Club Ride Saturday 21st April 2012

The boys make their way, slowly, south west.

Some unnamed members enjoying the lull before the storm

There are many excuses for not 'doing' a ride - too tired, inclement weather, already done enough miles, mechanical problems, can't find my favourite shorts - I could go on. But the excuses offered to get out of this latest ride, well! I have to work, on a ride day? I'm cleaning a swimming pool; hang on, this is a cycling club not a swimming club! And perhaps the best of all, I'm dining at Harrods, what's wrong with greasy Joe's at the end of a ride?

Never-the-less, some Malmesbury CCC members are made of sterner stuff and 3 representatives set off to fulfil the obligations of a weekly club ride. (Since when did it become weekly?)

Like the rest of the week, the weather was forecast to be showery/sunny intervals and we at least set off from the Jackdaw Cafe in the dry. In fact it was so dry, possibly sun was in evidence too, that, for some at least, shorts were the order of the day. First time this year I think. No names given but I sure as you get older it becomes harder to keep your legs warm so, for the more senior members, tights stay on well in to May.

So far the club rides have not really ventured to far north and it seemed like a good idea to remedy that now. Via Charlton, Hankerton, Oaksey and Ewen the half-way point was reached at Cirencester with its wide choice of, probably, suitable coffee stops. But stop we did not and we raced (well, cycled sedately) on. It did make a change actually cycling through a largish town though and handling the traffic as a group was kind of interesting considering we usually do everything to avoid it. So straight on and back in to the country side. I think we headed out on the Gloucester Road and left to Daglingworth. From there it is roughly south west all the back via Cherrington to Tetbury. The main point being that it is also quite a bit downhill, which, as a cyclist, is generally thought of as being good. And it was good!

So to Tetbury. It was here that the real business of the club ride took shape, the coffee stop. Stops can be a bit of a drag. You have to sit down, chat, enjoy a coffee and watch the world go by. All the time muscles are cooling and the longer the stay the harder it is to get going again. Especially if you have cake, we didn't. In fact we limited our stay just long enough to leave at the exact time the weather turned. We set off in the rain. Some of us would have quite happily waited for the all clear, it was a shower after all. Others were eager to be off, the weather being no obstacle at all. So off we set. It has to be said that, in fact, the rain did stop after only a few minutes but it coincided with cycling along the busiest road of the day. Not pleasant. Home via Shipton Moyne and finish in Cross Hayes, a total of 34 miles.


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