Take a hat

Florence Round and about in Florence Ponte Vecchio We’ve been to Italy a few times but my previous knowledge of Florence was limited to the Magic Roundabout. I’d booked a Hotel near the station but was a bit worried it was too cheap. The Hotel Elite at 40 Euros per night turned out to be fine and was our comfortable home for the next two nights. One of the advantages of staying at cheaper accommodation is that the restaurants or Trattorias they recommend are at the value end of the price range. For lunch we went to the Restaurant of the 100 paupers - Ostaria dei Centopoveri in the Via Palazzuola. Apparently back in time the church used to provide meals for 100 poor people. We had to pay 10 Euros each but it was brilliant. They have a 10 Euro ‘set meal’ at lunchtime. I had fresh spaghetti with tomato and then a main of mixed meats on a skewer. Wine, mineral water and coffee were also included. Suitably fed we headed off to the main tourist area. There are so many shops in F

Lucky Wednesday and O’Leary’s Aeroplane There was a time when the Aristocrats went on a Grand Tour to Italy, probably by stage coach and latterly the Iron Road. Today our intrepid, but impoverished travellers set off on today’s equivalent - an equally tortuous trip on the M25 and Ryanair. When you have a plane to catch the M25 contrives to be at its most congested. Today was no exception. Stationary traffic from junction 24 on the traffic news should have read Junction 17. The consequences of missing our flight to Pisa, where we were booked into a hotel, would have been very costly. Should we turn off or stick with it? We stuck and with blood pressures climbing we eventually crept our way to Junction 24 and, would you believe it, the road cleared miraculously and we made it to Stansted in good time. Must be our lucky day! Case Sensitive The next hurdle is to get through Ryanair check-in with our hand and pocket baggage. Being Ryanair regulars we know the routine. Some way ahead o

Dry cycle on a wet weather Wednesday - 47km The Wednesday forecast wasn’t great at all. The sky was grey as I set off for the rendezvous; with rain threatening. I knew the others were hardy souls so I expected a good turnout regardless of the weather. And so it was. Over a dozen headed off towards Cookham and climbed up towards Winter Hill past the golf course. I stayed at the back and practised my heel turns as we headed through Cookham Dean and its posh properties. The Turkeys at Copas Farm gobbled and trotted as we passed them by; didn’t wish them a Merry Christmas! The route took us through Pinkneys Green and down Dungrove Hill and under the A404, passing very quickly the notorious lay-bay area, and down to the Henley Road. We turned left on Honey Lane and up the incline towards the Dewdrop Inn, a pub I haven’t visited for 30 odd years; not the beering hour yet so not an option today. Peter took us on a cut-through to Warren Row and a good quiet ride to Remenham where we hit th

Putting your foot in it....and taking it out again! Chilterns in Autumn Being mainly a Mountain-biker and Tourer I had never bothered with cleats. I thought they were only for ‘proper’ cyclist. However when I started to ride out with the group I found that I was the only one with toe-clips. I could keep up on the hills OK but figured I was less efficient than the others. So I thought I’d better give them a go. I actually had the necessary pedals, shoes and cleats stashed in the garage. To be honest it was partly cowardice that stopped me using them. It’s not a comfortable thought having your feet locked to the pedal with a device similar to a ski binding. I decided that I would try with just one pedal first. So propped up against a wall I tried to get my shoe and cleat into the binding. Darn tricky, even with a mirror on the ground so I could see where the cleat was relative to the pedal. Disengaging was even more difficult, you have to twist the heel outwards. I found th

Another lucky Wednesday! After a couple of really naff wet and windy days the sky cleared to allow the sun to shine on our Wednesday ride. A rendezvous at the Bourne End Garden Centre is, I’ve found, typically followed by a climb up Harvest Hill towards Hedsor and Burnham Beeches. So the coffee refills are followed by the coughy uphills! It certainly seems like a lung-buster on a cold November morning. Anyway, onward through the Burnham Village High Street on Market Day towards the Olympic 2012 Rowing Centre and our Thames crossing near Monkey Island. From there we passed through Fifield and headed up to Drift Road and turned left towards the Great Park. After about 2km we turned right down Winkfield Lane and traversed, on a cross-country route, towards Billingbear Golf Club where a gammon steak with chips awaited me. It looked a nice little pay and play club. There a nine hole course (£8.50) and a par 3 course. From there we headed off home via Shurlock Row, Walthan St Lawrence,

Met up at Bergers, a cafe in Marlow, for today’s pre-ride coffee. The place hasn’t changed much in the 20 years or so that have elapsed since my last visit. The group headed off into the Chilterns on one of my favourite routes. Two guys punctured and we lost about 45 mins which meant targets for lunch had to be revised. I was just happy it wasn’t me holding up proceedings. For November, it was quite a nice warm day and there are worse places to hang around than Hambleden. There's a coffee stop at the Post Office with recommended cakes and there is always the Stag and Huntsman if its past the beering hour. We headed over the Thames weir Mill End and then down Remenham Lane to Henley for an early lunch at the Henley Tea Rooms. Never a hardship, like most of the group of eight, I had Fish and Chips including a coffee for £6.90. Then we headed off up a quiet Greys Lane towards Greys Court, a National Trust property that’s worth a visit. We did not stop but carried on up Rocky Lane to t