A very murky start for the 8th Witham Wheelers reliability ride with visibility down to 50m on Gorse Lane. With reports that it was clearer in the Hungerton direction 27 riders set of in 3 groups with lights on to try and give some extra visibility, heading out to Croxton and on through Eastwell and down to Melton where the fog finally cleared. A consequence of the fog was very damp roads which did cause a spill on one corner and showed again the value of wearing a helmet to prevent any serious injury, thanks to Dave for getting the rider back to the HQ.
Climbing out of Melton some mist returned but on the climb upto Burrough on the Hill the sun finally burnt through and the riders enjoyed a great run back towards Ashwell, where a broken level crossing forced a short diversion to Teigh, South Witham and back via Woolsthorpe for 56 miles in total.
In the warm calm conditions Groups 3 and 4 stayed together to average a rapid 18 and 20mph respectively while group 2 split up a bit on the run in with averages from 15.4 to 16.5 mph
Next it week 9 with a 58 mile route, first group leaves at 9.00pm from the Cricket Club on Gorse Lane, all welcome.
