Hoppo's ride attracted eight followers as we set off on a dry but grey day to the Prop Cafe at Wexham. Geoff pulled out as we left, while we continued following the leader who was not using any of the traditional routes to Windsor, taking us through Stoke Poges, Farnham Royal, Burnham, and Maidenhead. As we left Maidenhead, Woody discovered that the back part of his crossbar had had parted company with the rest of his bike. A couple of cable ties were pressed into action to provide a degree of support - an excellent bit of bodging. A few miles down the road, Alan picked up a puncture which took forever to fix and required six hands to get the tyre back on. Finally we arrived at the Windlesora for a welcome lunch. Woody had wanted to know why the pub had been given this name. NOBBY LECTURE ALERT, NOBBY LECTURE ALERT because Windsor was originally a Saxon settlement named Windlesora, meaning "a river bank with a windlass". Post lunch we headed to Thorney Park GC but it was firmly shut - presumably they spotted us arriving. At this point the group decided to disperse. Four of us headed to West Drayton for an afternoon coffee at the Arveja Caffe (their spelling). While there, Noel realised that he had left his back pack in the Windlesora. A phone call to the pub brought the good news that it was safely behind the bar.
A good day out with Hoppo despite the fact that he had to chop the mileage back a bit to allow for Woody's wounded bike.