News for December 2013
5th December 2013 Christmas Lunch at the Old Royal Ship. Message from Bill Balchin. Well done all you heroes who rode to, and especially from, Luckington. I hope you got home before dark. Yes, I bottled out and drove - but I don't mind once a year when I have eaten a Christmas lunch (excellent as usual I thought).
Many thanks to Pete and Malcolm, not just for today but all year.
Ride report from Pete Campbell: We left Mangotsfield station at 10:15 with Rob Searle leading the way to Luckington. His appointment as ride leader today was clearly a popular decision, as twenty-two people made their way to the old station for the ride. Two minutes into the ride Lara rolled over a sharp object (not sure what, but I guess that doesn't really matter, only that her tyre needed fixing). Mike volunteered to assist and the pair made their own way to lunch. So a smaller but still large enough group of twenty followed Rob down the new cycle path across the railway into Westerleigh, up Wapley Hill, through Dodington and across the A46 near Old Sodbury. A loop through Badminton village gave us the opportunity to view some seriously high-quality Cotswold stone for a few seconds. But we were not out for the view - a Christmas meal was waiting. A short detour round Alderton and we'd done 28 kilometers before lunch.
We had seventy two people there this year for the very acceptable menu of soup, turkey with many trimmings and Christmas pudding. This was the same as last year and the year before, and I expect it will be the same next year, and that is of course just how a Christmas lunch ought to be. You know what you're going to get, its good quality, hot, and served promptly. Helen and her staff at the Ship are always excellent, and I'm pleased that there is no need to even think about looking somewhere else.
You always have to have speeches at events like these (you know you love speeches) so Malcolm and I stood up and said something or other. But that was just building the tension for the day's high spot: Rob Shiels singing the BTOTC song, and following that with his newly-penned "Bill Balchin Rag". Applause and cheers! I'm not sure how we'll top that next year.
Time for the ride home, and into the wind. But first, another puncture to fix. New rider Oly Delaney (his third time out with us) got back to his bike to find the front tyre flat. Have a look at Bill's picture above and you can see Oly with Dave Clegg hard at work mending it. This morning we all demonstrated how super-fit we were as we sped up onto the Cotswolds plateau. The truth was that we were actually only up to our normal average fitness and the wind did all the work for us. So the ride back home was a struggle, into the wind and with a big lunch inside us. All I wanted was a doze.
To see Rob Shiels' performance, click here.
For Rob Searle's route there and back, click here.
Thursday 12th December - report from Bill Balchin: December, and the start time moves from 10:00 to 10:15 (I am not quite sure why but there it is). Judging from the number of early arrivals I was not the only one having trouble adjusting. By 10:15 there were twenty two ready at Ashton Bridge for a ride to Chew Magna led by Dave Clegg. After taking the Festival Way and Flax Bourton railway path we turned left at the end into Backwell. And that only means one thing - a climb of Backwell Hill Road. The weather forecast was for wind from the south and low temperatures but with the wind AWOL and plenty of body heat being generated we made the top well warmed up but not exhausted. Re-grouping at the top the plan was revealed to take the lane past the Tall Pines golf club around the airport perimeter so that Dave could see some aircraft take off. Descending towards the airport through Downside we caught a glimpse of a tail fin on the move. Then passing the golf club there were brief sightings through the trees of an aircraft on the move but nothing you could call seeing a take-off. We may have to go back. The lanes around the perimeter were pretty mucky even without any rain as we made our way to the Redhill crossroads.
Make your mind up time now. Either go right with Dave on the planned route up Burrington Combe or left with Malcolm on a shorter route down Row of Ashes Lane. This turned into a campaign of elite versus wimps or bravado versus sense depending on your point of view. Mike Chouings warned that Burrington would mean a late arrival at lunch but bravado won out by thirteen votes to nine and the group split. Journalistic duty dictated that I follow the leader and initially it was fine with a descent into Wrington. Heading towards Burrington the wind woke up and by the time we hit the foot of the gorge it was into your face like a wind tunnel. I had forgotten how long the climb was but no time now to change your mind, just grind it out straight over the top and eventually make a cautious descent of the Wellsway and past the lake into Chew Stoke and Chew Magna to complete an ambitious twenty seven miles. Mike knew what he was talking about as the sensible group had arrived at the Queens Arms soon after twelve while the official party go there just before one.
