News for September 2017

1st September, Message from Andy Short: As you may remember, I am doing a sponsored cycle climb from 8000ft to raise funds for the Hospitals Charity, as thanks for their repair work on my partially blocked heart arteries. As an update, last week I climbed from 5900ft at Red Lodge up to the top of Beartooth Pass, 10950ft, so have 3000ft in the bag (I scrambled up rocks for the extra 50ft !!).

This week, I will be driven to 10600ft at Echo Lake for the last 3600ft climb to the summit of Mt Evans, 14265ft or so. I don't expect to make the whole climb but, there again, 11000ft looked out of court before I got used to the thin air. Anyway, wish me luck and I will start a 'Just giving' page and be round with a collection bucket when I get back.

Let's see what a 62 year old heart and 65 year old bike frame can do......

3rd September: I have decided that I can't do just the bit above my current record height, 10600ft up to the 14260ft summit of Mount Evans when most start at Idaho Falls, 7800ft. So, 6.30am, sunrise tomorrow starts a 6460ft 27 mile slog. The record is 1hr 44 minutes. I'd be happy with 5 hours 44 minutes! 31 centigrade is forecast at 8000ft but I will be above the snow line from 11000ft......

One thing is sure. At the summit the bike is going straight back in its transport box for an uncharacteristic number of days. Wish me luck in getting enough sponsorship for Bristol hospitals charity..... Thursday 7th September – Amcor to - report from Steve Hicks: My last Ride Report was the first ride of metrological summer, today’s is for the first ride of autumn, so where did those three months go I ask myself? As so often is the case, the weather forecast varied according to source, heavy rain showers said the BBC while most other forecasts were for thick cloud but dry. As I set off from home it was raining steadily so my choice of bike with mudguards, grippy tires and disc brakes seemed appropriate. By the time I was half way to Bitton the roads were dry and not another drop of rain was seen all day, so much for relying on the BBC! By 10am Peter Ralph had briefed his twelve charges, describing the route as “lumpy” and with an expected arrival at the Ring O’Bells at 12.15. Richard Hill had already volunteered to back mark so we set off towards , taking a novel route under the station to bring us on to The Wellsway. We then turned into Manor Road, back on familiar territory though more usually travelled on a return route, to pick up the lane to Burnett and on to and . Down into Priston village and up the other side turning to Carlingcott where, at the top of the hill, is a sign for ‘Stoneage Lane’ probably named at the same time as the road was last resurfaced! While on the subject of signs, I spotted a roadworks sign belonging to MNUDC (Midsomer Norton Urban District Council) which as far as I can determine went out of existence in 1974 (Local Government Act). They obviously make sure they get value for their signage money in North (or they don’t use them very often). However, I digress. Peter then took us up the long climb into Camerton and skirted Midsomer Norton where his GPS suddenly shut down, He reckoned it was a ‘dead spot’ though I suspect the poor thing was suffering from oxygen depletion due to all the sudden changes in altitude. Back on track we were soon in Ston Easton and on to Litton and that last big drag up to Hinton Blewett. The Ring O’Bells is one of my favourite pubs despite its elevated location and today did not disappoint. The Timothy Taylors Landlord was excellent though there were some grumbles about the somewhat cloudy Butcombe serving on offer. My triple cheese macaroni was delicious though the accompanying garlic bread was not short on the garlic, prompting my fellow diners to threaten me with riding home alone. Our route back was the traditional one through and passing numerous cyclists travelling in opposite direction who were taking part in the South West Property Sportive. Peter was able to explain that back in his working days he had organized teams to enter this annual event to raise funds for charity. I was lagging behind at this point with Alf Howard and Mike Sennett and we were almost at the top of when we encountered a cycle lying in the road and the rider on his hands and knees apparently suffering from severe cramp. We established that he was not ‘one of ours’ but stopped anyway to offer assistance and advice (“man-up”, ”prepare better next year”, etc.) before Peter, returning to check what had become of us, produced a chocolate bar for the poor chap. [Note to self – Peter is a top ride leader who always carries a chocolate bar and is a very generous fellow.] So, we had a great day out thanks to Peter’s interesting if rather lumpy route. Also thanks to Richard for chivvying along us mere mortals at the back. See all the lumps here. Thursday 14th September: Ashton to . Report from Bill Balchin: Another Thursday promising sunshine and showers - although at ten o'clock it was still sunshine on the sixteen riders waiting for John Upward to lead the way from Ashton to Axbridge. One of those sixteen was Shirley without Chris. Strange as both of them should have been well into Scotland on their end to end.

