In previous years the club's early season Reliability Rides have generally taken place in weather that has been very cold or wet (or both).  Given the storms and flooding that we have seen this year, it was therefore very pleasing to be greeted by blue skies at the golf club this morning.  The rare good weather resulted in a big turn out of 22 members, a mixture of Clock Tower and Bird Hills regulars, old and new faces.  The sun soon cleared any overnight frost and thankfully the roads were relatively clear of standing water and the debris from the previous day's storm.  Nevertheless the day's first puncture came just before Twyford, but most enjoyed the rare opportunity for this year of being able to stand out in the sunshine.

 

The group was still together at Winnersh, but as I was staying with the back markers, I lost sight of most of the rest soon after.  Swallowfield was the one part of the route that had been flooded earlier in the week, but although the river was high, the road was clear.  Passing through Crowthorne and south of Bracknell we had the wind behind us and with the sun still out we almost felt overdressed.  Not long after passing Ascot, we were surprised to be passed by a big group of the other riders.  We wondered if they had made a coffee stop, but we discovered later they had stopped at Heather's due to a puncture.  We were more surprised that most of them passed us again in Windsor which I think was due to them taking a different route through Windsor Great Park.  Starting at Bird Hills rather than Braywick as in previous years, I made it just 49 miles completed at 15.2mph.  

 

A large group was at Bird Hills when we arrived and most stayed for a welcome coffee on the patio.  I hope everyone enjoyed this combined ride and look forward to seeing you on future Sundays at the Clock Tower or Bird Hills.