Bits and Pieces

There’s no blog account of yesterday’s ride as I’m off on my holidays soon and there’s a hundred and one things I need to do before I go. There is however just enough time for me to keep members up to speed with club matters.

There is now in place a firm commitment to always run two groups on Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. This will be overseen in a very informal manner by Howard when he’s able to ride again and in his absence, by some of the regulars. The group taking the shorter and less hilly route will ride at the pace of the slowest rider. This will ensure that anyone contemplating a ride can be confident that they won’t have to ride alone or be left behind. All members have a place within the club and we’re keen to see as many of us out on the road as possible.

This formula worked well on Saturday with five people enjoying a leisurely ride to Nailsworth, in glorious sunshine, whilst three others tackled Tim H’s version of the Three Peaks Challenge.

The next Sunday ride will take place on the 6th July 2014, as advertised. However, six riders who have previously taken part in the Sunday series will either be away on holiday or up in Yorkshire watching the Tour De France.

The course is borrowed from the recent Evans Cycles sportive, which started at Didmarton and ran through Brokenborough. The complete route is around 90 miles. 

Please note that the road you need to take out of Wotton under Edge is not the Old London Road, as shown on Garmin, but the B4058. The Old London Road suffered a landslide and might still be blocked.

Having ridden the course, which is mostly flat, the serious climbing doesn't start until the last 20 miles.

connect.garmin.com/activity/412164973?cid=6433966

Max has updated us following his recent participation in a race and a time trial. I’ll post his reports on the website as soon as I can.

Although I’ve yet to meet Max, I know from our emails that we frequently exchange, that he’s very passionate about our club and is proud to compete in MCCC colours.

Max has entered the Malmesbury Road Race on Sunday 31^st August 2014. Hosted by Bristol RC, the event is based at Charlton Village Hall and starts at 11.00am.

Max is waiting for confirmation that his entry has been accepted. Assuming that it will be, it would be great if as a club we could turn out in numbers to support him. Who knows, without putting Max under too much pressure, with some encouragement it might be possible for him to be in with a bit of a shout in the final sprint.

www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/106136/Malmesbury-Road-Race

Club Ride Saturday 14th June 2014

It’s not every week that we are treated to the rhythmic beating of drums as a contingent of English Civil War re-enactors march, in-time, past the Town Hall. If they were looking for new recruits, then they were out of luck so far as the Clarions were concerned, as we had more pressing matters to attend to. Coincidently though, Howard’s cunning route-planning was taking us almost to the foot of Roundway Down, where on 13^th July 1643, a Royalist cavalry force won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarians who were besieging Devizes.

Back to the cycling, six of us set off for Lacock, all opting for the longer route. Six soon became seven when Phil joined us at Startley, where he was waiting for us.

With the possibility of light showers, most, if not all of us, had packed a rain jacket, but we needn’t have bothered. A thick covering of sunblock would have been of more use, as my forearms ended up a disturbing shade of red.  If things run true to form, this time next week I’ll be shedding skin like a Gecko lizard, except unlike a Gecko lizard, I won’t be eating it.

We worked together as a close unit and whilst experienced club riders might not have readily recognised us as a chain gang, we were doing a pretty good impersonation of one. Glancing from time to time at our respective technical devices, there was some dismay at just how fast we were travelling and unless you were at the front, how little effort was required.

Having completed a wide arc which would have taken both the Royalists and Parliamentarians by complete surprise, we swooped down Bowden Hill into Lacock, where we ran amok pillaging as we went.

Actually, we formed an orderly queue in the National Trust Tea Room and despite waiting a lifetime to be served, we didn’t utter a word of complaint until the staff were well and truly out of earshot.

Having saddled-up, the early morning sense of anticipation and impending excitement that we’d keenly felt earlier, had all but evaporated. The good news was that the return journey didn’t include an ascent of Bowden Hill, but it did however take us up Naish Hill.

Naish Hill was attacked with all of the gusto we could muster, which for some of us, myself included, wasn’t enough.  Inevitably, there were casualties, which resulted in us splitting into two groups; one of four riders and the other of three. And so it remained for the rest of the ride.

Garmin reference: connect.garmin.com/course/6915029

Club Ride Saturday 7th June 2014

Thank you Gary for the following post:

Determined to avoid my  4^th time in a row of not turning up for the Saturday ride – I set off in the dry, but 10 minutes later in Five Lanes I pulled over and put my jacket on. Not put off by the rain and still in high spirits I continued to Malmesbury, but when I turned the corner  in front of the Town Hall – there were no familiar faces or bikes.  

