showmethecakes Sun Jun 11, 2017 7:00 pm
First Half
Ade got up at the crack of dawn, whoever she is, and having parked up in Bridger and ridden to Priory he was hoping his car would still have four wheels when he returned. No sign of Nine Pints with some suggesting he had perhaps pushed himself too far with a ten pinter on Friday night. Nil Points for Nine Pints.
Toll Road was okay until we hit the wind by the old pier and came to a standstill. Most riders decided Neil was the best option along the sea front and there was a bit of a scrabble to get on his wheel. Needn't have worried too much as it was only a 20 mph headwind and Neil could do with the exercise as he's not very fit. The group mostly stayed together to Lympsham where there was a small split from there to Berrow. Red Road provided all the delights of a monster curry. Hard to get through it all and plenty of wind. Again the group stayed together to Apex Park where Jeannie went to inspect one of her bog franchises. Each one has its own special name such as "Fry's Fantastic Dumpster", "The Brent Knoll Bottom Blaster" and "Flushed with Success". There was a slight delay while she had a chat (Fr. pronounced 'shat') presumably to test the facilities.
The group tried to hold it together along the A38 into the wind and just about made the outskirts of Bridger intact. New chap (pronounced 'chap') was struggling a bit at the back and decided to turn and head for home at Bridger. The rest of us fought through the Bridger battlefield where bikes and motor vehicles mix in perfect harmony. Once off the main drag in North Petherton Ivan pulled the bunch over to one side to talk tactics. Apparently he hadn't phoned the cafe to warn them we were coming. Probably be a good idea if we arrive in dribs and drabs and pretend we don't know each other. As if we needed to be told this. Most of us got lost on the Quantocks and arrived at Fyne Court in 10 minute intervals anyway having taken in most of the hills en route. I especially enjoyed my choice of road which, like most others on the Qantocks, took us down a shitty little lane with a 90 degree right hander at the bottom. Not wanting to spoil such a thrilling descent I decided to take said right hander at a good speed only to meet postman pat coming the other way. A good bit of rubber on the road and a ride up a farm track into the woods opposite avoided any nasty collision. Postman Pat was delighted with the outcome as he beamed out his window at me, laughed, decided I was okay and drove off.
It was clear many riders were lost when Ivan got to the cafe third. It was also clear they weren't getting anything to eat either as Ivan finished off the pasties. A group of kids turned up outside while we finished our food in silence, still pretending not to know each other. They were clearly impressed with our bikes and we thought about charging £1 a touch. It then got a little silly with suggestions of £1 for a lick of carbon or 50p for a smell. Imagine that conversation when they get home. "Did you have a nice time? What did you get up to?". "I paid £1 to lick an old man's bike."
Second Half
Decided on two ride options home. Long, or short. The weather was holding up and it hadn't been too much of a struggle on the way out so I went for the long option. Stupid me. Neil was the only other person who opted for the long ride home. I'm not saying much about the ride home as all my energy went into my legs and hasn't yet filtered back to my brain. I wouldn't say it was competative but I don't think either of us wanted to show any signs of weakness. Not sure what the average was for the ride home but according to Strava I got home only 15 minutes after Martin who had done the short ride. Every time I looked down it was something between 22 and 27 mph. I was shagged by Burrow Bridge but Neil kept on going, and going, and going. Eventually we got to Watchfield and actually stopped! Hurrah. We then took it easy through Brent Knoll at 22's before ramping it up again along Accomodation Road to 26 - 28 mph. Still going at 26 mph through Uphill before I finally turned off and headed for home. So glad I picked the long ride home!
Don't know what anyone else did on the way back. Someone else will have to report on that.
PS - I've just dug a large hole in the garden. Think I might bury myself so I don't have to ride home with Neil again.
OJC: 2, KFC: 9.8/10, TTCR: 5/10