Weekly Roundup

Atherton, Mike G and Steve C on our last outing to Quackers

How time flies. This Saturday we make our first visit to Quackers, near Pucklechurch, since 12th December 2015.

There are two courses to choose from.

Social Group, 37.1 miles, 1,536 feet elevation gain:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12912579

Sporting Group, 42.4 miles, 1,755 feet elevation gain: 
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12912158

If you're one of the first to arrive, and you find the seating next to the farm shop area busy, there are plenty more tables in the back room.

A fair chunk of the elevation for both groups, is the climb up Hinton Hill on the return leg. We'll be making the ascent via Cock Lane, which definitely makes life a little easier than a full-on, frontal assault.

As always, please be careful when crossing the A46 in both directions.

Wednesday evening's Knight Rider session attracted  11 riders.

Members: Des D, James, Jonathan, Peter C, Phil, Simon S, Steve K, Tim H and me, Tim W.

Guests: Gary Walker and John, a good friend of Steve K, who we were pleased to welcome.

After a spirited ride, most of us stopped afterwards at The Horse Guards, Brokenborough for well earned drinks.

Stop me and buy one!

Saturday's club ride to the Jolly Nice Cafe saw 14 riders take to the road, including Jonathan's Dad, who we were delighted to see on his first outing with us.

Social Group: Atherton, Dave, Steve C, Tim H and Jonathan's Dad.

Sporting Group: Andy Parker, Andy Poolman, Ian, Jonathan, Lyndon, Mike G, Peter B, Peter C and Phil.  

Our thanks go to Mike G who devised the Sporting Group's course.

Crofton's steam engine

Monday's Sunday Series ride (confusing I know) drew 6 members for the 86 mile Royal Berkshire incursion at Hungerford and mini-tour of Marlborough villages.

Those making up the rider list were: Andy Poolman, Peter C, Phil, Steve K, Tim H and me, Tim W.

Pete B, who didn't have the time to ride the complete course with us, came as far as the top of the 17% hill after Ogbourne St George, before heading for home. Lesser riders might have been tempted to turn around at the bottom, but not Pete.

Refreshments were taken at the Crofton Beam Engine, and with this being the only scheduled stop on the ride, we took full advantage of the cooked breakfast options.

The weather was a bit of a letdown. It remained overcast all day. The only time we saw the sun was when we returned to Malmesbury. Had I known, I wouldn't have bothered plastering myself with suntan lotion.

Just outside of Foxham, on the crest of a hill, we lined up for a freewheel challenge. The idea being to see who could travel the furthest without pedaling. Amid no doubt unfounded accusations of a half pedal stroke, Steve K was the clear winner, rolling as far as the junction with the road to Christian Malford. 

Whilst our game did nothing to improve our average speeds, it was very entertaining, and will, I'm sure, feature again on the next Sunday Series ride.

Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire

It's been said, that if an Englishman's home is his castle, then Raglan is the Welshman's equivalent. The 15th century ruin met its end during the English Civil War, but there's still enough of the castle left to impress its visitors.

Why am I telling you this? It's because we'll be stopping at the castle, or to be more precise, the castle's cafe, on the next Sunday Series ride, which will take place on 26th June 2016.

The provisional 96.5 mile course has 5,169 feet of elevation and can be viewed here. In order to maximise our miles in Wales, and to keep us within budget, it's a straight out and back over familiar lanes on the English side of the Severn Bridge. From Chepstow, we skirt the Wye Valley, as we head to Raglan. The cafe serves hot and cold snacks, with a very strong emphasis on traditional Welsh food. Too hot perhaps for cawl, but homemade Welsh cakes go great with tea and coffee.

Afterwards, we cycle to Usk, and after hugging the banks of its river, we turn eastwards towards the edge of the Wentwood Forest, which we visited during last year's Sunday Series. There is however, this hill to climb first, but it'll soon be forgotten once the long descent back to Chepstow begins.

