London Phoenix has loads of successful racing riders, but we’re not 100% speed-freaks all the time. Every now and then it’s nice to take things at a more relaxed pace, have a good old chat and a serious bit of cake-eating! This – and the promise that no-one gets left behind – was the philosophy of our Women’s ride last bank holiday Monday.

We braved the threatening skies and headed over to Hertford – a good place to start a rural ride, but easily accessible from Kings Cross. Heading west through Woolmer Green, past Codicote and towards Lilley along some lovely quiet roads, we admired rolling green fields, woods carpeted in bluebells, and each others’ bikes – Alex’s Specialized was just a couple of weeks out of the shop; Sarah had a lovely pair of bling wheels, and Louise is quite rightly covetting her very nice Rapha Condor machine.

On the way back we stopped at the highly recommended Emily’s Tea Shop at Whitwell, where they have amazing chocolatey brownies, cream teas and emergency bits for cyclist like inner tubes and puncture repair kits. And guinea pigs.

Looping back through Burnham Green we all arrived safely back at Hertford without the threatened rain really materialising. A few of us heading towards London decided to cycle back as far as Enfield, and picked up the pace a fair bit, demonstrating that it’s possible to combine the kind of relaxed ride where no-one gets left behind, with a tough bit of training for those who want it, keeping everyone happy!

We’re planning more women-oriented rides (men are permitted but under certain conditions!) – please do get in touch if you’d like to join us!