’d like my time to cover it to stand as a (very) minor distance challenge for anyone else who wants to try the same ride.

A