Ashes to Ashes- 15th April

Thursday's ride had a certain element of Ground Hog Day about it as we set off towards Deadman's Cross via Clophill and Great Lane. This was more to do with the wish to benefit from a strong north easterly breeze on our return journey than a lack of imagination on the part of the route planners.

It seems the threat of damage to their jet engines from volcanic dust clouds grounded a number of our colleagues (now we know what makes Everton so quick); nevertheless six of us (Brian, Chris, Loren, Mick, John & Blunty) braved the Icelandic fall-out and set off down Abbey Lane.

In a strange parallel to the previous week, we met some real cyclists on the outskirts of Haynes. This time they really were proper cyclists with full size bikes as well as matching lycra kit. (I know we have both, but our ale guts do provide quite a significant distinction). In a fit of bravado John and Chris set off in pursuit, pedalling flat out in a forlorn effort to reel them in. To be fair we managed to hold our own for all of 800 yds. Finally, realising this was a pointless exercise for which we would suffer later, we decided to let them go taking some solace from the fact that the combined ages of the three young upstarts was only about 2/3rds of our two.

At Appsley Corner we picked up a concrete bridleway which skirts Rowney Warren. Although this is usually reserved for our MTB rides, it's got a reasonable surface and did not present any problems to our skinny road tyres. Coming out at Chicksands, we turned left and headed back to Ampthill via Deadman's Cross and Limbersley Lane, enjoying a good boost from the wind on backs.

Despite the draw of the Stone Jug, we decided to head directly to Ampthill to try out the newly refurbised Albion Arms.

Now owned by Everards and operated by Banks & Taylor, the Albion has returned to it's former glory after many years in the doldrums. Real ales are it's speciality with some 10 hand pumps offering a rotating choice of guest beers alongside the staples of Everards Tiger and B&T's own brews. There are also several unusual lagers as well as a range of draft ciders, ranging from strong to rocket fuel.

The term " kids in a sweet shop" sprang to mind, made more appropriate by a preponderance of baggy cycling shorts, and it took about ten minutes to decide what to drink. Between us, we managed a pretty good cross section of the beers on display and nobody had a bad pint. ( I don't think I've ever said that about the Albion before!). One of the favourites was a straw coloured ale call GHB. Somebody pointed out that this sounds like a recently outlawed date-rape drug, but at 3.4% ABV I think you'd have to drink an awful lot before succumbing to Mick's charms.

After a couple of rounds we headed back to the Old Sun which, despite the attractions of the Albion was remarkably busy. As ever, the Bombardier, Adnams and Tribute were all in great nick.

20 miles and an excellent evening.

Fish on a Bike- 8th April 2010

In the words of the late great George Harrison - "It's been a long cold lonely winter" and it was great to ride out in bright sunshine for the start of our first road ride of the year.

It doesn't seem five minutes since we were staggering home from the Old Sun after our Xmas ride. Perhaps that's because I've staggered home form the Old Sun on several other occasions since then or simply that time really does go quicker as we get older. Whatever the reason, the start of the new season seems to have leaped upon us and this may explain why we were a bit low on numbers; Brian, Chris H, Loren and, for the first half, Everton making up the crew.

Like a premier league football club, we have new kit and shirt sponsors for the season (thanks to the guys at the Old Sun). This may be the only similarity we have with elite sportsmen but I have to say we looked very smart as we set out down Oliver Street; Loren looking extra smart on his new bike.

Tradionally, the first ride of the year has been a very short slog up Limbersley Lane, round Haynes and back via Clophill, but the sunshine spurred us on to be more adventurous and we headed out to Dead Man's Cross and Haynes Silver End. Thanks to Everton and a brisk tailwind we kept a decent pace on the way out, even up Great Lane.

In truth, the ride was pretty un-eventful but it was just nice to be out. Coming back towards Haynes we spotted some "real" cyclists in the distance and set off in pursuit. It felt great to reel them in and pass them on the climb up towards Church End, but the shine was taken off our achievement when we realised they were riding foldable bikes! They weren't quite Mini-Moultons, having 24" wheels and the riders were wearing lycra.

Everton left us at the top of Great Lane to go and do some real training with Bedford CC. More in keeping with the ethos of the club, the rest of us headed for the Stone Jug.

It was very tempting to stay for a second pint of Old Cobbler but we decided discretion was the better part of valour and returned to the Old Sun. As expected, the temperature dropped dramatically as soon as the sun went down and it was a chilly ride back to Ampthill; some may have regreted wearing shorts.

The Old Sun was busy and the Bombardier, Adnams and Tribute were all in tip top condition.

I was given a freshly caught trout by one of the regulars which prompted a pub-wide discussion on the best way to gut, clean and cook it. Not surprisingly, there were nearly as many receipes as customers. Against the odds, I did remember to take the fish out of my bag and put it in the fridge when I got home ( I baked it with lemon and tarragon for Friday's tea if anybody's interested).

All in all, a very satisfying start to the season, just about clocking up 20 miles.