Weekly Roundup

A cut-down version this week I'm afraid.

A windswept Foxley Road

Wednesday afternoon was fairly warm with some sunshine. However, the closer it got to 6.15pm, the darker it became and out of nowhere a vicious wind whipped up. As a result, just four of us took part in the training ride. There was an unpleasant cold edge to the wind and when we reached Alderton there were a few spots of rain to add to the misery. After leaving Badminton we picked up the tailwind and flew back to Malmesbury. I had thought of running with the tide out to Great Somerford with Phil, but the thought of then having to plough a lone furrow into the wind afterwards put me off of the idea.

Thursday evening George raced again at Castle Combe and although he finished in the top third of a large field, he was disappointed not to have secured a place in the first ten.

It's always difficult to predict how many riders will turn up on a Saturday morning. Sometimes there are just a handful and then there are days like Saturday when there's a veritable sea of faces waiting to get underway. We welcomed Karine's friend Alex from France and a gentleman whom I believe rode with Howard, whose name I never discovered. Hopefully I'll have a chance to rectify this on a future excursion.

Negotiating the High Street can be difficult at the best of times and it only takes one enforced stop at the zebra crossing for the peloton to be broken up and people cut adrift. For those taking the longer route, a decision was made to reassemble at Long Newnton where we could sort ourselves out into different groups. This we duly did with the first being made up of eight riders and the second of six.

Not far from Cherington disaster struck when in the larger group there was an unfortunate touching of wheels whilst lining out in the face of an oncoming vehicle. The contact led to Steve K being thrown over the top of his handlebars and into the ditch. Andy Poolman was also unseated, as was a cyclist who had somehow got mixed up with us.

Steve K was clearly in a lot of pain and unable to continue. Worried that he might have sustained some internal injuries, an ambulance was requested. The paramedic who attended the scene from Swindon carried out a thorough examination and was happy that Steve K didn't have any fractures. Andy Parker rode home to collect his car and then conveyed Steve K and his bike back to Malmesbury.

Steve K has already become a popular member of the club. We all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back in the saddle soon.

Members begin to arrive at Cafe 53

Meanwhile, our numbers at Cafe 53 were swelled by the arrival of George who had been out riding with Performance Cycles and Mr and Mrs Dynamo. Overall Mike and Maureen clocked up a very creditable 25 miles and having used the Fosse Way on their return journey, created what they've named the Geriatric, Off-Road, Dynamic Section of the MCCC. 

Those of us left who had been with Steve K did go to the cafe afterwards, but by this time everyone else had left a long time ago.

By my calculations there were nineteen of us, but I stand to be corrected. We really are a club where everyone knows your name and judging by the phone calls, emails and texts from concerned members, Steve K being injured certainly cast a shadow over the ride.

The long route https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/7213680

The short route https://connect.garmin.com/course/9131275