Yesterday was our second training ride and we went out to the lovely Hever down in Kent. Five of us met at Brian's in Brixton in the morning who talked us through the route and then we set off for a 52 mile round trip.
As we rode out of London the scenery was really quite something and I was surprised by the number of other cyclist we saw. Everyone seemed so friendly and there was a real sense of community.
On the way out, we suffered a couple of technical issues. Brian's handlebars all but fell off which was an easy fix; and Warren's front derailleur stopped working which we tried and failed to fix. Neither of these caused us too much trouble and soon we had passed an iconic "Welcome to Kent" sign and passed under the M25.
After a couple of hours of very hilly riding, we were approaching our destination and rode past Hever castle, which looks just like a castle should look like! Just a few meters from the pub we were aiming for my chain popped off and jammed itself inbetween the front gearset and the frame. In an act of solidarity, the whole group pushed our bikes the last few meters to the pub.
The pub was great with an open fire and a fantastic sunday roast selection which we happily ate. It was a great place for a well-deserved rest. The ride back didn't start so well as it had begun to rain and we had to wait for 20 mins getting wet while I disassembled and reassembled the front gearset to get the chain out. Soon we were back on the way and after some monstrous hills, the rain stopped.
We got back to Brian's at around 6 feeling a little worse for wear but overall happy we had accomplished this ride. Ready to get back on the bike for the next one....
2 months ago you didn't own a bicycle and now you can dismantle the gears. Progress indeed.
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