Next group ride: Letchworth Greenway
Another ride starting with the train, this time taking us north to the Letchworth Greenway. This is an 18 mile ride from Letchworth Station (departing 11:00) around the outskirts of the town pausing for lunch in Baldock and a coffee and cake stop at the ride leader’s house in Fairfield. You can find out more including the train times from Hatfield and WGC here: https://www.welhatcycling.org.uk/event/letchworth-green-ring/
Bike Week 2019
National Bike week runs from 8th to 16th June 2019. WelHatCycling will be running two events:
The first is an absolute beginners ride from Hatfield along as little or as much of the Alban Way as people want followed by cake at Bebo’s café, as little legs will have earned it. Open to all ages. Meet at Bebo’s at 10:45 for an 11:00 start. See https://www.welhatcycling.org.uk/event/absolute-beginners-ride-for-bike-week/ for more information.
On 15th June we will be at the Welwyn Festival Street Market with our stall so please come and meet us to talk bikes and tells us what you’d like us to lobby for. One day Welwyn will be connected to the cycle path to WGC. We keen asking! http://www.welwynfestival.org.uk/events/street-market/
New cycle path under construction in Hatfield
This is a curious route. Anyone who has crossed the A414 at Mill Green may have noticed a well-worn track in the grass alongside Mount Pleasant Lane. Clearly this desire line was noticed as Hertfordshire are now turning this into a shared use path. WelHatCycling was able to comment on the plans last year when the designers brought them to our meeting. Progress at the east end of the route looks like this:
Once clear of the section of Mount Pleasant Lane which is also the A414 slip road, cyclists are directed onto the road through the housing. This is good as it enables contraflow cycling towards Mill Green. At this point it’s a pity the new route doesn’t have a short link south to The Ryde School, encouraging more kids to cycle.
Carrying on west, work has been done to improve the pavements past the houses at Lowlands. However, at the west end of the housing where Mount Pleasant Lane joins the A414 at the railway bridge the good works come to an end. This is a shame as this means the cycle route then doesn’t link up to Tesco (unless you push along the narrow pavement). Even more of a shame is that one you reach the Great North Road, wide pavements constructed as cycle paths (but never actually turned into them) restart to connect the route up to Comet Way, the Business Park and the University.
We assume this has to await the A414 junction improvements at Oldings Corner, which is a pity, as this would make for a much more direct cycle route from east WGC and the QE2 to the west side of Hatfield. More to be done.
Litter pick
A big thank you to the Sustrans East Herts Rangers who joined us in clearing up the Alban Way at the Galleria. If you’ve cycled that way you’ll notice it’s a bit wider in places, bushes were cut back and there are two less TVs! Even better we found a perfectly usable spade, which we’ve added to our tool collection for next time. Note the bags in the photo below.
Facebook and Twitter
WelHatCycling are on both social media and so from time to time you will see us forward or post news to one or the other. Do please join us:
Facebook: welhatcycling
Twitter: @WelHatCycling
Join us for coffee on Wednesday 8th May 2019
Finally, over the winter we continue to meet as a group to plan for 2019 and respond to local projects and issues. If you’d like to join use for coffee and cycling chat, you’ll find us at Humphreys, Campus West every second Wednesday at 7.15pm. Do join us if you can.