News for December 2016

1st December. Christmas lunch. Report from Pete Campbell: How can I make today's ride to Christmas lunch at the Old Royal Ship a bit different to usual, I thought. Normally its more or less direct from to Luckington, but the calendar had Station down as the start (can't remember why we're throwing the long-standing traditional Mangotsfield start out the window, but I guess that's what happens when you get kids involved). So I thought, through Bath on the A4 and up Bannerdown, we've not done that for a while. But when I rode it a week ago it took me two and a half hours and I got home knackered. So something gentler for my cycling mates was called for.

Anyway, all the planning was a waste of time. Eighteen people met at Bitton on a freezing morning, Martyn's fixie sporting tinsel and decs. I'd planned a normal BTOTC route up Golden Valley, Wick, , Hill, Marshfield, etc. Wednesday morning Peter Ralph texted me about how on Tuesday afternoon he'd hit some black ice just south of Wick so would be driving to the Ship. By the time we got to the same spot, there wa sheet ice for a quarter of a mile where we dismounted and pushed, walking on the narrow verge. Stuart was on his trike which looked very sensible to me (as I assume you can't fall off, can you), but I changed my opinion when he spun it around and fell off. (Hope the bruises fade soon, and the jacket is repairable.)

So by now we were well behind schedule, and there was an understandable reluctance to continue on the planned route. Fortunately, BTOTC members are not people who expect to be spoon-fed everything. Lots of ideas for alternatives were made and the most popular was to get to Wick and then go via and Dodington to Badminton and Luckington, using main roads. This was democracy in action which we've all been taught is a good thing, though after Brexit and Trump I'm maybe revising my opinion. So, off we went. No more ice, no more crashes, sunshine, not quite so cold. Excellent decision.

I assumed more ice would mean we'd be late for our 12:30 lunch, but we arrived shortly after noon. There were forty five of us, with maybe one or two other customers at the other end of the bar. Were we all happy with the service, the food, and the occasion? Yes, of course we were. This was my eighth BTOTC Christmas lunch and, although the numbers are less than when I first went, the lunch was just the same high quality. We will be back next year.

We were back on the road by 2:30, taking the same route back as far as Pucklechurch (ice-free, but getting colder). On the cycle path back into I could see mist forming and it was starting to get dark. I was happy to get home. Today's route? Touch here.

Thursday 8th December 2016. Ashton to Lower Langford. Report from Bill Balchin: Thankfully the ice patches and lingering frost pockets from our ride to Luckington last week were long gone. Although when I say 'our' I really mean 'your' as I had travelled warm and smug as a passenger in Hamish's car. No smugness today though as the rain started as soon as I left the house and kept up most of the way to Ashton, into the wind, to join Gordon Waddington and eighteen others for a ride to the Langford Inn at Lower Langford. Gordon described his route as an anti-clockwise loop of twenty five fairly flat miles with just one hill. Yeah, I've heard stuff like that before. A group of nineteen can be a bit cumbersome but we stayed on quiet stuff taking the Festival Way, Flax Bourton Railway path and the lanes over the moors. It was not raining but like cycling under an umbrella of dark cloud with a bit of brightness around the horizon as we skirted Nailsea and arrived at our one hill - Tower Hill Road. It seemed to go on for ages and keep kicking up as we gained height on the single track lane, passing expensive looking homes with superb views over the moors. At least they would have been on a clear day. That brought us out on the descent into Tickenham where we quickly lost all the height we had gained. I was a bit surprised when I looked at my Strava elevation track to see what looks like a pimple for this climb. Must be a fault with the satellite.

Completing three sides of a square around Nailsea the brightness on the horizon gave up altogether to leave just a grey sky but no grounds for complaint for cycling in December. After a loop past the Hand Stadium into Kingston Seymour and back through Yatton, we arrived at the lunch stop a few minutes after twelve exactly as Gordon had predicted. There was quite a crowd for lunch with several other customers as well as a Bath contingent, some independents and a couple of walking wounded. Oli Delaney is in the middle of prostate treatment and Brian Trott is sore after being knocked off his bike recently, both arrived by car and we hope to see you both back on two wheels soon. I sat next to Gordon at lunch and asked if he had a route for home in mind. 'Via Butcombe' was the reply 'it's the direct route'. I was not convinced but a glance at the map confirmed that you could draw a line from Langford to Long Ashton and it would pretty much pass through Butcombe. Write out a hundred times "I must learn not to question what Gordon says'.

