Blog Bulletin

Wednesday evening's Knight Rider session saw a very welcome cameo appearance by James Horler, who is now spending some of his time working in Bristol. This was the first occasion that James H and James M have ridden together. Rather cleverly, Andy Poolman came up with the suggestion of something by Jimmy James & The Vagabonds for this week's musical diversion. In which case, this must mean that the four vagabonds were Andy Poolman, Peter C, Phil and me, Tim W.

Released in 1976 by Pye 'I'll Go Where Your Music Takes Me' reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.

If you're thinking, I've never heard of them, then listen here and I'm sure you'll instantly recognise the song.

Clarions at the Smoking Dog on Friday with apologies to Peter C who was missed off by our mystery photographer

With Karine moving to Bristol, I thought it would be fitting to say a few words about her time with the club and also her as a person.

Ride number 1 for Karine

Karine's first outing with the Malmesbury Clarions on Saturday 10th January 2015, nearly didn't happen. With extremely strong winds, and Chippenham Wheelers having already cancelled their rides, we almost followed suit. However, with members eager to make the best of the situation, we set off for The Canteen at Nailsworth. 

Ride number 2

Karine's introduction to riding with the club must have been something of a baptism by fire, because the following week, on Saturday 17th January 2015, we found ourselves riding through snow and ice to Jack's Cafe at Cirencester. 

Undeterred by the British weather, Karine became a member. 

Karine smiling at Bibury on Sunday 12th April 2015

Blessed with the rare gift of being able to light up any situation with her wonderful smile, Karine has often kept up our spirits when they might otherwise have flagged.

We've all enjoyed the opportunity to try out our limited grasp of the French language at the start of the rides, only to be left floundering once the opening lines have been exhausted.

We'll also miss Karine's party-piece of always being able to commandeer an unsuspecting bystander and press-gang them into taking a group photograph of us on our travels.

Although we now say au revoir, plans are already being made for us to meet up with Karine on a club ride at some time in the future. It would be fantastic if she could join us along the way for Tim H's annual visit to the seaside.

Reserved for MCCC

(Photographs courtesy of Peter C)

Peter C has submitted the following report covering Saturday's Sporting Group ride to Wickwar Coffee Shop:

We started with 6 riders - Ian, Malc, Phil, Steve Clark and me, plus a new face; Matt who is a fireman from Bristol. 

Ian peeled off early as he had other commitments and is possibly moving closer to his work at Bristol, so this may have been his final ride.

Matt kept us on our heels and we arrived to a reserved table for a round of bacon sandwiches and coffee.

The final leg of the trip was just a short ride from Wickwar to the Somerset Monument, which didn't seem to cause any problems.  

Hopefully the Social Group found the window table waiting for them and enjoyed the same ride.

Tommy and me at the start outside of St Mary's Church Hall, Dunmow, Essex

Meanwhile, probably not much longer after the Sporting Group had left the Wickwar Coffee Shop, Tommy and me steadied ourselves for the beginning of the Kingdom of the East Saxons 404km Audax event. 

Audaxers listening to the pre-ride briefing

We both confessed to feeling nervous about riding this distance for the first time, and so were keen to get going.

The course, which is a sort of tour of Essex, also dips in and out of Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk at its northern edge. It runs out to Harwich and then comes down the coast to Clacton-on-Sea, before turning inland and returning to Dunmow via Colchester and Braintree. This completes the first loop of 268km and should you wish, you can sleep on the floor of the church hall.

The telephone number for the ferry at Burnham was an 

information control question

The second, shorter loop of 136km forms a triangle passing through Billericay to the west and Burnham on Crouch to the east, before delivering you back.

The pier (jetty) at Burnham taken at about 8.00am having 

ridden through the night

As to the actual ride, the opening 170 miles were fantastic. We rode in a fast group to the first control, more or less bounced it, and then got into a nice lively tempo with just the two of us. Over the last 30 miles we were joined by an experienced Audaxer who really whipped up the pace. 

Everything was going well until we got back at about 11.40pm. The hall was in darkness with some of the fast boys already tucked up in their sleeping bags. My stomach was feeling a bit unsettled. Tommy was keen to get going again, which was the original plan, but I felt like I needed a bit of time out. Tommy (encouraged by me) pushed on and I endured something of a mental battle with my brain really not wanting to ride off into the night for another 85 miles. With the help of a couple of Rennies my stomach returned to normal. I kicked myself up the backside and left the control at about 2.30am. 

30 miles later though, I was almost knocked off of my bike by a wave of unbelievable tiredness. I parked up at a bus-stop, stretched out on the seat and promptly fell asleep. 

A sausage roll and a fruit juice at a garage in Billericay set me up for the final 55 miles, a lot of which was undulating and into a strong headwind. Thanks to a stronger first-half performance, I was still able to finish with a couple of hours to spare. I found Tommy snoozing in his van looking very peaceful and resisted the temptation to take a photograph of him.

Green with white trim and black lettering

I know I've got far too much thinking time on my hands. I must, to have come up with this new feature. It's Malmesbury businesses whose frontages are in Malmesbury Clarion CC colours. Bonkers, I know, but can it be coincidence alone that so many are decorated in varying shades of green. 

First up is Fielder & Jones in Oxford Street. Trading as Chartered Surveyors, Auctioneers, Valuers and Estate Agents, there can't be too many other companies in Malmesbury that began life in 1795.

I was going to give you some stuffy facts, but instead thought it might be more interesting if I told you something of my experiences of Fielder & Jones.

For many years Fielder & Jones held a monthly Antique and General Sale auction at the Hook Village Hall, just outside of Royal Wootton Bassett. Whilst the higher value antiques and better quality items were sold indoors, the real treasure for many, were the rows of cardboard boxes outside laden with pots and pans, enamel jugs and bread bins, bits of crockery, and then the larger items such as brass beds, staddle stones, pine cupboards and old lawnmowers. Many of the lots were from rural house clearances or just farmers making some room in their yards by selling unwanted clutter.

The Auctioneer who normally dealt with the outside stock, would violently strike the item with his stick for maximum effect and in a deep, booming voice, call out 'He'll bear inspection.' 

The auctions had a good following with some colourful characters. There was a wily old chap by the name of Joe, who would always cheekily bid 50 pence for a lot which failed to attract any bids. Not wishing to get stuck with unsold lots being offered without a reserve, they would be knocked-down to him.

Unlike many of their competitors, there was no VAT or buyer's premium, which meant that you only had to pay the hammer price.

It was a sad day when the auctions finally ended.