There were in fact thirteen riders on my moderately paced Saturday ride but the girls are so much more photogenic than the boys! And a better cycling day is hard to imagine.

This was a return to the delightful Camelia Botnar garden centre where we always cause a stir by pinching the best tables under sun umbrellas. Most of the ride is in beautiful, shaded quiet lanes, the terrain has a bit of everything and it was puncture free all of the way.

We were all impressed at how fit the four girls were; Harriet had recently completed the 800 mile YMCA ride to Gibraltar, Sally is in serious training for a duathlon, Charlotte has recently returned from a big cycling trip in France and Meera, well, she's just always at the peak of fitness!

Most of us had a quick cuppa and cake in the sun but John Houghton made us laugh, opting for a huge full English, well his ride this day started in Hever, making the total close to 100 miles. Rupert was onboard taking it easy in preparation for his 100 mile TT on Sunday. Dave Willsher was also watching his effort, he is lined up for an Iron Man Triathlon next week.

A perfect ride, everyone looked after each other. 46 miles at just over 16mph.