It was Ugley!! No not that ugly, but Ugley the quiet little village close to Bishops Stortford in Essex. Ugley holds a historic place in the cycling world. It is home to a number of cycling huts built just after the end of WWII. They were built by London cycling clubs so that their membership could use them for weekends of racing and socialising before returning to work on a Monday morning. In an era before car ownership was widespread, you got there by riding your bike, often with your racing wheels attached to special holders on the frame.
For a number of years there have been Audax rides to celebrate the Ugley huts. The Willesden CC have ridden many of these and it has become a bit of a club tradition. Unfortunately this is slowly coming to an end, as the maintenance costs of the huts has soared. So sadly this year will be the last Audax event to be run from the Shaftesbury CC hut, as it will soon be closed. Their hut was erected in the 1950’s with one donated by the Port of London Authority. It is surrounded by a large well kept lawn and the degree of affection for the hut is marked by a discrete row of name plates. These are the memorial plaques to some of the previous generation of cyclists whose ashes have been spread here. So it is a very special and much loved place.
After a terrible, if not perhaps an appropriately ugly week of rain, the day of the Audax proved outstandingly dry and sunny. Phew! There were three rides to choose from – a 200km, a 150km and a 100km. Marianne and Paul rode the 150km, while Vyv, Anne P., Steve and myself opted for a more leisurely 100km. While getting ready for the “Off” we bumped into Martin O’Connor and Brian Moon. They have been stalwarts of this event for many years.
The Ugley line up for the 100km ride
As you would expect from a late summer’s day the Willesden CC were decked out in several layers of winter gear with rain capes close to hand. All wore long legs, with a smattering of over-shoes for those who prefer a warm tootsie or two. All the riders did the same 100km clockwise loop of Braintree, which weaved through some gorgeous Essex countryside. All riders return to the huts for a feed, then the 150 and 200km riders go back out on their loops, while the 100km riders put their feet up and enjoy a leisurely cuppa and plenty of cycling fare prepared by the wonderful Shaftesbury CC Catering squad.
The tactics of our small groupetto of four on the 100km was to stop early for coffee and cakes at the 35 km mark. Then polish off the remaining mileage in one go. This worked well, except we spent far too long chatting and enjoying our cakes, so we were already behind time. No such nonsense for Martin and Brian, who were thundering around the course as they had trains to catch home afterwards. Our representatives on the 150km route did it in a unique manner, doing Loop 2 before Loop 1. This meant they were back at the Huts after 50km instead of 100km, thereby enjoying an early, queue-free feed. Was this a navigational mistake or was it dead crafty manoeuvre?? You decide!
Our 100km course weaved through many beautiful villages, Thaxsted and Coggeshall being particularly picturesque and chocolate boxy pretty! We sauntered into the finish about 20minutes out of time, but it matters not-a-jot as we had a great day out – Vyv being pleased to arrive back with a pot of Jam in her bar bag that she did not start out with!
Ugleys feasting at the finish
At various points during the day we regularly encountered the friendly and very informative Daryl from the ACME cycling club. Thanks for all your helpful information Daryl, we really appreciated it.
After soaking up the last of the atmosphere of the Shaftesbury hut we said our goodbyes and sadly left it for the final time.
So it is the end of an era. Ugley hut, you were beautiful.
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