Wednesday 28th December 2022

Shortest Ride  (Report by Jeff♀)

Today was a wet one, so the ride was officially called off. However, Keith boldly suggested we go "meet at the beacon cafe", which is by Holt Drive.

Although he makes it sound like a trivial affair, I believe it took me almost a whole 10 minutes to cycle there. I decided to take my old (later dated to at least pre-1995 when many UK dialling codes were changed to add a "1" after the leading "0") mountain bike. Perhaps the only bike that could survive the wet roads, and being left outside a cafe unwatched in the middle of town for a couple of hours.

The rain was absolutely (gently) dripping it down, and my planned route across the uni was closed! I had to take a wild detour down the bike lane on Epinal way. Never had I planned for such unforseen circumstances, but because of my extensive experiences training with the group over the last year, I managed to find my way.

Finally, I passed Holt Drive, the usual meeting spot, hauntingly empty, and after a long 100 mi̶l̶e̶s̶, metres, I arrived at the café.

The café stop was not at all rushed. First to arrive - before me - were Terry and Anne who hadn't been out for a ride in a while but were keen to get back out. Then of course I arrived, attempting to open the glass doors but being redirected around the side - almost everyone did the same thing. Rob arrived when I wasn't looking and ordered his coffee at the bar, whilst we waited for table service.

Shortly, Keith and "[his] wife, commonly known as Helen" arrived, along with our drinks and some rocky road and croissants. We were also joined by one cyclist who seemed not to be there for the meet up, but did know a few people - I didn't recognise him though.

Topics of conversation included education, holidays in Thailand, Christmas stories, and old industry and factories in Loughborough. The mystery cyclist did not stay long.

Surprisingly late into our cafe stop, Howard arrived for a quick coffee on the way to the shops, and Andrew was seen outside as I went up to buy myself a second coffee. To my surprise, he made his way in through the glass doors which the rest of us had failed at.

Spurred on by the new arrivals, we ordered another round of drinks. In our merriment we hassled a barista to take a group photo of the eight of us who remained.

Finally, it was time to leave. Despite my excessive refuelling, I felt it would be too much effort and risk to cycle the 2 or 3 kilometres back home, for the fear of getting bored or maybe stepping in a puddle. So, I accepted Howard's generous offer of a lift.

Total caffeine: 2 americanos.
Total time: ~2 hours.
Avg speed: 1 coffee per hour.--