Patiently explaining for the tenth time, Shirley related how Chris had suffered a broken rib - not from a crash but just from riding with a very stiff left hand shifter - and was in such pain he could not continue. Weighing up her options, Shirley decided against abandoning Chris in Huddersfield and continuing without him in favour of going home by train to fetch the car. Easier said than done with the Parkway station closed requiring a diversion via Wales, then a three hour delay for a signal failure near Cheltenham. Ten hours after leaving Huddersfield Shirley got in the car for a four hour drive through atrocious weather and roadworks. The next day the BRI confirmed that Chris had a broken rib so nothing to do but rest it and try not to get too bored. Hope it mends soon.

John and Julia turned up just on ten, a quick briefing to mention that there would be some hills, and we were off, the group now eighteen strong. The are well known to the BTOTC, we have already been to Churchill and in August so there is bound to be a bit of repetition getting away from Bristol. Long Ashton High Street was a change from wriggling along the Festival Way and we were still dry by Manor. Dropping down into Butcombe the road kept going down and down. Hang on! I recognise this. The unmistakable causeway over Lake. We have not been along here for a while - but we all knew what was to come.

Up to the main road, up to the Seymour Arms, followed by up again to bring us out near the top of at the maximum height for the day at just over a thousand feet. Now closer to the clouds we got some light rain for the trip through Charterhouse before a nice descent toward Shipham. We used the same descent three weeks ago when we turned right for Shipham. Today we turned left for Axbridge and after a very short uphill stretch were soon bombing down past the Aggregate Quarry towards Cheddar. Turning towards Axbridge my legs had almost seized up with the wind chill. Nearly there now and the rain started up again. Rats, stop and pull on a rain jacket or keep going? I never get it right but we all rolled into Axbridge just as the church clock was striking twelve.

The Lamb had asked for meals to be pe-ordered and although several had complied it did not seem to make a lot of difference. An hour later and John gave the signal to get on the road for home - but which way? With next door some of the gluttons for punishment could not resist another climb. The hard men for Cheddar above, the Strawberry softies below.

I had no problem resisting as John led us back through , a bit of Strawberry line and the usual route through . The rain started up just as we left the pub but fizzled out by Sandford to leave it dry for the rest of the afternoon. Here is an interesting point to consider. My Strava did not record as we left Axbridge and only started again at Backwell showing that section as a dead straight line on the map. The difference in distance between my bike computer and Strava was four miles so I guess if they built a dead straight road from Axbridge to Backwell it would save four miles over going through Winscombe, Sandford, Congresbury and Claverham. Not that I expect it is in anybody's plans anywhere to do so.

Up to a thousand feet and home on the flat. Click here.

Thursday 21st September: Amcor to Shipton Moyne. Report from Bill Balchin: When Alf Howard was a boy he was mad keen on cycling. At fourteen he was into racing and even rode with the likes of Francesco Moser (multiple classics winner, 1984 Giro winner and hour record holder) and Moser's Bristol born right hand man Phil Edwards (who died at his Monaco home in April 2017). The photo below is from a previous, sunnier day.

Since coming across the BTOTC at Bitton station one Thursday a few years ago, Alf has become a regular, or as regular as holidays in the camper van will allow. He is another one who was swayed by Phil Hodgson's silver tongue to entice new ride leaders and put his hand up for today's ride from Amcor to Shipton Moyne. That was a brave move as it is not his usual area of knowledge but a set of OS maps, a Garmin and a couple of reconnaissance rides did the trick. Just a shame that for his first time leading Alf got a stinker of a day - non stop rain all morning but it could have been worse.

Alf got the best out of those maps as he managed to find all the best cycling lanes between Winterbourne and Shipton Moyne. He may not have known that we were riding on Frampton End Road, Dyers Lane, Tanhouse Lane and Mapleridge Lane but he knew that the twelve strong peloton would enjoy the route. We almost had an upset in Winterbourne when it was not clear on the small screen of the Garmin that we needed to go along School Road but our lot know where they are going so waited at the junction. I have to apologise to Alf for bugging him during the ride to ask "Are you sure you want to go this way?" but he did not put a wheel wrong after that. At some point we were going have to climb up onto the Cotswolds and Alf selected the small lane through Little Sodbury End that circles you around Horton and onto Sandpits Lane. You would not expect much motor traffic along here, especially not a ready-mix cement lorry, but we got more than our fair share. After Hawkesbury Upton we crossed straight over the A46 towards Little Badminton then left through the delight of the Badminton Estate.

