After the recent travails of the club rides dealing with wind / rain / flooding etc, this Saturday we look set for something a little more clement. So, we can look forward to being re-acquainted to some of the less Belgian like members who have been absent of late. We may be joined by some of those who did the night ride last week, so I am planning to have the roads checked in advance to reduce the instances of being hit by bollards travelling in the opposite direction, jaywalking badgers and feisty owls.

Better forecast also gives us the chance to go a little further afield so plan this week is to head north out of the forest for a change.

Route is 116Km and has a fair bit of climbing, 1148M, so will be a challenge.

Planned coffee stop at the Community Shop in Broughton at 67Km. Richard Parker has kindly been to check it out (he has found his calling with this role) and advise / warn them what an NFCC visitation is like so I will call them in advance to ensure they have enough cake.

Route can be found here: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2548975?units=km

At present there is a slight risk of light drizzle after 1300 on the BBC forecast. Can I please ask riders to bring large umbrellas so we can form a canopy over club hydrophobe Graham F and keep him dry.

Roads are drying out, relatively, so mudguards optional for those that wish to dust off their summer bikes.

Thanks in advance

Barry