Cold Christmas proves a real winter warmer

It was not actually that chilly for Sunday’s ride to Cold Christmas, while the Cycling UK member group’s Saturday Starter for newcomers discovered some reindeer in Letchworth.

No doubt there will also be a few fancy-dress Santas and reindeer on Christmas Eve’s Saturday Starter morning ride to Codicote, which gets underway from Fairlands Valley Park at 10.30am and will cover about 16 miles.

Stevenage offer the ideal chance to burn off at least some of those Christmas lunch calories with a ‘Pedal Off The Pudding’ ride on Boxing Day, a moderate-paced trip from the Old Town Christmas Tree to Radwell and back (10am start).

You can stretch yourself a little bit more next Tuesday (27 December) with a ride to Royston and Ashwell.  Meet in Fairlands Valley Park at Costello’s Café in time for a 9.30am start.

There are local Stevenage CTC rides every Wednesday evening and every Saturday all-year round, so on 28 December there’s an evening ride from the old town (meet by the Christmas tree at 7.15pm).

The last ride of the old year will be a Saturday Starter to Graveley on 31 December (meet near Costello’s Café at 10.30am).

Local cyclists will be launched into 2017 with the Resolution Ride, meeting near the Old Town Christmas Tree on New Year’s Day at the kind time of 10.30am for a cycle cruise to Vanstone Park. A more energetic ride to Puckeridge and Hertford takes place on Monday 2 January – same meeting place, but this time at 9.30am.