Weekly Chat Wednesday 26th February 2014

Once again Howard pulled out all the stops on the catering front with a tasty contribution from Jim. For anyone looking to top tonight's spread I'd advise buying the entire stock of biscuits from the Wild Food Company, plus as many different biscuits as you can get your hands on at both of the town's bakers.

Cycling magazines distributed we settled down to MCCC business.

This Saturday's ride will see us dividing into two groups with one taking a longer route than the other. Both groups will then meet for coffee at around 11.30am at what was previously known as the Two Toads Cafe in Tetbury.

Below is the Garmin link to the full 32 mile course:

http://connect.garmin.com/course/5811202

Max Girdler is going to give us regular updates this season on his racing. There will be a dedicated racing page on the website, as well as separate pages for Audax UK events and Sportives. Contributions under these headings are very welcome. If anyone fancies a bit of blogging then I'd be very pleased to post them on the MCCC blog. Different slants on the club rides or anything cycling related will help to keep the blog fresh. 

Finally, a reminder that Sunday sees our second Reliability Ride. Four riders have already committed. This is not a race and there's no maximum time limit in which to complete the ride. 

Out On The Road With - An Occasional Series

This is the first in an occasional series entitled ‘Out on the Road With.’ The idea is to feature a member, with their permission, to see what they have been up to cycling-wise. Taking his seat on our virtual saddle and freewheeling with us (said in the style of Alan Partridge) is Max Girdler.

For those of you who have never met Max, including me, he’s the one-man MCCC Cardiff sub-section.

I think I got the measure of the man when I saw Max’s order for his new MCCC kit. As a 50 something wrestling with the sizes, my heart was saying large, whilst my head was screaming extra-large. No such dilemma for Max. A small jersey with large bib shorts paints an instant picture of a man who means business on a bike.

I think it’s fair to say that Max had something of an eventful 2013 on the other side of the Severn Bridge. (You can take your pick which one).

Max rides competitively in MCCC colours, which must leave some riders wondering just exactly who we are.  Well I’ve got news for them. The MCCC as a club has started leaving it’s tread on the cycling world’s road. (Well, around Malmesbury anyway).

The highlight for Max was winning a category 3/4 Criterium race at the Llandow Motor Racing Circuit (sounds a bit like Castle Combe), which then gave him enough points to graduate to a permanent category 3 racer. This was after he had finished in the top ten once before and top 20 in every other race.

At Merthyr Tydfil in September, Max switched to his mountain bike and in pouring rain, he finished 1st, five minutes ahead of the 2nd place rider. (Almost enough time to shower and change in).

In his spare time Max cycled across France with a friend, from the Alps to Le Harve, clocking up around 650 miles in 8 days.

Not one to rest on his laurels, this year Max intends to focus on moving up to 2nd category, taking part in some open road racing, maybe some time trials and possibly some track racing too. (Sounds exhausting just thinking about it all).

Hopefully with his busy schedule Max will be able to find some time for a ride or two with us back here in Wiltshire.

Finally, just before our ride comes to an end, Max has kindly offered his advice and guidance to any young aspiring racers (John and George take note). It would be a shame not to tap into Max’s expertise if this is a route you’d like to take.

As we park our bikes all that remains is for me to wish Max every success for the new season. Max has promised to keep us updated, so we look forward to hearing from him.

Birthday Ride Saturday 22nd February 2014

I don’t know whether it was because this was our 2^nd birthday, the excellent weather, the shorter than normal distance or a combination of all three, which led to today’s impressive turnout of 10 members and 1 guest. Whatever the reason(s), it was fantastic to see so many riders.

Andy Poolman’s inspired idea of cycling two laps around the route of the inaugural ride to commemorate our 2^nd birthday, arrived a little too late at MCCC HQ, but it’s definitely one worth exploring next year with of course three laps for our 3^rd birthday.  If progressed, future generations of MCCC members will no doubt curse us for starting this tradition, but at least they’ll be thinking of us.

Punctures dominated proceedings at the start. We were happy to wait for the first to be repaired before setting off. No pressure whatsoever then for our guest rider from Crudwell, who to our eternal shame we somehow managed to lose out on the ride. (If you’re reading this, please come back and give us another try. We owe you a cup of coffee).