The sun made a brief appearance as we set off for home, and I mean brief, five minutes at the most but it was still dry under the clouds as we rode on many lanes that I have cycled before but always in the opposite direction. Pete made his own way so that he could check the Plough at Congresbury before our next visit but luckily Steve was also recording so we have the official map including the climb of Butcombe Hill. This looks like a proper hill on the elevation chart, twice as high as Tower Road. As we approached it there was a sound like a pistol shot. And then...nothing. Until a few seconds later Jenny pulled up with a blow-out in her front tyre. The Butcombe triangle strikes again! One for you to sort out Jeff as the rest continued the familiar lanes through Winford Manor and over the A38 on Hobbs Lane. Don't worry said Gordon, I've had it cleaned - and yes, it was fine. Did I mention not to question him? So it ended up a cracking day out and I'm glad I don't have to wash Gordon's jacket which was sprayed in mud from having no mudguards - just ask Shirley if mudguards make a difference. Compare the height of Tower Hill Road and Butcombe Hill here

Thursday 15th December 2016. Amcor to Northwick. Report from Bill Balchin: Marketeers know the power of the word 'new' - better, more desirable, gotta have it. Us old cynics are generally immune to that nonsense but we had some newness today with Andy Short taking his first turn leading a ride and it was to a new venue - The White Horse at Northwick. Twenty people were impressed enough to turn out in mid-December for a bike ride although you would not really know it was December with temperatures in double figures.

Andy apologised at the start that we would being riding on some mucky roads today. But as every lane in the region is wet and muddy at the moment a bit more mud is not going to make a whole lot of difference. We set off under dull skies but no rain, took Hortham Lane to the A38 and then along the main road for a mile before taking a left and plunging down Washingpool Hill into . I say 'plunging' because we flashed down at thirty plus mph for about half a mile before climbing up Hill and then immediately down into via Vicarage Lane. And yet, similar to last week, the elevation statistics would have you think that these were all insignificant bumps in the road. Well statistics are well known to be terrible liars. At Olveston Andy led us down the dead end past the White Hart for no other reason than to see where it went before retracing our way back to the Road and on to .

Once in farming country the muck on the roads cranked up a notch but we had all been forewarned that mudguards would be needed and had turned up on suitable bikes. The elevation profile shows that Bilsham Lane was the highest section today although it didn't feel like it when you were cycling. Maybe I am being mislead by the scale of the chart as we are only talking of a few hundred feet maximum. By now only a stones throw from our destination we put in a loop to , back past the Plough at and through . Two right turns took us onto Farm Lane where the muck on the road was at it's peak, but still navigable.

In the middle of Farm Lane we joined a section of road that crossed the M49 before reverting back to track, then took a wriggle through the Western Approach Distribution Park. Despite the number of buildings and parked lorries there was not a lot of moving traffic as we crossed the main A403 onto a slip sliding trail into followed by a mystery tour along the seafront and another crossing of the M49 this time via a footbridge.There was a small rebellion as a splinter group recognised that they could continue on the sea front under the M4 and take the road from . My journalistic code insists that I stay with the leader at all times although I was tempted today.

So we all made it to the White Horse at Northwick by twelve fifteen with just over two dozen miles covered from the official start. Although Andy had been told that a delivery of Doombar was expected there was a general lack of real ale. Some were reduced to drinking John Smith Smooth, others needed no persuading to get on the Black Rat cider. The meals were good and reasonably priced although you probably would not be thanked for taking your wife there on your wedding anniversary. So with the shortest day of the year getting close and the dull sky promising darkness before four it was a case of make your own way home by your favourite route. An easy task for me and Steve as our journeys were all of five miles each. You can see more photos of the day in the photo gallery. And see the map of the official route here.

Thursday 22nd December 2016. Bitton to Saltford. Report from Bill Balchin: I was out in the car last night close to our cycle route and it was as foggy as anything. Then my early start to get to Bitton was under grey skies and really chilly although with the low sun shining blindingly in my eyes. But by the time our fifteen starters were ready for Peter Ralph to begin the ride it was as perfect a winter's day as you could hope for. So no weather worries today. It could be a challenge to make a two hour cycle route to a destination two miles away from the start but our Peter is a top organiser. His only worry was a potential for ice pockets lurking in shady lanes, especially as his ribs are still sore from an "off" checking out the route a few weeks ago. But the weather was kind today - damp lanes but no ice. After an announcement summarising the route and making mention of mince pies (which I did not make total sense of) we set off towards the Golden Valley in glorious, cold sunshine. A departure from the usual saw us take a right turn into Mill Lane which went up and up into Upton Cheney then left and up some more before we dropped down to the crossroads to go straight over for Wick.

