News for January 2012 Thursday 5th January 2012 - report from Bill Balchin: Our first Thursday ride of the year after the country had been battered by storms all week with lorries blown over and trees brought down blocking roads (although not in our area). We just had strong winds to deal with - gusts of fifty miles per hour were recorded today. And as five crazies sat in the bus shelter at Ashton bridge a heavy shower started soon after 10am. So we gave it a few minutes and by twenty past Richard, one of our new recruits, arrived and the rain stopped so we were off. John Killick took over the leaders role today as John Bishop needed to take some precious cargo to the Hunters Rest at Clutton Hill and needed to go by car. We got to Wildcountry Lane where a sign indicated that the lane would be closed for three months from mid-January for roadworks by Bristol Water when Richard had a puncture. He was finding the cycling such hard work he decided to turn back leaving John, Bill, Pete, Martyn and JT2 to splash their way to Winford Manor then take the nice but mucky lane down into Chew Stoke. It was not actually raining and the wind was more across us rather than a headwind so not too bad as we went on to Chew Magna then Stanton Drew. Climbing up to Stanton Wick you could actually feel the hand of that nice wind pushing on your back helping you along. Over the big roundabout at Chelwood Bridge then we took the small lane for the final climb up to Clutton Hill. Despite debris all over the road we all escaped the puncture demons and again were wind assisted to bring us to the lunchstop a few minutes after twelve. Just a few had ridden but there was still a crowd as many more had driven to be able to wish Cyril Slocombe a happy eightieth birthday. We arrived at the same time as JayAre in his car, unloading a magnificent birthday cake baked by daughter Louise complete with a cyclist on the top but no candles due to the fire risk of so many naked flames. After the regular eating and drinking there was a short speech by John thanking Cyril for all he had done for the group, then a response where Cyril said how pleased he was that the group was still active after all the hard work that Ernie Janes had put in to start it off. Then it was time to chop the cake into thirty five slices. The meals at the Hunters are more like proper meals than snacks so after that plus a lump of cake it was an effort to get back outside in the cold wind to ride home. But with short days and a long journey it had to be done. First decision to be made was left or right. We now had Mike Chouings, the oracle of North Somerset lanes with us. Mike not only knows were all the lanes go and how busy they are but which ones go round the hills instead of over. So instead of dropping back down the way we had arrived we turned left and took a gentle wind assisted descent towards the main road then left towards Famborough and left again for Hunstrete and Compton Dando. At Compton Dando we said goodbye to JK and Pete as they took Peppershells Lane (I have long wanted to try that road) to get them onto the Whitchurch cycle track. Bill, Martyn, Mike and JT2 continued over Fairy Hill, left Mike in Keynsham and carried on via Bitton. Although the wind was a pest there was no rain in the afternoon and the skies cleared so that I got home still in the light by four fifteen - bring on those light evenings. From Pete Campbell: Bill, for your info, Peppershells Lane is steep and muddy. When the light evenings arrive, it will still be steep! Click here for the route out to Clutton, and back to Bristol via Peppershells Lane. Thursday 12th January 2012 - report from Bill Balchin: Doesn't it always seem that once you begin something early you can stay in front of schedule. Unfortunately the reverse is also true which is how I came to be chasing along the cycle track towards Bitton at almost twenty past ten when, just approaching the rail crossing, the bunch were coming towards me. Oh well, turn round and join in back the way I had just come to the first road crossing where we turned off and took Cann Lane and Chesley Hill on our way to Doynton. There was a sizable bunch of around sixteen and when we got to the Cross House pub there was another smaller group of hard riders who were had arrived by a more challenging route than John Bishops easy one. With the whole group now together it was time for many to peel off a layer of clothing with the temperature still remarkably mild for January - and the climb of Dyrham coming up soon. After struggling up the hill, across the busy A46 and along the muddy lane to the crossroads we again waited to regroup outside the Knights Wood Burning Stove showroom. This could be an opportunity for a warm-up on a chilly day as they have dozens on the go making the building toasty hot inside - but no such problems today. Pressing on over the flat, windswept area between Marshfiled and West Kington we took the second turning, Drifton Hill, and here is where things started to go slightly awry. Riding with Roy Benney, the designated latern rouge, the two of us waited for Rob Shiels as he dug some debris out of his wheel. Then setting off after the bunch we passed through West Kington and Nettleton. The group were out of sight so at Nettleton we stayed on the lanes and took Edgecorner Lane (what a great name) that brought us out on the road from Tolldown to Burton just before Burton, and then just a short distance to the Fox and Hounds. We then found out that the group had turned right before Edgecorner Lane to bring them into Burton. But where was leader Bishop? Gone looking for us, oops. The Fox and Hounds must have been glad to see us with over forty cyclists packing in. They put on a special "Bikers" menu for us with beef stew, Thai fish cakes, sausage egg and chips all at six quid a pop. By doing this, once the orders were all in the meals were being delivered within minutes - great. The downside of such a big influx of customers was that we drank all the beer! Early arrivals got Doombar but after that there was only some Arkells keg stuff. You can see why real ale is so popular when you drink keg, still it stopped me from drinking too much. No such problems for the althletes from Bath as they knocked back their orange juice. Time to leave and it was a shock to see that it had been raining while we were inside. Most of the shock was to those who had left their helmet upside down on their bike. The rain was petering out as we turned left to Tormarton and by the time we crossed the A46 to drop into Dodington the rain had stopped and the sun was shining under a dark sky giving some dramatic lighting to the scenery and a fresher feel to the end of the day. In fact - just as the weather forecasters had predicted. Click this for the soft route to Acton Turville and back to Bristol. Thursday 19th January 2012 - report from Bill Balchin: I always like to check the weather forecast before leaving home. Today was predicted to be overnight rain, clearing during the day, some bright spells in the afternoon and twelve degrees - so it looks like just the three tops and medium weight long finger gloves. As it turned out the rain had already cleared by the ten fifteen start time and although the roads were wet the sun made a brave attempt at creating a reasonable day for the fifteen starters from Winterbourne. Just to add some tension John announced that he had been in touch with the Buthay at Wickwar who had some doubts about their ability to feed our large and hungry group. But nobody seemed too concerned as we rode through the traffic lights at the newly re-opened bridge and up Swan Lane past our temporary start point since last September. Taking the Badminton Road from Frampton Cotterell up Mays Hill we almost had an incident turning right into Nibley Lane. We were in the marked right turn lane signalling right when a nitwit driving a jeep towing a trailer pulled alongside on our left hand side to turn right whether we were in his way or not. No place for asserting your right of way as he barged through then minutes later his less intelligent brother driving his mum's Honda had to slow down for a few seconds before he could pass. He showed his irritation by flooring the gas pedal, spinning his wheels on the wet road surface and cutting in sharply as he went past - what can you say? Thankfully poor drivers are fairly rare, unlike gravity which is always around and made itself felt on the climb of Wapley Hill. Last January we had trouble walking up this hill because of ice but plenty of grip today as we turned left and left again at the top into Chipping Sodbury then over Inglestone Common.