Ayot St Lawrence

I am unable to cycle at the moment because of heavy snowfalls so I will show you a couple of photographs  I have taken of the village of Ayot St Lawrence, which is just 4 miles from where I live. It was the home of George Bernard Shaw the playwright until 1950 and his house is now owned by the National Trust and is named Shaw's Corner.  One of the features is a hut in the garden which can be revolved to enable GBS, as he was known to get maximum light from the sun. The church is disused and a more recent one stands in a meadow quite nearby.

A couple of wintry scenes

I see by my stats that there are some bloggers who live in parts of the world where they don't get any snow so I have put a couple for them to see. Apologies to English, Scottish and Irish people who have seen too much snow.

A Horsey Tale

This morning, riding along a quiet country lane, I was confronted by a riderless runaway horse. I had to make up my mind whether to stop it or avoid it. The horse, being much bigger than me, I decided to avoid it. It went by at considerable speed, followed by a young lady calling out the horse's name which, by the way, was Jack. Jack took no notice and went on its way, the young lady, eventually running out of breath, gave up the pursuit. She was followed some moments later by the lady who had fallen off. All ended well, however as the horse (Jack) found its way to its stable on his own, the lady who parted company with Jack, apart from a smattering of mud on her clothes, was unharmed, and the young lady who was in hot pursuit will probably be in the running for a place in the Olympic 100 metres event. With that peace descended on the Hertfordshire lanes and on a pleasant sunny morning I completed a nice 12 mile ride home.

The Inuit man with reindeer

It is very cold in the UK at the moment so pity this Inuit man with his reindeer at Norway's North Cape that I visited earlier this year. The scenery was wonderful though.

Cold winter's day

Because of the icy lanes today I had to abandon the bicycle and go for a walk on a disused railway line now used as a Sustrans cycleway to Luton in Bedfordshire. I came across these hardy golfers in an adjoining golf course, which begs the question how do they find their golf balls in the snow!

Village of Codicote

Today, with a dusting of snow on the ground, I went for a short ride to the village of Codicote, which has some interesting buildings. Hope you enjoy them. The Tudor period was from 1485 until 1602. Miles covered: 16.

Ride to Stevenage

Today, as the dark mornings are arriving, I had a short ride to the comparatively new town of Stevenage which, when it was planned, had the good foresight to install a cycle track around the town with signposted exits for various areas of the town. There is a man-made park there called Fairlands Valley which a small boating lake and and yachting centre where young people learn to sail small dinghies. I met members of the cycling club I belong to, the Verulam Cycling Club, based in St Albans. We had a nice group of about 12 riders and took a country route home via Aston End, a nice village within a mile of the main town. The previous evening the club had its annual dinner where prizes for the winners of races  were presented. It was a late night with a disco, which is not for me at 81 years of age but the young people enjoy it which is great.
As the daylight hours get shorter in November I will try to let you have some information on the various sights and places of interest in and around Wheathampstead.  Best wishes and get that bike out. Total milege today: 31.

Graveley Ride

Today, on a rather damp Sunday, I cycled to the village of Graveley, passing through the hamlets of Little Almshoe and Redcoats Green,

where in the 19th century the hermit James Lucas lived (Google James Lucas to read about him. Or go to Richard Whitmore's site (Mad Lucas) to get information on a book he has written about him. On to Graveley for tea and cakes at the local garden centre, which is in the shadow of the Lister hospital, named after

Joseph Lister, a pioneer of antiseptic surgery. (Google Joseph Lister). A wet ride home but still pleasant. 32 miles in all. What an informative blog!

Short cycleway

This is the shortest cycleway in Hertfordshire, the council makes these to keep bike riders off the main road and see the open countryside.

This is just outside of the village of Willian, near Letchworth.

(This is a picture of me on my old bike. Old biker and old bike)

Ride to Hudnall

Thursday, 28th October. The autumn tints are coming in fast as I rode to Hudnall, a village
near the Ashridge estate in Hertfordshire, through the village of Jockey End although there saw not a jockey or a horse to be seen, although grazing in a field the unexpected site of a
herd of llamas or various colours. I met and old friend there of many years who has recently had a new knee to replace an arthritic one. He has made a very fast recovery and is back riding his bike after just a few months. Not bad for an 81 year old! So if you think you are too old to enjoy the countryside and the autumn tints that's no reason not to get a bike!

Ayot ride

Ayot old church as I referred to in my last but one post. Ayot St Lawrence was the home of the playwright George Bernard Shaw, known as Shaw's Corner, now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

This morning was the coldest in Hertfordshire this autumn with a widespread frost and ice on a few puddles.The trees are sheding their leaves like falling snow. Time to wrap up warm to go cycling but the rewards are the crisp air and the varied colours of the trees. The narrow lanes in Herts are relatively free from traffic and the countryside undulating, which gives a chance to work on the pedals and keep warm. Best sight of the morning was a field with shire horses and the foals grazing happily in the frosty grass. Only the quietness of cycling can give you this pleasure. Try it!

Ride to Ayot St Lawrence

Today, Sunday, October 17, I had a bicyle ride to Ayot St Lawrence, a short distance from my home in Wheathampstead. Ayot is a well-known village where George Bernard Shaw, the playwright lived from 1906 to 1950. His house, known as Shaw's Corner, is a National Trust property and can be visited by the general public. Google Shaw's Corner to find details.
A unique feature in the garden in a small hut where Shaw composed his work, the hut being on a turntable so that he could follow the sun by moving the hut around. Autumn is coming in fast and the trees are tropping their leaves. A quite new feature in this part of Hertfordshire in the red kite population. It's nice to see this wonderful birds in flight in the early mornings when it is peaceful and a mist lingers over the countryside.

Irish Pub

A great destination for a bike ride!

ride to ardeley

The Verulam Cycling Club Sunday ride was to a village named Ardeley, a very pretty village near to Watton-on-Stone. It was a very windy day but compensated by the rural scenery in that part of Hertfordshire. The village has nice thatched cottages and a very nice tea room with facilities for children to see farm animals and trips for school parties. A round trip from Wheathampstead of 41 miles. Early autumn is a nice time to ride a bike, so get yours out of the garage!

Trip to High Cross

Last weekend I went to High Cross,on the A10, to a public house, the White Horse,
which by prior appointment serves cakes, tea and coffee to 60 riders from the
Verulam Cycling Club, based in St Albans. The A10 is a quiet road, having been by-passed by the M11 motorway. The round trip from Wheathampstead, where I live,
was 37 miles. The countryside in that part of Herts in very open and scenic.
One of the interesting villages in this area in one called Ugly and another called Cold Christmas. A very nice ride on a very windy day. The joke of course is the village is full of ugly people! Best wishes, Harold.

MY NEW BIKE

I bought a new bike this week and all the equipment is modern and the legs are old.
It has 21 gears and I only use the bottom ones aluminium as well!!.
If you would like to make an offer; must be over £1500!!

Until the photo of my new bike is available!

I have not yet got the promised photograph of my new "all singing & dancing" new bike.

In the meantime, I thought I would add a photo of the first bike I used when I first joined the cycling club some years ago.

To Come in due course (when time available!)

I hope to upload some cycling pictures in due course.
I will hope to do this at the Wheathampstead Community Group Internet Cafe http://www.wheathampsteadwcg.org/internet-cafe.html which I attend every Tuesday.

UPDATE 10/08/10

Cycling to Dunstable Downs with Verulam Cycling Club, based in St Albans on Sunday from St Albans