MA2 Off course - of course

Early start for our first day's riding.  I like Vivienne's style who begins the day with with a glass of cava from the buffet breakfast.  Vivienne is not riding, I think some of us were wondering if we have quite the right idea for the way to spend a holiday.  Cava for breakfast does sound very decadent!

Before we set off, Stuart our leader, gives a briefing.  He is very keen for us to practice riding together as a group.  This is the first time that there has been a social/Intros group on a VCC holiday and he wants to make sure everyone stays safe.

The first day is planned as an easy 50-60 miles and I think my favourite part of the day was the coffee stop at Muro and Laura ordering the cakes in her very best Spanish, which appeared to be speaking in English, but using a Spanish accent.

Manuel would have been proud!

We then head off to lunch, but we don't necessarily take the best route out of Maria and end up with some off roading.

This does result in our first puncture of the day

We then remain firmly off course for the rest of the day.

Most of the group have shiny new Garmins and were quite enjoying following the route on the Garmin,  but we end up resorting to checking out the trusty paper maps.

We have lunch at Petra which is a cyclist Mecca.

We have done 35 miles by this point and have the rest of the afternoon to complete the remaining 25 miles, so can look forward to a nice relaxed ride back again and finally with a tailwind.

As we head back through Alcudia we happen upon a bar, which unsurprisingly has other groups of VCC cyclists there.  It would have been rude not to stop for a beer (a large one!)

We started the day as a group of 11, but feel that we ended the day as a group of 12, as Shaun's alter ego Steve joins us.  (Stuart kept calling Shaun Steve, and Steve now feels like he is part of the group)

Finally, my second favourite part of the day a night cap of a Baileys decaf latte.  Lovely!

MA 1 - Majorca day 1

So, I am braving Majorca again!  After a not very successful trip 2 years ago with the club I'm back!  But this time it's different.

There are several people on the trip that I ride regularly with, and Stuart is leading a social/Intros group, not a social inters group.  This may not sound very different to non VCC members, but it is (or at least I hope it is!)

Most of our group have elected for a civilised flight from Luton at noon, rather than the horrific 6am flight.

We meet in the quiet bar by gate 10 for a relaxed departure and uneventful flight.  Just as it should be!

Deborah, who seems to have a penchant for organising things has arranged transport to the hotel.  This works out rather well!

We arrive at the hotel just in time to pick our bikes up from the rental shop, and take them for a quick spin. I'm anxious about the fit of my bike, I opted for a smaller frame and it doesn't feel quite right.  We shall see how it pans out tomorrow.

In the meantime, it's supper time and a huge buffet dinner is on offer, which everyone seems to enjoy 

Buffet pic 

Just about everyone in this picture is with Verulam.  We're a big group!!

Easter

A 4 day weekend - hurrah!  Easter means lots of different things to different people, but for me it meant the time to fit in 4 bike rides in 4 days!

Although last year, my fitness and speed all improved greatly due to training for Ride 100, winter has taken its toll and I've slowed down again.

I need to start my loops around the Common again, but I'm waiting for it to be 5 deg at 5am, and no sign of this yet!

So 4 days and 4 rides

Good Friday and Laura wants to check out her route to Bluebell cafe in Marsworth as she is leading a VCC group on Friday. 10 of us head out, a lovely group, a lovely ride

But then some fool (me!) suggests going to Wendover to check out some new cafes.  This only adds an extra 10 miles to the journey, but includes The Hale!  A beast of a hill, that I have been dreading.  However, delighted to find that I made it up the hill without getting off.

Easter Saturday 

Roy, Laura, Stuart and I head off to Essex to ride a circular loop from Elsenham to the Blue Egg cafe.

A lovely area, very picturesque and nice quiet roads.

Roy appears to be an ideal cycling companion, he first suggests a bonus teastop at Debden in a lovely farmhouse cafe

(And at the end of the day also suggests a quick drink in the pub.  He has the right attitude to cycling!)

Blue Egg cafe has a particularly fine selection of cakes

And I think we all enjoyed the day

Easter Sunday

A brief VCC ride today, due to it being Easter Sunday, so a bit disappointed with the mileage, but a lovely meander back home with Jo, where we get to stop and look at the bluebells and share a twix

We then make our way back through a very posh part of town, where I point out a house that a friend from youth club lived in.  I was never invited back to this house!!

Pic to follow

We decide that the people living there probably aren't happy because all you really need is a bicycle, bluebells and a friend to share a twix with!

Easter Monday 

It's just me and Stuart and we are off on an adventure (well, the train to Milton Keynes, but that is a close as we'll get this weekend!)

Last time we cycled home from Milton Keynes we had a headwind all the way, but today the forecast is for a northerly wind, so ideal weather conditions!

But it was cold and grey!  It was bank holiday Monday after all!

Despite the weather it was a lovely ride, but next time I do this route I want sunshine!!

Tulips in Amsterdam

Much as I miss Montreal (as I was recently reminded about via a Facebook post, one huge advantage of living near Luton airport is the ability to hop over to Europe for a quick jaunt!  

At the beginning of April Stuart, Katie and I were up at 4am to catch the 6am flight to Amsterdam.

 We were spending the day at Keukenhof gardens, which were beautiful

But by far the best part of the day was hiring bicycles and heading off around the tulip fields  

 And then finding a tranquil cafe to sit and enjoy the sunshine!

A thoroughly relaxing day, but we were perhaps a little too laid back on the return journey, leaving Keukenhof at 5pm for a 7pm flight home.  The journey should only be 30 mins, but it seems that everyone departs Keukenhof at 5pm and the traffic was complete gridlock.  We made the flight, but it was a close call!