Don't forget to mark the date in your diary, as well as those for the following two rides:

Sunday 31st July 2016 - Annual visit to the seaside at Clevedon, approximately 105 miles.

Monday 29th August 2016 - 120 mile excursion, further details nearer the time.

Weekly Roundup

This Saturday's outing is to the Jolly Nice Cafe at Frampton Mansell. I don't think there's anything I can tell you about the venue that you don't already know, so just ride and enjoy!

Mike G has come up with a course for the Sporting Group, which you can view and download here.

Please note that it has to be route-checked first. Should any amendments be required, these will be advised by email later in the week.

Social Group riders can expect an alternative route to the cafe.

Too chilly for the Cat & Custard

Six members made the Wednesday evening session: James, Jonathan, Malc, Phil, Peter C and me, Tim W.

The weather forecast wasn't promising and the further north we went, the darker the sky became. Just when it seemed that we were about to get caught in an absolute downpour, the first few spots of rain fell and then to our utter amazement, stopped.

Reaching Kingscote, having battled against a perky headwind for most of the way, we turned for home, and pushed on by the tailwind, flew back to town, grateful to have stayed dry. 

The original intention had been to stop at Shipton Moyne for liquid refreshments, but as it was a little chilly for sitting out in a beer garden, we decided to postpone our visit for another day.

Howard wasn't taking any chances

I think it's about time I started using a pine cone to predict the weather. I won't bore you, but there are well founded reasons why a pine cone is actually a reliable indicator. 

The periods of light and heavy rain predicted by the Met Office for Saturday, once again, failed to materialise. It's not that I'm not grateful for their non-appearance, it's just that the merchants of doom who deliver the weather forecasts, have a nasty habit of convincing people that they should abandon any notion of pursuing an outdoor activity. 

Ten non-believers or at least doubters, turned up to ride, plus Howard, who as you can see came with his own defibrillator in a handy carrying case.

Social Group: Tim H, Atherton and Steve C.

Sporting Group: Andy Poolman, Jonathan, Karine, Peter C, Phil, Steve M and me, Tim W.

Clarions outside of the Wickwar Coffee Shop on Saturday

The Sporting Group rode to the Wickwar Coffee Shop, and apart from a 

few spots around Tresham, members were more troubled by sweat in the very humid conditions than they were by the rain.

We arrived at the cafe just in time to occupy a large table that was in the process of being vacated. Hot drinks, cake, and in my case, scrambled eggs on toast, were all served promptly. 

Before bidding farewell, we lined up outside for a team photograph. Karine once again worked her magic by finding someone to take the picture for us. 

The Social Group rode instead to the Jolly Nice Cafe.

Crofton, the home of the mighty beam engine

A final reminder that May's Sunday Series ride will take place on Monday 30th May 2016, and will leave at 8.00am.

The 86.9 mile course has 3,499 feet of elevation, with just one proper hill up towards Aldbourne. You can view and download the course here.

Please make sure that you bring enough food and drink with you to last until we reach Hungerford (38 miles). With it being a bank holiday, village shops might well be closed. If needed, we should be able to buy provisions in the High Street at Hungerford.

The cafe at Crofton (45 miles) serves hot and cold snacks. If it's fine, we'll be able to sit outside overlooking the Kennet & Avon Canal. 

Shops during the second half of the ride will again be few and far between, but we do pass the Woodborough Garden Centre (56 miles) and a number of public houses along the way.

Confirmed riders so far are Andy Poolman, Peter C, Phil, Steve K and me, Tim W. It would be great if some more members could join us. We have a lot of fun and riding through unfamiliar villages always throws up all sorts of possibilities for amusing, if sometimes unrepeatable, limericks.  

Weekly Roundup

 Coffee Shop

Clarions on a previous visit to the Wickwar Coffee Shop

This Saturday, we're returning to the Wickwar Coffee Shop. Howard will be leading the Social Group by the most direct route, so expect a ride of around 37 miles.

The Sporting Group's course is ready to view and download here. The first thing you'll notice about the 42.3 mile course is that there's no descent down from, or ascent up to, the Somerset Monument. Instead, we're climbing back on to the Cotswold escarpment at Old Sodbury, where its fairly shallow.

Please note that the outward leg includes a steep descent at Tresham. As always, take great care. It's a popular route for cyclists. You might well encounter riders zig-zagging towards you, as well as horses being led or ridden in both directions.

In Peter C's absence, Phil took over the running of the shop on Wednesday evening, and promptly filed the following report, for which, I'm very grateful:

I arrived with a minute to spare only to find an empty town hall meeting area. Having decided to cycle the route on my own, James came around the corner, closely followed by Andy Poolman.

We enjoyed a lovely 25 mile evening ride looping through Minety, Eastcourt, Long Newton and Charlton. A few large puddles and water flowing across the road from the fields in places but otherwise a dry ride.

Thursday, Mike and me road-tested the course for the next Sunday Series ride, which will take place on Bank Holiday Monday 30th May 2016, departing at 8.00am. 

The 86.9 mile course is now ready to be viewed and downloaded here.  The total elevation gain is just 3,499 feet. There's a few ascents, but only one proper hill, which comes after the first 23 miles, between Ogbourne St George and Aldbourne.

You'll also see from the elevation map that in between Ramsbury and Bishops Cannings, a distance of about 30 miles, it's virtually all flat. 

The original plan was to stop for coffee at Hungerford, but we think we've found somewhere much better, at the Crofton Beam Engine, with the added attraction that it'll be in steam on the day.

The lineup so far, is Peter C, Steve K and me, Tim W. Hopefully a few more can be persuaded to join us, for what promises to be a grand day out.

The goings-on of the Last of the Summer Wine crowd, who meet up at The Angel Tearoom, Sherston on a Thursday lunchtime, normally continues without the glare of publicity from the blog. Andy Poolman, the person behind the camera, kindly sent me this photograph capturing those who were present last week.

If you haven't been before, why not pop along. It's probably best to look out for Howard's email saying that he's going, to avoid the possibility of dining alone.

For those that don't know, the Nurse is fellow club member, Sue, who is Dave's other half. I'm told that Sue was present in an unofficial capacity, although all agreed that given their advancing years, having a Nurse in attendance to accompany them, was probably a good idea.

For those that don't know and might be wondering why, the reason for the last minute switch to Toomers on Saturday, was because an eagle-eyed member (Steve M) noticed that Chippenham Wheelers' Social Group, also planned to stop at Sweetapples in Marshfield. The outside seating area isn't that big, and with both clubs arriving at about the same time, finding somewhere to sit would have been an issue.

Howard's new course to Toomers for the Sporting Group, cleverly avoided Royal Wootton Bassett altogether, and was an instant hit.

The two groups arrived within 10 minutes or so of each other. Sporting Group members took the cake route, whereas some Social Group riders opted for something savoury. My pot of tea for one and homemade fruit scone with butter and jam came in at an unbelievable £1.95. The waitress assured me that she hadn't forgotten to charge for anything. 

As for who ate what in the Social Group, my lips are sealed, but if you want to know how much Toomers charge for burger, chips and onion rings, you might find that Steve M is the best person to ask!

Alphabetically, the runners and riders were as follows:

Social Group: Dave, Howard, Paul and Steve M.

Sporting Group: Des D, Ian, Jonathan, Lyndon, Peter C, Simon S, Steve K and me, Tim W.

If you haven't looked at the club website for a while, please do, and you'll see that the Calendar page now has our intended destinations up to and including, 2nd July 2016. At the moment only the courses for the next ride are available, but as we start to repeat visits to the various coffee stops, this will be rectified by reusing the ones we've previously ridden. There's a new Courses page too, based on routes to our favourite coffee stops, and once I've added the courses, taken from Howard's vast encyclopedia, it will hopefully become a useful library.

Also, there's the Club Ambassador Trophy page, which is a gallery of photographs taken as proof of a member having cycled an Audax, Sportive or any other event, either as an individual or as a representative of the club, whilst wearing a MCCC jersey, jacket or gilet. Don't forget to submit your photographs to Mike for inclusion.

Weekly Roundup

Blogging can be a funny old business. Sometimes less is more. Bumper editions don't always mean bumper to bumper visitor traffic. This week's update is a slim-downed version. After all, it's too nice to be indoors reading or for that matter, me tapping away at my laptop.

Just to get you into the right frame of mind, I invite you to listen to The Beatles singing 'Here Comes the Sun.' Written by George Harrison, it was first released by the group in 1969 and appeared on their album Abbey Road. The video lasts 3 minutes and 7 seconds, which is probably all the time you'll need to read the blog.

Edit. Actually, depending on how quickly you read, you might need to play it twice, as I've added some extra items.

Clarions in the garden at the rear of Sweetapples Teashop, Marshfield

The above photograph was taken on 17th May 2014, and as I recall, was one of Phil's first rides with the club. How the last 2 years have flown by. Sheltering from the heat of the sun are Heather and Simon, whilst Andy Poolman tops up the tan to his legs.

Next Saturday we return to Sweetapples, located in the High Street at Marshfield. There's plenty of storage for your bikes at the back where the seating area is. There's no rear entrance to the teashop, so you'll need to walk around to the front to place your orders.

The Sporting Group's 42 mile course is ready to be viewed and downloaded.You can take your pick between the two formats below.

There's only 1,800 feet of climbing, a chunk of which, is the ascent from Ford up to Colerne. It's a good road. The elevation is gradual, but it does last for about 1.5 miles.

We could bypass Colerne, but as it's somewhere we don't normally cycle through, it would be a shame to miss the attractive High Street, with its war memorial, public houses, post office and shops.

Garmin

Ride With GPS 

For the Social Group, Howard has come up with the following course:

Garmin.

 

The sun arrived at long last

The dramatic change in the weather, plus the mention of a pub stop at the Horse and Groom at Charlton, certainly brought the riders out in force on Wednesday evening, which was great to see.

In alphabetical order they were: Des D, Karine, Malc, Peter C, Phil, Simon S, Tim H and me, Tim W, with Gary, Jonathan and Sean riding as very welcome guests.

Saturday's visit to Cafe 53 at Tetbury kept up the sequence of well attended rides. In alphabetical order:

Social Group: Clive (good to see back), Howard, Paul (making a welcome return) and Steve C.

Middle Group: Des D, Ian and Tim H.

Sporting Group: Colin, Jonathan, Malc, Peter C, Simon S and Steve M.

Meanwhile, also on Saturday, Mike moved up in the Representative Cup league table, by wearing his club jersey on the Lumpy Scrumpy 110km Audax from Parkend in the Forest of Dean. 

The course ran up to the Malvern Hills and back. The elevation chart shows just how lumpy his ride was. Mike topped this off by riding to the start and home again afterwards, registering a total of 165.6 miles for the day. A great effort Mike!

On Sunday, I rode the Blowingstone 107km Audax from Uffington, Oxfordshire, and like Mike, I rode there and back, plus a few more miles.

Last, and most definitely, not least of the weekend's activities, Steve K successfully completed his 500km London to Paris Myeloma charity ride on Sunday. A fantastic effort by Steve both on the road and off of it, in raising a lot of money for a very worthy cause.

Des D has brought the following to my attention, as a way of sharing with other Garmin users, an opportunity to acquire free maps. The usual disclaimers apply. This does not come with a personal recommendation. 

From the little research that I've carried out, as you'd expect, the publicly resourced maps don't come with any guarantee of their authenticity. Those covering urban areas are apparently more reliable than rural locations. Anyway, see what you think.

Here is a write up of how it works:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/05/download-garmin-705800810.html#part-ii-ed

And this is the open map website:

garmin.openstreetmap.nl

Weekly Roundup

Cafe 53, Tetbury

In a new feature for the blog, from now on, it'll have the destination and courses for the next upcoming Saturday club ride. In order to give this the prominence it deserves, it'll always top the bill as the first item.

Saturday 7th May 2016, in a change to the previously advertised excursion, we're making our first visit in a while to Cafe 53, Long Street, Tetbury. If you haven't been before, please use the rear entrance. The wooden door will almost certainly be closed, but it won't be locked. You can bring your bike inside the garden. With temperatures rising to 20 degrees, it'll make the perfect setting for relaxing over well deserved drinks and cake.

Here are the courses:

Short 34.6 miles.

Long 44.31 miles.

Alternatively, you can always ride directly to the cafe, but please let someone know if that's what you're doing, as we wouldn't want to leave without seeing you.

The team lineup for Wednesday evening's Knight Riders' adventure was as follows: Andy Poolman, James, Peter C, Steve K and me (Tim W).

Although there was a threat of rain showers, they didn't materialise, and we managed to get back without having to deploy our rain jackets in anger.

Peter C is employing a variety of courses. This is keeping things fresh and helping to retain the interest of those members who ride on a regular basis. It would be good though to see some more of you coming out to join in with the fun.

Mike performs his interpretation of the Funky Chicken!

Thursday saw Mike and me complete the Poor Student 200km Permanent Audax, the course for which, conveniently comes through Malmesbury. We delayed our start until 7.00am because of the predicted widespread frost. It was a little chilly to begin with, but things soon warmed up with an ascent of the Compton Abdale Alps.

We both opted for beans on toast at Chipping Campden. Our visit to the Bantam Tea Room gave us the opportunity to reminisce about how we'd first met there when I was riding the Poor Student Calendar event in January 2015, and Mike was running the control. On that occasion I'd sat shivering with George, on what was a thoroughly cold and wet day.

Is too much cycling making me bow legged?

With the hilliest section out of the way, we set off across the rolling Oxfordshire countryside, bound for the Peartree Services on the outskirts of Oxford. Here, sandwiches were purchased from Waitrose, and devoured outside, where we could keep an eye on our bikes. 

Our route through the city centre took us underneath the Bridge of Sighs. We then turned westwards and straight into the face of a very stiff headwind, which was to torment us all across the flatlands to Shrivenham. 

Just for good measure, it started raining after Highworth. My vision, blurred by the driving rain, meant that I somehow managed to ride straight past Mike, as assisted by the owner, he dealt with a mechanical outside of the cycle shop in Purton. 

Mistakenly believing that Mike must have surged ahead, I hurtled down Pavenhill and raced off to catch him up. With no trace, I pressed on alone, back to Malmesbury, expecting to find Mike waiting outside of the Town Hall. Meanwhile, Mike was having a navigational nightmare, which was to delay his eventual return. How we laughed about it later!

It's not the tea room, but it is the National Trust's logo

Saturday's excursion to the National Trust Tea Room at Lacock was another well attended club run. We were delighted to welcome Sian on her first outing with us, and Ian returned for his second ride, as did Jonathan, which is always pleasing.

As they say in the world of horse racing, the runners and riders were as follows:

Social Group: Tim H, Atherton and Steve C.

Middle Group, aka the Third Way: Peter C, Des D, Ian and Sian.

Sporting Group: Andy Parker and Andy Poolman (the Dream Team), Colin, Jonathan, Malc and on his last club trip before his charity cycle ride to Paris, Steve K, who takes with him our very best wishes. Steve has trained really hard and looks to be in great shape at the moment.

 Cyclists start to gather in Kings Square

On Sunday, Mike, Peter C and me (Tim W) had the honour of representing our club at Gloucester City Cycling Club's 125th Anniversary celebrations.

Even the 6.30am start from Malmesbury couldn't dampen our enthusiasm for what was a truly memorable day. We arrived at Kings Square in Gloucester just after 8.00am, which was rather fortunate, as it meant Wetherspoons had already opened. Hot drinks quaffed, we mingled with the other cyclists gathering outside.

Alastair, the organiser, was one of the first to introduce himself and thanked us for our attendance. Other members of Gloucester City CC were impressed that we'd ridden from Malmesbury.

At 9.00am we set off en masse for Dursley in a reenactment of the inaugural club ride. Pride of place in the cavalcade went to those dressed in period costume who were riding vintage cycles. 

Before leaving the shopping centre, we were divided into more manageable groups. The pageant attracted a lot of attention, with people dotted along the route photographing and filming the spectacle.

Estimating the total size of the field is difficult. Around a 100 seems a reasonable guess. En route we were joined by a contingent from Cheltenham CTC, and arriving at The Bank Cafe, Dursley, we were greeted by a sizable group from Stroud Valleys CC who recognised Mike and me from the recent Cyclists' Church Service at Castle Combe.

Isabel and Paul from Hereford Clarions

We were delighted to meet 3 members of Hereford Clarions; one at Gloucester and Isabel and Paul at Dursley, who were all riding vintage cycles. We have Isabel and Paul's email address, and as they don't live that far from us, there's a chance they might join us on a club ride.

With the party winding down, and me and Peter having already politely declined a third slice of birthday cake, we said our farewells and set off for home.

You can watch a short video filmed by BBC Gloucestershire here. 

The Tutti Pole, Hungerford

I can exclusively reveal the 86.9 mile course here for the next Sunday Series ride, which will take place on Monday 30th May 2016, leaving at 8.00am, but please don't download it just yet, as it still needs to be road tested.

We'll pass through Wroughton, Chiseldon, Draycot Foliat, Ogbourne St George, Aldbourne, Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat, on our way to Hungerford, where we'll stop for refreshments in the High Street at the Tutti Pole (38 miles).

There's railings outside to secure our bikes, but once I have a better idea of what time we can expect to arrive, I'm going to try and reserve a table by the bay window on the left of the picture. To assist with this, please can you tell me if you intend coming, so I have an idea on how many we need to seat.

Afterwards, we'll run alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal on our way to Pewsey, visiting Great Bedwyn, Crofton, where the pumping station's steam engine will be in operation and Burbage.

We then travel to Woodborough, Beechingstoke, Etchilhampton and Horton, where we might well be tempted to slate our thirsts at the Bridge Inn (64 miles).

Finally, we'll return to Malmesbury via Bishops Cannings, Compton Bassett and Foxham.

There's only just under 3,500 feet of climbing, so nothing to trouble the horses.

Hot off of the press, Mike has the current standings, up to, but not including, Saturday 30th May 2016, for the Grimpeur Challenge Trophy. Only the top 10 positions are shown.

Member	Elevation Gained in Metres
Simon S	14,442
Tim W	11,082
Peter C	7,811
Mike G	6,992
Steve K	6,171
Phil	5,929
Howard	5,392
Malc	3,229
Tim H	2,763
Steve M	2,727

Similarly, below are those for the Chairman's Trophy. The top 11 positions are shown, as three members are tied on 5 points.

Member	Points
Peter C	11
Tim W	9
Steve K	7
Phil	7
Howard	7
Colin	7
Tim H	6
Des D	6
Atherton	5
Mike	5
Andy Poolman	5

And finally, those for the Sunday Series.

Rider	Number of Rides	Total Miles         Points
Peter C	4	235.6                20
Phil	4	235.6                20
Andy Poolman	3	195.1                15
Tim W	3	195.1                15
Steve K	3	159.1                15
Tim H	2	104.9                10
Colin	1	76.5                  5
Howard	1	40.5                  5
Mike G  Steve M	1 1	40.5                  5 40.5                  5