Ware shall I go today?

From Michael:

For a couple of weeks, Miriam and I had been talking about maybe spending Saturday in Leicester as we hadn't been up for a while, and it would have been as our last chance to drop off some Easter books and eggs we had bought our nephews and neices (given we are heading to Florida for a holiday). I thought I might cycle it as there is a route which tracks the old Fosse Way. The distance was causing me a concern (89 miles).....so Aoife being sick on Thursday and Friday helped make up our minds not to go. After a sleepless Friday night with Aoife throwing up, I was shattered on Saturday morning and decided not to go for a ride. The rain and general cold start to the day didn't exactly encourage me either. So, instead we spent the morning pottering around the house.

I got a text from Stephen saying he'd had 3 punctures last week....3!!!! I've not had any yet on the Trek since I bought it 12 months ago so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the kevlar tyres hold out!

By early afternoon, the sun was shining and it was warm.....and so, at 3.30 I decided to take a ride. Being too late in the day to work out a particular route, I took the easy option of heading to Ware in East Hertfordshire. As I've already mentioned in previous blogs, the route to Ware is 95% traffic free along what are former railway lines (starting with the Alban Way). Its a fantastic way to head from St Albans > Hatfield > Welwyn > Hertford before finally arriving in Ware. Its an 18 mile trip each way and so I went at a pretty good speed, taking about an hour and 10 minutes to get there. That is pretty good speed considering the quality of the service (very poor in parts) as well as getting a little lost in Welwyn (where you do have to go onto traffic roads). I really am looking forward to a time when Miriam and I can take Sadie and Aoife on this trip - perhaps as far as Hertford. There were lots of families out with little ones on their bikes and I'm sure lots more people would do it if they felt it was a safe enough way to get around. We need more Alban Ways in the UK!

Stopping by the river in Ware, I snacked on sushi as well as taking one of the sports gels which Stephen and I growing ever fonder of. I also took some time to check the footy......Leicester had drawn 2-2 with struggling Carlisle at home, having gone ahead with 2 mins to go and then conceding the lead in the 92nd minute. All of the chasing pack had won - after being top of League One for so long and only a few weeks ago being 12 points ahead, they may blow it yet with Peterborough now only 2 points behind.

Back then to St Albans. I realised straight after getting on the bike that I had benefitted from a nice easterly wind pushing me towards Ware. It was now slowing my progress in the section between Ware and Hertford which is very open without much wind cover. Once in the wooded areas again, I was able to up the pace and in sections on the flat was hitting 19mph which was pretty good considering the bumpy surface.

I returned home having completed the 36 miles in 2 hours 41 mins and felt pretty good. With us heading out on holiday soon, it doesn't appear as though I will have any more opportunities for a long ride, and I sometimes wonder if I will regret not having done a 70+ mile trip. Generally though, I think we'll both be fine as long we get good early starts and maintain a comfortable pace.