Dave was the second puncture victim, only managing to get as far as the High Street before he was forced to dismount.

Out on the Foxley Road we split into two groups.  The recent bad weather had put paid to a number of club rides and so it was good to catch up with each other.  The short, but very enjoyable ride took us out to Sherston, up to Westonbirt and back home through Shipton Moyne. 

As planned, we all met up again for hot drinks at the Jackdaw Café, which was doing a roaring trade. The café is very much on the map of cycling pit stops. We found Bristol RC in residence when we arrived and one of their riders was keen to learn a little more about us.

With the party winding down and members starting to disperse, three of us decided to clock up a few more miles.

Regular readers of the blog will by now be wondering what happened to the promised free cake. Fear not, the birthday cake hasn’t been forgotten!

Weekly Chat Wednesday 19th February 2014

It was good to see so many members at last night's weekly chat. Me and Jim both had the pleasure of meeting Clive for the first time.

There is definitely a buzz about the MCCC at the moment. The new kit arriving has certainly played it's part. Force GB, the manufacturer, has featured us on their Facebook page. Click here to view  

The MCCC membership cards are now being distributed by Howard. The card will allow you to receive a 10% discount at C.H White & Son in Malmesbury with no minimum spend. Another benefit is that free, no obligation, 7 day passes are available for MCCC members at the Malmesbury Leisure Centre. Please contact Grant the Membership Advisor at the Centre to receive yours. If at least five members then decide to join, they will qualify for a corporate rate.

This Saturday is our 2nd Birthday ride. (Will the excitement never end?) The plan is to cover the same route as the inaugural ride. Known locally as the circuit, it is just 15 miles long and we intend having coffee in the Jackdaw afterwards. It would be really great if as many members as possible turned up for this. If you can’t make the ride perhaps you could meet us in the café. The route takes between one and one and a half hours.

And finally, the wonderful CTT plaque featured at the top of the last blog entry, is of course at the front of the Smoking Dog Public House. 

Weekly Chat Wednesday 12th February 2014

The club ride will take place as usual this Saturday. Given the poor weather there isn't a planned route. Instead, one will be agreed on the day based on the prevailing conditions. 

Following the success of the first reliability ride, the next one will be on Sunday 2nd March. The route is already posted on the MCCC website. It would be great to see as many members as possible taking part.

The MCCC blog went viral after some MCCC members took part in the recent Audax UK ride hosted by the Chippenham Wheelers and the Wheelers posted a link to our blog. 

Finally, most people correctly identified the location of the 'No Cycling' sign featured at the top of the report covering the club ride on Saturday 1st February 2014, as being the entrance to the Abbey opposite the Old Bell Hotel. Judging by the appearance of the sign it's been there a while and was presumably erected to address a problem which must have existed. By popular demand I'll put up some more cycling related signs from around the town to test your powers of observation and local knowledge, starting with the one above.

Audax UK 102km Event at Chippenham

I gave Saturday’s MCCC ride a miss as I’d entered the Chippenham Wheelers open ‘Flapjack’ 102km Audax UK event. This was a bit of a late call as entries had to be in at least 2 weeks ahead of the ride and mine and George W’s were posted close to the deadline. I needn’t have worried, as we received our cue sheets to steer us around the course by return of post.

Entry cost just £6, plus £2.50 for Audax UK non-members and included hot drinks, cake and even beans on toast.  This represented unbelievable value for money as anyone who has ever entered a flashy sportive will know.

This was to be our first ever Audax UK event. Howard, a veteran of the ‘Flapjack’, suggested that I laminated the cue sheets and then cut them into four. (A hole punched through the top and a short cable tie completed the handy guides).

We arrived at the Bath Road car park, Chippenham in good time for the 9.00am start and found that there was already a small queue of riders waiting to collect their brevet cards. Bikes reassembled after the short drive from Malmesbury and last minute adjustments made, we joined the growing throng of riders waiting under cover.

If the weather forecasters were correct, rain and strong winds gusting up to 23mph lay ahead. As we set off, we were treated to a light shower of rain, but with fresh legs and a tail wind pushing us up through the High Street it was all water off a duck’s (cyclist’s) back.

