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Report from Bill Balchin

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Report from Bill Balchin News for May 2013 Thursday 2nd May 2013 - report from Bill Balchin: I have been out of touch since our trip to Portishead on 18th April so when we had bright sunshine, dry roads and temperatures in double figures for today's ride it seemed that the weather has turned a corner. With fifteen of us raring to go from Amcor to Hawkesbury Upton there was nothing for it but to pick some nice lanes and go for it. Swan Lane took us into Winterbourne and then we added a gratuitous half a mile by going past the Masons Arms and Cloisters Road to get to Winterbourne Down. But with the excellent visibilty and trees bursting out of their long sleep it was no hardship to cycle past fields rather than houses. When we got to Ram Hill we took the cycle track to Westerleigh. Although a dirt and grit surface it was no worse than some of the tarmac roads we ride on. Hope it was not too rough on your damaged elbow Pete. [Not too bad, Bill. Its better than it was, but I'll be pleased when it sorts itself out.] Our first serious exertion of the day took us up through Wapley, followed not long after by the climb of Dodington Ash. I'm not sure if the wind was helping or not but there did not seem much of it about. Signs on the junction of the A46 and Acton Turville road warned of traffic congestion during the Badminton horse Trials which started today and continues until the weekend. A couple of convoys of 4x4's passed us on our way to Badminton where there was a whole new village of camper vans, caravans and horse boxes. As we rode through to Little Badminton we could see some of the competitors riding their horses in the fields to our right but there were no delays for us and by the time we took the right turn into the Badminton estate all the equine activity was behind us. The quiet estate roads took us almost to Didmarton where we made our way via Starveal Lane into Hawkesbury Upton arriving at the Beaufort Arms at ten past twelve. About ten of our regulars arrived before us - you don't really need to worry about the pace when I'm leading, it was nice and steady with the whole group in sight of each other most of the time. With John Killick, Jane Chapman and Ted King all turning up, then a big Bath group we had well over thirty cyclists present. Despite the sudden influx they coped well. If you like a traditional pub with reasonable meals and good ales (I recommend the Cotswold Spring Stunner) this is for you. Several sampled the cloudy cider from a large cardboard box on the bar, it was like code - asking for a pint of cardboard. I would have been happy to stay all afternoon but that would not go down very well at home so by half past one we took off along Sandpits Lane, plunged down into Horton and started the split for home at Mapleridge Lane. If this improvement continues we could be in short sleeves soon, now that would be a treat. Click here for Bill's nice and steady route. Thursday 9th May 2013 - report from Bill Balchin: Big decision! To go out today for the ride to Chew Magna and risk the forecast wind and rain or not. Early on it was certainly windy but the sky was bright (in patches) and the roads were dry so twelve of us went for it. Martyn led the way from Bitton station to Saltford along the cycle track - him cruising, us chasing flat out. The blustery wind threatened to blow you off your bike but the rain was holding off. Taking a Southerly heading on the Stanton Prior/Markesbury/Timbury route we seemed to be directly into the wind but apart from a few spots of rain that would not have been enough to switch your windscreen wipers on still plenty of sunshine (but no heat). At Timsbury we turned into more of Westerly direction, still no respite from the wind but some nice lanes. I expect I have ridden some of them before but was totally reliant on Martyn as he guided us deftly through Hallatrow to Temple Cloud and across the A39 to Hinton Blewett. Ah, I know where we are now - right turn, into Bishop Sutton, Bob's your uncle. Wrong! We turned left past the Ring O'Bells along little single track lanes to a point where you could stop and admire the views over the valley and the lakes, then plunged down one of the steepest tracks around, a car's width wide with two strips of clear surface either side of the central stripe of gravel. You can see it on Google Street View - those guys certainly got around. Mike flew down confidently with his disc brakes but I took it very gingerly. Once at the bottom we passed through South Widcombe and onto West Harptree where a change of direction to a Northerly bearing saw the wind behind us and we pedalled easily at twenty mph past the lake and much of the way to lunch at the Queens Arms. It is always difficult for Malcolm and Pete when they arrange our lunch stops because the first thing they are asked is "How many?" and of course all they can do is make a guess between four and forty. Based on past experience and last week's turnout you would have thought around twenty five, so it was a shock to have only twelve for the buffet meal. Just one independent dining cyclist - Pete who had been for a check on his mending elbow earlier (improving but some way to go). Malcolm had the double embarrassing tasks of telling the landlord that he had only collected a dozen payments and then coming back to ask for a further one pound fifty each - not that anybody grumbled. Who would be an organiser eh? But thanks for doing it. By home time there was still no rain and the wind was howling through the trees as we climbed Norton Hawkfield with a nice bit of assistance. By the time I got to Bitton at two thirty the rain began to give me a wet final hour but the good stuff was already in the bag. Click here to see Martyn's route captured by Malcolm Thursday 16th May 2013 - report from Pete Campbell: I think most people were expecting decent weather today, because we had fourteen cyclists turning up at Ashton for John Killick's jaunt to the Salthouse at Clevedon. We had one new person with us: Clive Bush had found out about the BTOTC from Mike Chouings on some of the Sunday CTC rides that he runs. So John Killick's route seemed to promise Clive a leisurely welcome to the group, going around Long Ashton on the new cycleway, and then via the cycle lane to Flax Bourton and the railway path towards Backwell. I guess he was already thinking that we're a bunch of softies - back roads and no hills. Fortunately John knew he had the reputation of the BTOTC in his hands, so a left turn took us up Chapel Hill to Farleigh, than across the A370 and up Backwell Hill Road. I heard someone describe this ascent as one of our classic hill climbs. I suppose it might not be in the same class as the Galibier or Mont Ventoux but it keeps on going up, and all you have to do is decide whether you need granny's help and hope you can keep turning the pedals. Anyway we all got to the top and Clive looked like he was doing okay, so we hope he turns out with us again in the future. Now we saw the benefit of a long climb: a long descent. We turned west alongside the airport, and freewheeled down Brockley Combe, across the A370 again, and reached the channel via Kenn Moor. A section of off-road track right next to the estuary led into Clevedon and the Salthouse for lunch. This is another of my most favourite pubs we go to on Thursdays. Well, it's spacious, with lots of seating inside and out, so whatever the weather you can find somewhere that's comfortable. They also have a standard lunch offer of two main courses for ten pounds, so I was advising some of newer members that they needed to find a friend when I found the Salthouse was simplifying things for us: £5 each. We also had a good number of other riders arrive, so that there were almost thirty people having lunch. The staff must have been happy, and the lunches came out quite speedily. I'd predicted fifteen riders today, and the kitchen seemed to be managing. Homeward after an hour or so, and there were a number of routes on offer. Eight of us went with John Killick on a fairly level road via Nailsea; I'm not sure what other people did, but the chance of an easy ride was good enough for me. How did we get there? Click here. Thursday 23rd May 2013 - report from Bill Balchin: A dozen of the usual suspects turned up at the Severn Bridge including Lara on her second venture into Wales within a week. Her first was the Bryan Chapman 600K audax from Chepstow to Dolgellau and back via the Menai Bridge and featuring 8300m of climbing.
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