Thank you for all the kind comments over the last few days about the Reading Curry Ride. I am so pleased you all enjoyed it so much and I am sure some of the people who read this and the other reports will regret not coming on a first and unique ride for The Fridays.
The Curry Ride was first mooted late last year as the Fridays considered the future following Simon’s decision to take a break and hand the club over to the collective under the leadership of Martin. Initially the plan was to ride to Oxford and back. Though the outward route worked well I was never happy with the options for the return leg considering it would be in darkness, cater for a large number of riders and not present too many issues if wet. Then the issue which faces all the ride leaders is finding a suitable halfway stop willing to open up in the middle of the night to cater to our needs.
Back in March the ride took a major change in direction when Velolife opened up in the old village pub in Warren Row near Maidenhead. The cycle café soon became a staple part of my bicycle adventures. In conversation one day with Lee the owner the conversation turned to the Fridays and when I asked about the possibility of opening up for us was delighted to hear that Lee was game.
Designing a ride around a halfway stop was always going to be interesting as the route had take us there, be the right length so the ride would arrive at the appointed time and meet the points above. Logic said we should head up into the Chilterns before heading to Velolife. But where to after.....?
Ten days before the ride Reading and Maidenhead suffered a torrential rain storm which saw both town centres being flooded. A partial recce during a DIY 200km Audax showed that some of the more challenging descents had suffered badly with a lot debris being washed on to the intended route. So it was back to the drawing board and thankfully the recce on Thursday night after work showed that it was good to go.
Just over 24 hours later I arrived at Reading Train Station and as I left the station saw two young gentleman struggling to pump up a tyre. As I headed outside I was soon joined by Martin, David and Gordon and before heading off to enjoy the curry thought we would check the two riders where OK and even happier when we found that they had signed up for the ride. A cannister of CO2 later and the fixture and adjustment of a couple of bottle cages we were on our way to the Standard Tandoori. On arrival we found Fab Foodie who had cycled from Abingdon to join us. Initially we were eight but with a couple late arrivals ten of us enjoyed a delicious if slightly unusual pre ride meal.
Returning to the Station we were met by the vast majority of the other 13 riders and while we waited for Adrian and Jenny who had been delayed due the incident on the train decided it was time to sort out the first puncture of the evening. Once the late train had arrived we were off. Instead of crossing the Thames using the new cycle bridge we stuck to the main road and crossed using Cavendish Bridge and soon our first climb. After another mile we left the street lights behind and started the climb up to Stoke Row via Kidmore End. It wasn’t long until we saw our first deer dart across the road in front of us. The magic of night rides was around us with a bright half moon and many thousands of lumen bicycle lights showing the way ahead while people chatted to friends and strangers about everything and nothing. At the Maharajaha’s Well we regrouped before heading once more into the night on our way Christmas Common. We stopped at the entrance to a woodland car park to hear the sounds of dance music and concerns about what else we might discover if we headed too far from the beaten track . Soon we crossed the M40 and passed the BT Tower at Stokenchurch which formed a chain of links between the Post Office Tower in London and BT Tower at Birmingham to send information via micro waves in the 60s and 70s.
Just after turning south we had our second visitation but with the capable skills of Adrian and Kevin as the Tail End Charlies we were soon on our way again. Stopping briefly by the Turville Windmill made famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and glance into the valley to see the few illuminated cottages and houses of Turville whos alter ego is the village of Dibly with the famous Vicar. Due to the visitations we never made it Fingrest and instead headed down the Hambledon Valley towards the weir at Mill End. During this part of the ride I soon realised the season had turned and wished I was wearing some thicker gloves. Crossing the weir was very surreal as we disturbed more and more geese and ducks resting in the shallows with our progress and lights. At Aston we climbed the last significant hill of the ride before a 3km dash to Velolife. On arrival we found Lee had put on the most amazing spread of sandwiches and cakes and spent a welcome hour eating, resting and warming up.
On leaving and heading into the last throws of the night we headed towards Windsor visiting the villages of White Waltham and Winkfield before heading West again via Shurlock Row, Waltham St Lawrence and Twyford. Just before Sonning democracy played a part when the group was offered a choice of following the cycle path along the A4 or using the Thames Path muddy in places to head into Reading centre. To the displeasure of the Rapha Twins John and John who faced the prospect of cleaning their beloved big bikes for the first time we headed to the Thames with no confirmed sightings of George Clooney or The Prime Minister....
As we regrouped halfway along we realised we had failed to keep all the cats together and Stuart who was waymmarking was still awaiting permission to leave his post. Once this misunderstanding had been resolved we were on our way again and heading up the Kennet and Avon Canal and breakfast at Back of Beyond.
Thank you to everyone who joined me in this adventure. I am not sure if the ride will be appearing in next year’s calendar when it has to compete against other excellent opportunities but I can guarantee it will be ridden again.
I love this:
