Weekly Roundup

After almost 3 years of nearly continuous weekly service (sometimes twice weekly), 184 posts and well over 16,000 page-views, it's time for the blog to put its feet up and take a bit of a rest.

There will still be periodic bulletins to keep you informed. If anyone has anything they'd like circulated via the blog or perhaps a regular or occasional article published, then please email me and I will post it up.

The calendar page on the website has the destinations for all of the club rides up to and including Monday 29th August 2016. Courses will appear in good time for viewing and downloading.

There's plenty of room inside and out on the sun deck at AV8

We always strive to come up with something new or a little bit different, to make the rides as interesting as possible. Sometimes they're a hit and sometimes they're not. 

Saturday's ride is to the AV8 Cafe at the Cotswold Airport. Older members will no doubt remember it as RAF Kemble. The base was home to the Red Arrows from 1966 to 1983. Military flights ended in 1993. It's only 3 miles from Aston Down airfield, which over the years, has caused some confusion for visiting pilots.

If you decide to make your own way there, please note that access can only be gained off of the Cirencester to Tetbury road. With the increase in air traffic, you can no longer reach the cafe from the A429. At one time you could drive across the runway unless the warning lights were flashing, but understandably, that's now considered too dangerous.

Peter C reminded me of its existence a month or so ago. I'd been there twice before, the last occasion being when Mrs W had a flight in a microlight, paid for by me for her birthday. Cruelly, the idea was to frighten her witless, but she ended up enjoying the experience. I'm currently looking at a one day high wire flying trapeze course, naturally without a harness or safety net, for this year's celebration.

The Sporting Group's course is 39.1 miles and has 1,577 feet of climbing. You can view and download it here. 

Meanwhile, the Social Group's course is 33.3 miles and has 1,395 feet of elevation. It's available to view and download here.

Both include a couple of inclines, but nothing that would qualify as a proper hill.

Whilst the sun couldn't find its way through the thick cloud cover on Wednesday evening, it was still warm and dry.


Simon Hillman not only returned for his second ride, he also came with a completed membership form. Simon joins James Horler and Gary Walker,
as our third new member to have joined as a direct result of the Knight Riders sessions. 

Other riders were: Chris, Des D, James, Jonathan, Peter C, Phil, Simon S, Steve M and me, Tim W.

The rides have a loyal following, but it would be great to see some members who haven't ridden with the Knight Riders in a while.

Refreshments were taken at the end of the ride at The Red Bull, where we had the pleasure of meeting up with Mike G.

Plenty to choose from at the Sweetapples Tearoom

Saturday's club ride to the Sweetapples Tearoom at Marshfield attracted 6 riders: Jonathan, Lyndon, Malc, Mike G, Peter C and me, Tim W.

The energy spent climbing from Ford up to the village of Colerne, was well rewarded, with some glorious views across to Box and beyond. Our visit brought back happy memories for Lyndon, who at one time lived in Colerne. We took a few minutes out to soak up the scenery, and Lyndon told us how he and his children had enjoyed descending through the fields on their toboggan in the snow.

Staff at Sweetapples Tearoom looked after us well. Our orders were quickly dispatched. The cakes looked tempting, but out of those who chose to eat, most opted for something savoury, with scrambled egg on toast proving a popular choice. My two slices of toast and marmalade, plus a large pot of tea shared with Malc, came in at under £3.00.

Meanwhile, Atherton, Howard and Paul rode to Cafe 53 at Tetbury.

Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire

Just two of us made the trip to Raglan Castle on Sunday. Peter C and me were joined by Phil, as far as the Welsh side of the Severn Bridge, but with an important examination coming up, and some much needed revision requiring his attention, Phil had to get back home. We appreciated the effort made by him and were naturally disappointed that he couldn't come all of the way with us.

Welsh cakes made the perfect accompaniment to my pot of tea

We made fairly good time getting to Raglan Castle, and were even applauded in Raglan by some roadside spectators who mistook us for participants in a TT.

The view from the terrace at the cafe

Peter and me enjoyed our beans on toast, which we ate under the watchful eye of a brave sparrow waiting for any crumbs to fall.

Budgens, Chepstow

With plenty of work still to do, we headed for Usk, and before crossing the Severn Bridge, made a pit stop at Budgens in Chepstow. Helped by a slight tailwind, we arrived back in Malmesbury shortly after 4.00pm. 

Below are the current positions on the leader board. Phil, who had been joint top with Peter C, has now dropped to third place, and I've moved up to second. Only Peter C has completed all 6 rides.

Rider	Number of Rides	Total Mileage	Points
Peter C	6	419.3	30
Tim W	5	378.8	25
Phil	5	322.5	25
Andy Poolman	4	282.0	20
Steve K	4	246.0	20
Tim H	3	191.8	15
Colin	1	76.5	5
Howard	1	40.5	5
Mike G	1	40.5	5
Steve M	1	40.5	5

A reminder of the dates for the last two rides in the 2016 Sunday Series:

Sunday 31st July 2016 - Approximately 105 miles, 3rd annual trip to the seaside at Clevedon.

Monday 29th August 2016 -122.9 miles Tour de Wiltshire with 6,171 feet of climbing. The provisional route can be viewed here.

The MCCC Members' Code of Conduct, and an additional one for our Ride Leaders, are now both on the website. It's important that you read the code(s) applicable to you and fully understand your responsibilities. You can follow the links below:

Members' Code of Conduct.

Ride Leaders' Code of Conduct.

One of the CTC (Cycling UK) recommendations for Ride Leaders, is that they have emergency contact details and essential medical information, for those riders in their care. This makes good sense for very obvious reasons. 

The committee is presently looking at how this can best be achieved. The Ride Leader could store some of this information on their mobile telephone, but it would mean that all of the Ride Leaders would need all of the members' information.

My personal view is that members need to accept some responsibility where this is concerned, as after all, it is in their best interests.

Bespoke silicone bands, broader than the ones worn in support of various charities, are available from a number of companies. The ID Band Company is one such example. The bands pictured above are priced at £12.45.

Less expensive, would be a simple laminated card, which can be produced for about 50 pence, although rummaging through an injured cyclist's wallet or jersey pockets looking for it, can waste valuable time and might be misinterpreted by any onlookers.

If you have any observations or smart ideas, please make them known to a member of the committee, as we need to progress this without too much delay.