On the weekend of 15/16th June, twenty-eight MSSC members took part in a two-day cycling trip with overnight stay at Gaveston Hall, a hostel in Nuthurst, West Sussex.
The MSSC party consisted of eleven tandems and three solo bikes, divided into three groups. A massive thank you to Dave Bull, Andrew Newton and Francis D’silva, who each led a group, following slightly different routes of around forty to fifty miles, to and from the venue. Many thanks also to Audrey Bull, who drove the route to provide vehicle back-up, transporting all the luggage and two additional stokers who swapped with other stokers at each refreshment stop.
The cyclists rode through spells of sunshine, intermittent showers and torrential downpours en route to the hostel on Saturday, but nothing could dampen their spirits. Once more or less dried out, everyone enjoyed the evening, chatting, drinking and eating pizza, before heading off to their respective dorms to catch a few hours’ sleep. Sunday dawned bright and hopeful and, besides a heavy shower early in the day, the groups cycled back to Old Ruts, for the most part, in glorious sunshine. No doubt there were a few aching muscles the next day, but a good time was had by all!
We owe a massive debt of gratitude to Joel Hawkins, who so generously subsidised our wonderful weekend trip. Thank you, Joel!