Weekly Roundup

There's a lot to get through and so without further ado, on with the show. First up is a collection of photographs taken by Howard with his accompanying captions. If you have your own witty remarks, please feel free to use the comments box or email me and I'll post them up.

School Hill, Brinkworth, on the first Sunday ride. Tim W helps Peter behind the railings whilst others take shelter.

How many Clarions does it take to change an inner tube? One if it's raining.

Mechanical doping evidence. UCI take note!

Look into my eye.

Late arrivals for tea.

Cake consumption consumes concentration.

Malmesbury CCC en route

On Thursday evening George had his second race at Castle Combe. The category 3/4 race had a field of well in excess of 100 riders and was over 17 laps. Despite it being a longer race than his previous one, the pace was definitely faster. The pack was fairly tight throughout with only 3 older riders being cut adrift. By the mid-way point George had slipped towards the back and I started to fear the worst, but he then spent the remaining laps edging his way towards the front and finished in the top 30 or so. 

Coming through the chicane.

Saturday's club ride was to the National Trust Tearoom at Lacock. Howard has kindly sent me the following pictures with captions:

The team assemble and get ready to rock and roll.

The short ride team clearly showing that they don't know how to pose.

The long ride team arrive first at the coffee stop by cheating. They did fewer miles than the short ride team!

The Daneway Inn, Sapperton, one of the controls or at least it was last year.

Also on Saturday, Mike took part in the South Gloucester 100km Audax starting at Alveston near Thornbury. Mike cycled from his home in Tetbury to the start and then back home again afterwards, which was a great effort.

Mike enjoyed the well organised event, although he had to contend with a headwind for most of the ride.

And finally, on Sunday I rode the New Forest Excursion 200km Audax from Lymington. 

(Click once to enlarge the pictures)

Registration at the start.

It was a rather chilly beginning, although I did spot one hardy soul in bare feet wearing a pair of open-toed sandals. I was tempted to ask whether they were fitted with cleats, but thought better of it.

Riders setting off with possibly some late arrivals coming in the opposite direction.

The first control at the Cranborne Manor Garden Centre. 

A pot of tea and a decent sized wedge of coffee and walnut cake did the trick here.

Some riders sensibly opted to use donkeys instead of panniers.

Whilst I was aware that horses and cows can freely roam in the New Forest, I wasn't aware that this extended to donkeys. This pair were at the checkpoint - their interest aroused by a large box of bananas on the table.

The village of Lover

The scenic course took us across the border and into Wiltshire. The Lover (pronounced like Dover) post office, which sadly closed in 2008, used to do a roaring trade around Valentine's Day with romantics keen to have their cards sent out with the 'Lover' postmark.

Lepe Beach Cafe & Shop

The sun came out in the afternoon making this a very pleasant control. The instructions on the approach said to turn left when you see the sea, which sounded a bit vague to me. Surely it depended on how good your eyes were, but somehow the sea managed to stay out of sight until the very last minute and sure enough, as promised, the cafe was there.

The beach at Lepe looking towards the Isle of Wight and yes, it really was that sunny.

This was a well organised event following an interesting and varied course, and one I'll be sure to look out for next year. In the meantime, there's another chance to enjoy the delights of the New Forest plus the added attraction of the Isle of Wight on 6th September 2015, with the New Forest On and Off Shore 202km Audax. Breakfast on the ferry over, ride the length of the island and then back to ride the length of the New Forest!

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-500/