Bright skies disguised a fairly chilly start to the social ride, setting off a few minutes after the training group and following the same route up Warkton hill and eastwards through Slipton to Thrapston. At that point the routes divided, as we headed south through Denford and the quiet Denford Ash lane to Raunds.

Encouraged by the beautiful weather, we were clipping along nicely as we turned towards Ringstead. I made a mental note to remove the Raunds to Ringstead road from any future routes, as the rough surface and heavier traffic made it less enjoyable than the rest of the ride.

Pretty soon we found ourselves at Woodford Mill, this week’s designated coffee stop. It felt like a real treat to be able to sit together for coffee and cake after so many months when that hasn’t been possible. Phil kindly picked up the tab and we were just preparing to leave as the training group arrived. We continued through Addington to Woodford, then back towards Cranford, the youngsters Jake and Lucas taking their turn to lead the group and setting a good pace.

Jake peeled off at the blue bridge to head for home as the rest of us rolled into Kettering, having covered a very pleasant 28 miles at just under 15mph.

Riders: Marcus Buksh, Lucas Buksh, Jake Bird, James Belton, Phil Scott, Gary Bridger

It felt like a real treat to be able to sit together for coffee and cake after so many months when that hasn’t been possible.

Marcus Buksh