Well yes, it's always a delight. Even today in the rain with the trees and cloudy skies making it so dark you could do with lights. Soon it opened up to fields as we passed through Sherston and still keeping away from the main roads headed in the direction of Westonbirt. I confided to Peter Ralph that I would struggle to find my way home from there which he found hard to believe. Yeah, feet of clay, that's me. Approaching noon we skirted around Westonbirt without actually seeing the village or the school and rocked up into Shipton Moyne at ten past twelve with twenty six miles covered from the Amcor start. And every one of those miles in the rain.

Piling our bikes into the front garden against the outdoor tables, hoping for a bit of shelter under the big garden umbrellas we dripped into the Cat and Custard pot where they had reserved a whole section of the dining room for us. Meals were quick to arrive, the pie of the day was a feast of beef and mushroom, and the manager could not have been more attentive. Every time somebody said thank you to him he would reply that it was a pleasure. Certainly a man happy in his work. Something that I have never seen before on a Thursday was glasses and bottles of water on the tables. Naturally they were all ignored in favour of beer and cider. Mike Chouings bravely made his own way through the rain to join us. I suggested that he could be just the person the Sun Life company are looking for as they want to feature older people doing unusual things. Mike did not think it was unusual for eighty year olds to be cycling hundreds of miles each week - he does it all the time.

Ten past one and although we would like to linger in the dry it's time to go home. The rain had eased a bit but was soon back to normal as we rode more pretty lanes (not at their best today) through Easton Grey and onto the Foxley Road to Luckington. Most of you will know that this involves negotiating a ford via a footbridge. The downhill approach on a wet and muddy section caused a bit of a problem when Peter bumped into the back of Andy but they managed to avoid a dunking. The water looked pretty deep with loose rocks underneath. I would not like to cross it in a car let alone on a bike. At Luckington I peeled off in the company of Keith Shepherd, Peter Metelerkamp and the two Rogers to make our way home via Old Sodbury. Alf led the rest for Alderton on a more southerly bearing. Super job Alf, your reward is the chance to do it all again another time. And of course, getting near to home the rain stopped and the sun came out. Bit blooming late now!

Note from Pete: At lunchtime I was trying to check my voicemail for a call I received at 10:30 this morning. There's no EE phone signal at the Cat and Custard but the Cat's wifi let me find that the call was from ITN Productions. So back home I check the message and, yes, its ITV. I called the number and got the answer "Newsroom" like on a film (fame and stardom obviously not far away). They are running some story connected to the recent case of a guy who killed a woman when he was riding a fixie with no brakes, and commenting on a potential change to the law that might come along. So they thought an ITN crew could come out to meet us today on our ride and get our views. By the time I was home it was too late for us to be in any story they might put together. Probably just as well as the only place for the interview would be in the pub and I think it would not be the best impression to give if we were all seen to be drinking pints before getting back on our bikes. Or maybe it would give them another story. See which wet lanes we rode here

Thursday 28th September: Mangotsfield Station to Bradford on Avon. Report from Bill Balchin: We all got the message that today's ride started at Mangotsfield by the look of the number that turned up. I was the first to arrive and riders just kept coming, the easyriders boosting the numbers even more. Waiting on the old platform on a carpet of golden leaves with dappled sunshine coming through the trees I could have happily stayed for an hour chatting to Alan Bracey, Berry and Reg, Dawn, Jay Are, JT2 and the rest of the folks that we don't get the chance to talk to very often. But we were on a bit of a tight schedule today with Martyn's once-a-year trip to Bradford on Avon. Thirty miles to lunch so no time to linger. Light wind, no rain and occasional sunshine was the weather for the day. Although we were not expecting rain the roads were wet from overnight rain. I gambled on them drying out and brought the lightweight bike with no mudguards - we will see if I chose wisely. A flat couple of miles to Coxgrove Hill and then we had our first climb. I saw a BBC programme about keeping young last night where they recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week. Crikey we will probably do two weeks worth today alone. Another idea for keeping fit is HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training - where you put in a short burst of high effort and then ease off. Coxgrove was a chance to push the effort up but for several minutes rather than seconds. Through Pucklechurch and on towards Hinton, Martyn was doing his usual casual pedaling while doing nearly twenty. I struggled up to chat (and maybe slow him down a bit). His injured shoulder is still painful in certain positions and in need of physio treatment but on the mend. We had a bit of a let-off by taking the right turn towards Doynton and the Hinton by-pass rather than Hinton Hill. But still a big enough climb.

