News for September 2013 Tuesday 3rd September - report from Alan Partridge: The route used for this longer ride from Northleach to Hook Norton Brewery was originally devised by Tony Conibear and was last used three or four years ago. Six riders assembled in the Market Square for the start; this included Nigel Gunton who this time, wisely decided to drive to the meeting point rather than giving himself the extra cycling miles as he did on the longer ride from Wedmore. The conditions were perfect for cycling, no wind and warm enough for short sleeve order. We hit the first hill within 300yrds of the start and continued up and down the Cotswolds through Bourton- on- the –Water, past Donnington Brewery and Bourton-on- the-.Hill then proceeded to climb the long driveway to Batsford Arboretum for coffee.The nice little cottage coffee shop has now been replaced by a fully blown cafeteria/restaurant incorporating an indoor garden centre. We sat out on the patio comparing notes on the Bristol Grommit Trail, Rob Searle being the expert in the group having tracked down over 30 of them. The start of our next leg was slightly delayed by the three chefs taking 20 mins to toast 4 pieces of bread and Dave Woodward taking half as long again to eat it. We set off through the busy market town of Morton-in -the Marsh, through the picturesque villages of the Wolfords and Cherrington and on to Traitors Ford. We successfully negotiated the ford, unlike a previous ride where Winona, an American guest rider, keeled over with cleats firmly locked into her pedals! After a guided tour through the village of Hook Norton we arrived at the Pear Tree for lunch.The Pear Tree sits within a stones throw of the historic brewery which was established in 1849. If you are ever cycling this way, the brewery has a coffee shop and if you have 2 hours to spare you can have a guided tour, visit the museum and sample the ales. The Old Hookey served up in the Pear Tree was great and we had no complaints about the food which we ate outside in the sun. We set off towards our tea stop at Burford via Great Rollright, Chipping Norton and Bruern where we encountered a deer ambling across the road. It looked a bit unusual but we were reliably informed by Rob that it was a Muntjac, apparently introduced from China. The rolling hills were starting to become a bit of a drag before we arrived at Hufkins in Burford High Street. The choice of cakes is wide ranging and extends into their adjacent bakery. They serve pots of tea along with these strange little chrome things with perforations, sitting in their own little bowls. Yes Dave, they are called tea strainers and you use them over your cup to prevent choking on tea leaves!!! Only 13 miles to go following the Windrush valley back to Northleach. Within 3 miles of the finish I am thinking how unusual it is to have an incident free ride, then heard Brian Trott shout ‘puncture’. After the repair we also had one of those little unplanned route diversions. Nevertheless we all arrived a little tired but safely back to a sunny Northleach after an enjoyable 69mile ride in the Cotswolds. Thursday 5th September - report from Bill Balchin: I had three objectives in mind for today's ride from Amcor to the Royal Oak at Wotton under Edge. First was to make it suitable for everybody and get away from the fast group/slow group business that is creeping in. Second was to find some roads that we don't usually go along - preferably without big hills. And third to add some items of local interest. I first encountered this when John Bishop diverted the group into the alms houses in Wotton a few years back, before that I never knew they existed. The weather played it's part with a warm, dry, bright day with light winds so it was heart-warming to see twenty riders at the start including Dawn and Colin plus a whole bunch of Johns including Bishop, Huish and Tyler. Just down to the leader to do his bit now then. We started on the route that used to be favourite to get to the Severn Bridge, along Hortham Lane, Moor Lane and into Olveston. Our first stop was between Olveston and Elburton to mention the power station. Yes there is a landfill gas powered plant on the site of the old Harn Hill quarry. Nothing is visible from the road but it typically produces about £30,000 of electricity each month. We then followed Mumbleys Lane and Kington Lane to arrive at Thornbury Castle - once a manor house but extended with castle-like features in 1511 by the Duke of Buckingham. He made such a good job that in 1521 his distant cousin Henry VIII had him beheaded for treason and confiscated the house. We continued through the back streets of Thornbury into Rockhampton and crossed the A38 at Stone onto Middle Lane. The worst parts of this lane have been resurfaced, and they must have been dreadful judging by the sections that remain. That took us past the back entrance to Michaelwood services, over the M5 and down through Damery. We have been along there many times from Tortworth but I suspect for many people this was the first time in this direction - a very pleasant descent on a tree lined lane alongside a stream. Huntingford gave us a final pause to look at Swinhay House, the modern equivalent of the ancient manor house with all the bells and whistles you would expect for thirty million quid, but I would rather be cycling than in his 80 foot swimming pool. Past the toll house and up the final drag and we made the Royal Oak by twelve fifteen to find more of the regulars already enjoying the food and drink in the garden. Despite twenty of us arriving together they coped well although nobody was in much of a hurry - it felt special that we had ridden together as one big happy family, nobody got lost or blew up and now we could sit in the sunshine and chat about it. Just don't expect such easy terrain if you join the Tuesday ride on 17th September from Dursley when we will be climbing some hills around Stroud. The route of our gentle ride in the sun - click here. Thursday 12th September - report from Bill Balchin: Last week we were in shorts and short sleeves in the sunshine all day - today was more like an Autumn day with cloudy skies and wet roads after overnight rain. Nearly all the fourteen starters at Bitton were in shorts and long sleeves for our ride to the Bell at Yatton Keynell. John Turton dismissed notions of local history talks and unexplored lanes before leading the bunch along the track to Mangotsfield and branching off towards Coxgrove Hill. But he could not resist stopping by the big chimney at the trackside to point out the architectural whimsy where the square section structure changes to octagonal for the top couple of yards. And Alex could not resist offering the information that MG cars were well known for octagonal wheel nuts and other features, leading him to believe that the chimney was part of an abandoned MG car factory. You heard it here first (and probably last). After grinding up Coxgrove into Pucklechurch we carried on past the Crematorium where John Killick picked up the first of today's punctures and signaled for the rest to carry on. As it turned out his tyre casing was split so he turned for home. By now the sun was out, drying the roads and causing many riders to remove layers by the time we got to the Cross Hands at Old Sodbury where I got the second puncture. I say puncture, it was actually a patch that came unstuck - note to self, get better patches and new glue. So I sent the depleted peloton on, glad of the chance to slow down and picked up Mike Whiteman as we made our way along the main Castle Combe road. John took the bunch on a much more scenic and quiet route through Badminton, Alderton and Grittleton. Despite Wayne having to replace a tube on the way they still got to the Bell before I did - and they had a longer journey. When the big Bath group arrived to join the official peloton and several independent travelers, the numbers were up to around thirty, many outside in the sunny garden watching the antics of the adult and baby chickens. The Bath boys were unable to get any lunch at the Royal Oak last week but the Bell always seem unfazed by whatever number we land on them and soon had everybody fed and watered. Just the homeward leg to finish the day and it was the standard fare of Castle Combe, Burton, up to the crossroads then straight on for Hinton or right for Tormarton, in a nice bit of afternoon sunshine to finish the day. see today's route by clicking here Thursday 19th September - report from Pete Campbell: It's been cold since the start of the week, and so the promise of slightly higher temperatures by Thursday was enough for me to dust my bike off after a couple of weeks without any action so that I could sample the lunch menu on offer at the Burrington Inn.