However, sheltering in the door way to the Jackdaw were 'Dynamo' Mike and 2 new faces, Chris from Hankerton and Brian from Sydney .  After brief introductions and questions about the ride we were joined by Anthony for his second outing with the club. 

At about 5 past 10, with no sign of anyone else wanting to get soaked, we set off. Chris, Brian, Anthony and I following the route and Mike going slightly more directly.

Apart from the pot holes masquerading as innocent puddles and a maniac white van driver who thought he was entitled to take up all of the single track road out of Leighterton,  the ride was pleasant and eventually the rain decided to stop and we even caught glimpses of blue sky and felt the sun on our backs.

The rear entrance of Café 53 in Long Street, Tetbury is accessed off of the A433 London Road. We found Mike already waiting with his cup of tea and cake in front of him.  The café soon filled up with a few locals and another group of travel stained cyclists. 

Afterwards, Mike joined us on our trip up the high street, as he headed back off to Malmesbury, the 4 of us dipping down before the Snooty Fox and on towards Cherrington, Oaksey, then Malmesbury  

We parted company with Chris in Hankerton and I said farewell to Brian and Anthony in Charlton. 

The weather held out and I even managed to return home jacketless.

Hopefully we will see Brian, Chris and Anthony next week with a few more Clarions (dig, dig).

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

Club Ride Sunday 1st June 2014

The stream at Bibury (Click once to enlarge the pictures)

Five go to Bibury. We might not be the famous five or even the infamous five, but to Bibury, we did go!

With the sweet smell of sun cream being carried by the warm air, we wheeled out of the Cross Hayes car park.

Some of the previous Sunday rides have been plagued by Garmin gremlins and operator errors. My main priority was keeping to the correct course and anything else was going to be a bonus. With three Garmins between us, surely we stood more than a fighting chance.

There were early indications that Andy Poolman and George’s pace was going to be a little too hot for me, Tim and Gary to handle, but either because we were working hard or they were easing up for us, we managed to stay in touch for the first 15 miles or so before the inevitable happened.

The ride was capturing elements of past sportives and audax events, but I was struggling at times to get a clear picture of exactly where I was. Absorbed by the scenery and the amiable chatter, it didn’t really seem to matter.

Cycling along the Welsh Way, Gary provided us with a brief history of how it was a former route taken by Welsh cattle drovers.

Howard’s route planning was winning high praise, although by now you’ll have noticed that I’m glossing over a lot of the background detail. The relaxed holiday atmosphere was definitely having an effect on me.

Apart from a short, stiff climb not that far out from Bibury, there wasn’t anything that really stood out as being particularly challenging.

Andy and George plan their tactics for the return leg

The three of us arrived in Bibury to find Andy and George relaxing in the sun at the Trout Farm café. (Since when did an ice cream cornet become a mid-ride snack?) Hot drinks and cake were served accompanied by a small slip of paper. The café’s toilets are located inside the Trout Farm and you need to present this at the desk to reach them.

The apple and sultana bread pudding with a ribbon of marmalade running through it was a triumph, but disappointingly, my pot of tea for one only actually delivered one cup.

As we were only half-way around, and as tempting as it was to stay for longer, we remounted and set about getting home. First, there was the small matter of tackling the last of the lumps and bumps before dropping down to Fairford.

The peloton snakes it's way through Bibury

It wasn’t too long before Andy and George disappeared over the horizon, leaving the three of us to take it in turns at the front, as we started to take advantage of the gradual descent.

The flat as a pancake road skirting RAF Fairford, home to the International Air Tattoo, and the broad expanse of the runway, were a sharp contrast to the morning’s idyllic Cotswold scenery. It was probably fatigue, but a series of turns around Kempsford left me feeling as though we were going around in circles. 

Eventually the road spat us out by the Relish café, where during a brief stop, a grateful Tim replenished his water bottle.

Not far from Crudwell we said farewell to Gary who had already ridden the remaining section when he cycled to the start.

Having taken in what seemed like all of North Wiltshire’s villages sitting between the spine road and Malmesbury, plus a few of South Gloucester’s too, we’d done it!

Andy and George sportingly waited for us where it had all begun in the car park. Even though we’d managed an average speed of 15.2mph over the 70 miles, they said they’d been kicking their heels for about 20 minutes. Strava later revealed that it was a bit longer than that with the duo having clocked up a highly commendable average of 16.7mph.

As a footnote, the MCCC isn’t all about speed and never will be, but the ride demonstrates how even as a small club, it’s able to provide a platform from which members can achieve their full potential, at whatever level that might be.

Garmin reference: http://connect.garmin.com/course/6746816