It was a delight cruising the lanes into Doynton with super views in the crisp, clear air. Above us a bright yellow helicopter was mooching around low over the fields and as we approached we were higher than he was. A loop into Pucklechurch then we came back through , over the double mini roundabout at Bridgeyate then took a right into some new houses. I thought that Peter had got lost as we wriggled around the houses and stopped on somebody's drive outside their garage door. And then the Ralph ladies appeared with trays of hot, mulled wine and mince pies - oh yes. It was not a surprise as Peter had already warned us, but what a great thing to do. Thanks very much for that Peter, just the ticket on a cold morning. Back on the bikes we continued into , past the Railway Path and joined the ring road cycle path. After the first section which stays fairly close to the ring road there is a stretch that goes through houses. Looking at today's map it looks pretty straightforward but I was glad that somebody else was leading the way through the twists and turns. Once past the shopping area the path followed the ring road again. This was only my second time along here, the first being when our dear friend John Bishop led a ride a few years back, pointing out the highlights of Kingswood. No sniggering at the back please!

Keynsham high street was busy but once through there we were back on familiar, favourite lanes taking us through Keynsham Manor and bringing us to the Bird in Hand at Saltford bang on twelve. Pete had warned the pub to expect up to thirty five cyclists and that number was not far off with an easy-rider group of around a dozen. Last week that number would have swamped the pub. Today we were probably less than a third of the total customers but once we had found seats dotted around the place the service was slick and the food fine. It was good see Rob Searle back on his bike again after contending with lingering health problems for some time. The easy riders provided just the right company to ease him back into it. With the sun still shining we were back on the railway path by one fifteen for the two miles back to the Bitton start. Just twenty two miles from the start point although those of us who have a thirty mile round trip to Bitton still clocked over fifty for the day. And then almost home and it started to rain. I ignored it. It would take more than that to spoil such a good day out. I won't be out next week so see you next year and a Merry Christmas to all. Our route for the ride, click here.

Thursday 29th December 2016. Bitton to Corston. Report from Pete Campbell: It's between Christmas and New Year, and what do cyclists normally do? If BTOTC tradition is anything to go by, they stay at home resting between bouts of ... [insert whatever it is you like to get up to at this time of year]. We've tried a do-it-yourself lunch stop near Temple Meads station for a few years. This year Peter Ralph and Shirley Hume decided that the only acceptable Thursday action was a proper ride and proper lunch. They organised a ride through the lanes south of Bitton and a new pub, the Wheatsheaf near Corston. So how many would be tempted out from under their duvets on the coldest morning of the winter? Peter had woken with a legitimate fear of ice (he had some bad bruising after finding some black ice at the end of November, and also received a tongue lashing from her indoors which I'm guessing was worse). Maybe he'd be able to crawl back home if no-one turned up. No such luck. Today's group was fourteen strong. We were all worried about frozen roads, so the planned route was put on ice till another day and Shirley and Peter quickly picked an alternative route using main roads. Peter brought his son-in-law Francois who is normally working on a Thursday. He seemed to think we looked like serious cyclists! Remember working? Its getting a bit hazy for me after eight years. We found the roads were relatively traffic-free as we rode to Keynsham and on to Queen Charlton. Just before crossing the A37 Mike Chouings had his annual flat tyre. He didn't want the rest of us watching his puncture repair skills and hearing our comments, so he insisted we carry on without him and he'd see us at the Wheatsheaf. So we went on via Norton Hawkesfield and some ice patches into Chew Magna. It was starting to get a little less cold by now, though I still had two pairs of gloves and shoe covers which weren't coming off. Another six miles due east to Marksbury, and then north-east got us to the Wheatsheaf at 11:50.

I was well impressed with the pub, which was re-opened early this year after a three-month refit. My cod and chips was good, and I was told so was the chilli. Three of the speedier Easy Riders also appeared, as did Keith in normal clothing. His excuse for using his car was something to do with a bottle of wine and a kerb. Its okay Keith, we've all been there. And then a short ride home, to Saltford and the cycle track. At Bitton some stayed for tea and cake, as did a few at the Warmley Waiting Room. Lots of sun today and nobody came off on the ice which made the day even better. Touch here to see today's route.