Most times we have a buffet at the Queens Arms but on our last visit when we guessed the usual twenty five to cater for, only a dozen turned up to eat it. So today we were going off the menu but things did not go well. Some of us in the second group did not get our meals until two - not what you want with restricted daylight hours. Instead of a mass departure people left in dribs and drabs depending on how long they had to wait for their lunch and if they had lights. I eventually left at about twenty past two in the company of Dave and Shirley, Pete and a few others but while they turned right to Winford I went left with Dave Woodward for Norton Malreward. We were expecting an uneventful journey but after Queen Charlton approaching the crossroads about fifty yards ahead on the Keynsham road, a car turning right into Redlynch Lane skidded and smacked into the stone wall on the corner instead of driving into the lane. We stopped to offer assistance but luckily the lady driver was OK apart from being shaken up. The car was a right mess, the wall was unmarked. After a bit of traffic direction and making sure that she had calmed down and help was on the way we pressed on, now really behind schedule. I was on best cycling behaviour with lights front and rear (two), high viz waistcoat and bright top. Got home in the dark after half past four, pretty tired but there was at least one person who had a worse day than me.
Click here to see the hard 27 miles to lunch (and the short trip back to Ashton).
Thursday 19th December - report from Bill Balchin: We were looking for a window today - a weather window between a wild and windy night on Wednesday and predicted rain on Thursday afternoon. The man most looking forward to it was Steve Hicks, due to lead his first BTOTC ride around the lanes of South Gloucestershire from Amcor. And sure enough the sun was out in a blue sky, the winds were manageable and there was no rain although there were puddles in abundance. We made a prompt start along Old Gloucester Road by leaving Pete behind as he stowed away his phone after calling in the lunch orders to the Huntsman at Falfield. Within a few hundred yards Reg had his first incident when his rack-bag slipped round onto the wheel. As the back marker I decided to carry on and let them catch up at Hortham Lane, which would have been fine if they had not gone off course along Trench Lane into Bradley Stoke. After a quick phone call we decided to regroup at Almondsbury. A left turn onto the A38 followed by a right down the twisty Scop saw all nineteen back together by the church. The roads had been pretty good up to now but after taking Tockington Lane and turning into Moor Lane we hit our first lake at the bridge under the motorway.
No problem if you took it slowly but the few riders without mudguards were gaining some interesting splash patterns up their backs. At Olveston we took the right turn at the end of the high street into Vicarage Lane. This is a narrow little job, not very long but pretty steep and today covered in all sorts of detritus that threatened punctures - but so far we all escaped. Turning left and left again into Foxholes Lane past Old Down Manor there were more floods on a mucky road (but a flat one this time) as we then turned right towards Alveston. Hands up who knows the first rule of group riding. Correct, if you get in front of the leader don't go past a turning. Which is how a group of speedsters detached themselves while the rest turned left into Mumbleys Lane, down the steep hill and eventually along Oldbury Naite towards Shepperdine. Reg them had his second incident when the reflective sidewall on his front tyre detached itself from the casing and tangled in the spokes, luckily soon sorted. Steve had originally planned in a loop around Shepperdine but with the state of the roads and time decided to make straight for Falfield.
Not far to go when we arrived at Hill and then the puncture devil pounced, picking on Kate one of my neighbours joining us for the first time while on vacation from uni. With excellent foresight Kate had brought her Dad, Ian, along and he soon had the tube replaced. Arrivals at the Huntsman were spread over a half hour window with lots of familiar faces that we all like to see. I sat with JR who is considering his options when he leads the 2nd January ride from Bitton to Saltford which is all of two and a half miles via the cycle track. Steve had more ideas for the trip home as half the customers took the A38 towards Bristol and Steve led the rest along Sundays Hill Lane to Rockhampton and past the rugby club to Morton Way. I said goodbye to the group as they turned left into Crossways Lane before climbing up Whitewall Lane to the A38. I've been along there a few times before so I expected a clone of Vicarage Lane and took a more direct route home. Hope you all escaped them punctures and made it home before the rain and dark.
That finishes our programme of led rides for 2013. The next Thursday meet is a "make your own way" trip to the Knights Templar on Temple Key at noon. I am unlikely to be there so Merry Christmas and hope to see you all soon in 2014.
Today's wet and muddy route - click here.