Having left Chippenham, we headed into the countryside and mounted an early assault of the steep hill out of East Tytherton up towards Bremhill. Lyneham was reached via Spirthill.  It was then a relatively short hop from one side of the Dauntsey Vale to the other and our first stop of the day at the Brinkworth Village Hall.  

Brevet cards stamped it was time for a hot drink and a slice of the legendary flapjack, which certainly didn’t disappoint.

We then headed further north through Minety and Somerford Keynes before turning westwards to Kemble for our beans on toast in the Kemble Village Hall. Here, a slick production line which would be the envy of the Honda car plant, was in operation. The hall was busy when we arrived and I anticipated a long wait for my serving, but after just a couple of minutes I was presented with two slices of toast topped with a generous helping of baked beans. I made short work of them. A slice of banana loaf and a cup of tea rounded off the feast.

I’d had a dose of the next section the week before on the MCCC’s reliability ride and so already knew how challenging the long pull from Kemble up to Cherington can be when you’re being battered by the wind. It was very much a case of déjà vu as my speed soon dropped to single figures. Even cycling downhill it was difficult to pick up any real pace.

The fast road between Westonbirt and Sherston allowed riders to get back up into their top gears and although we were now heading south, the wind had somehow managed to change direction and was again doing its best to slow us down. 

A welcome cup of tea was waiting at the Sherston Village Hall together with a selection of cake. All of the halls had a warm, homely feel about them and a certain amount of self-discipline was called for to saddle up and not waste too much time.

We made our way back to Chippenham via Grittleton and Castle Combe, but there was something of a sting in the tail with the hill out of Ford up towards Biddestone. The ride ended at the Scout Hall in Derriards Lane.  The general consensus over the soup, rolls, hot drinks and cake being served there was that there’d been no easy miles out on the road. 

 I decided to finish the day off as I’d begun with another slice of flapjack before riding the short distance back to the starting point. Apart from the first shower it had otherwise remained dry and the sun had shone for long periods. The ride had been a fantastic introduction to the world of Audax UK events. Without wishing to sound like an over-enthusiastic Mr Toad who has just discovered a new hobby, once home I wasted no time in joining Audax UK on line. The open road awaits!

  

Club Ride Saturday 1st February 2014

This was definitely a ride (game) of two halves. With a very strong wind on an otherwise pleasant morning, a decision had to be made as to whether we would ride into the wind on the outward or inward leg of the ride. We opted to tackle the wind first, which was a brave decision as the trip to the café stop in the High Street at Marshfield was certainly the hillier of the two.

My wife recently reached the end of her tether fed up with trying to launder a never ending supply of wet cycling kit. I was under strict instructions to come back dry. The weather can be unpredictable at the best of times and I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to do this.

Typically, there was a lot of surface water on the Foxley Road, but here the hedges provided a reasonable amount of cover and protected us from the full force of the wind. Having negotiated the ford at Luckington without incident, we soon swapped the hedgerows of Wiltshire for the crumbling dry stone walling of South Gloucestershire and rode into the fiercest headwind that I’ve encountered for some time. To make matters worse, at times we were also being attacked by a violent crosswind that over one particularly exposed section saw our bikes leaning dangerously to one side.

We arrived at the Sweet Apples Café feeling as though we’d earned our hot drinks and cakes. There’s always a warm welcome at Sweet Apples and it was good to see the ‘CTC Cyclists Welcome’ sign on the entrance door.  I opted for a slice of the fat-free fruit cake and then watched enviously as others tucked into the delicious looking sponge cake.

Having remounted and now with a generous tail wind we flew along the lanes. The joy of effortless riding and an incredible sense of freedom combined to make a heady cocktail. We sailed over short inclines without the need of a gear change and in no time at all we were climbing out of Castle Combe faster than I can ever recall. On occasions the cross winds still did their best to slow us down, but they’d had their chance and quite literally blown it.

There was a brief sprinkling of rain which started as we approached Norton, but it barely qualified as a shower and meant that we were able to get back to Malmesbury still dry. Mission accomplished!