Once over the A46 and through West Littleton we were away from the major climbs but out in the wilds. So it was awkward when Julian punctured. He instructed us to carry on but I was concerned that a bloke from Nailsea could find his way through the twists and turns of the Wiltshire lanes. Alex also had a puncture - maybe they will be able to link up, Alex knows all the lanes. It really is pretty route skirting around the back of Castle Combe, dropping down into Ford and climbing past the White Hart on a steep lane that used to have the surface of a goat track but since it was resurfaced a few years ago has managed to stay in perfect condition. We knew that would not get to Bradford by twelve but I thought that twenty five past was a good effort for bunch of OAPs at an average speed of twelve mph and including some tough hills.

The Lock Inn had reserved their floating restaurant for us. Well I say floating restaurant, it is actually and old barge fitted out with tables and full to the gunwales (see how I worked in a nautical term) with cyclists. The easyriders and the Bath boys had got there first so half the main group sat in the pub - which was no hardship at all. The Lock Inn coped fantastically well with our sudden influx. I could not even count how many cyclists, must have been approaching forty. And there were lots of non-cycling customers as well but everybody was soon tucking in to their lunch. I was tempted by the Hogfather cider today - slipped down like apple juice but at 7.4% ABV I think one will be more than enough. Alex arrived on his own having dug a splinter of glass out of his tyre but had not seen Julian. If you ever have the lamb shank there be prepared for a feast - probably not the best option if you have to cycle thirty miles home, but it was delicious.

Right, which way back? The obvious choice is the canal towpath which is everybody's least favourite surface. And today it was in particularly bad form with mud and puddles in abundance but it was the leader's preferred route. Several groups split off different ways, I stayed with Martyn until he punctured soon after lunch. Our little group (made even smaller when Peter Ralph also punctured) stayed true to Martyn's plan and rode the towpath as far as Limpley Stoke.

I have cycled through Limpley Stoke, Monkton Combe and Tucking Lane several times. I have written about Limpley Stoke, Monkton Combe and Tucking Lane. But if I had to find my own way I would be struggling. Luckily Mike Chouings was in the group so we had no problem finding the two tunnels and the way home. So how did Julian get on? He actually got to Bradford and wisely avoided the towpath to clock up seventy miles before getting home. And the bike with no mudguards? Well it is easier to ride up hills but both me and the bike looked like we had been sprayed. Thank goodness for hose pipes and washing machines.

Click here to see the Wiltshire lanes

Deloitte Ride Across Britain 2017. Catherine Barker rode the 960+ miles from Lands End to John O'Groats from 8th to 16th September. That's an average of over a hundred miles per day, every day for nine days. Here is a brief report in her own words:

It was a tough challenge for me. I was up on average at 4 30am every day so I could be on the road by 7.15 am. There was a 12 hour window to complete each day with cut off times at each pit stop. I avoided the Broom Wagon on all days! My average on the road with stops was 10 mph so in at about 5.00 pm each evening. Our longest day was 126 miles Hamilton to Fort William up over Glen Coe.

Unfortunately most of the pack was stationery for up to 2 hours whilst the police investigated a crime scene- we were just starting up over The Campsies when an overtaking driver took out one of our number - thankfully he lives to ride another day. We got an extra two hours to complete that day so I was on the road for just over 13 hours.

The Day 3 stage out of Bath University was biblical with water and the debris pouring down the hill from Claverton Down. Cav and Dimension Data, who are one of the RAB sponsors steamed past us up Bannerdown at around 20 mph. Copplestone over the Quantocks was the toughest climb of the 969 miles but I rode every inch. Shap Fell was glorious to ride and the Scottish Highlands were mostly dry and very beautiful. A glorious end to end route created by Andy Cook!

See you soon