Hatfield and some.
11/08/2001
words by Lum, pics by grahame (Faz944)
On Saturday August 11,
6 Fazers (piloted by Lum, Stunts, FAZ944, Matt Wynes, FazerJay
and Neo) and one Hornet (Lord Wuntun) set out from the BP garage
just off the A10 at Hertford for a little jaunt around the lanes
of Hertfordshire, Essex (just) and Bedfordshire (if there's any
counties I missed out, apologies - geography was never my strong
point).
It seemed to be a success, given that nobody fell off, nobody got
(permanently) separated from the main bunch, nobody filled their
bikes up with the wrong fuel, nobody got nicked, and no
mechanical breakages were reported.
And along the way, some of us also learnt a few things. Namely
that:- Some of the people in this group have absolutely no regard
for speed limits. And the other one probably wouldn't either if
he hadn't been running in;
- You should never claim to know a road based on experience of
travelling along it in one direction only. It looks completely
different going the other way, and it's quite possible to take
wrong turnings. However, a half decent sense of direction,
confident demeanour and dogged refusal to stop and turn round (even
when the 'road' is turning into a gravel track that wrecks the
visors of those behind you - sorry, Stunts) can all help to
disguise the fact that you've taken a wrong turning from the
others (as long as you keep your mouth shut about it when you
stop);
- We found what we think might be Fazey's birthplace. It's on the
B1383 just north of Stansted Mountfitchet and is a little village
called Ugley. General consensus seemed to be
that if it's not his birthplace it should have been;
- But that's about the only thing the B1383 to Newport has going
for it. It really is the most tedious road for miles. 30s, 40s,
the occasional 50, but bugger all NSLs. Avoid it like the pox;
- But the B1039 Wendens Ambo to Royston, on the other hand, is
fun. As are the B1042 to Sandy, the A603 to Bedford (in places),
and that little road south of Bedford that runs parallel with the
A600 (yep, another wrong turn);
- There's a windmill next to the road on the B1039 near Great
Chishill that would make a nice picnic spot. If you don't happen
to have a picnic handy, never mind - it makes a great backdrop
for a group photo;
- The hangars at Cardington (something to do with airships) have
to be seen to be believed. They're bloody enourmous;
- The Anchor (I think it was) at Letchworth does damned fine food
(Hungry Horse) and doesn't have a problem with bikers (in common
with all Hungry Horse pubs, according to Wuntun);
Funny, though - after spending all afternoon so close to it, we
didn't actually include the A507 Baldock to Buntingford in the
route, as the meeting seemed to disband on leaving the Hungry
Horse.Never mind, I did it on the way home (as I guess did a few
others), and anyway, there's always next time (when we'll avoid
that bloody Newport road and go a more interesting way instead).
All in all a great day out, and I/we look forward to seeing a few
more Fazers there next time out.