showmethecakes Sun Mar 26, 2017 6:53 pm
A smattering of summer bikes was in evidence on Saturday morning. I don't know what Ivan thinks he is doing going North East. I had to get out of bed 15 minutes earlier and cycle 4 miles to Priory. Whatever next!
After ruling out Bitton there was a bit of discussion about where to go. I say discussion, it was more like put a dozen place names into a hat and pick one out. Except we didn't have a hat. Ivan also mentioned Thirsty Thursday. Apparently if you meet up with Ivan in a nice bar on the first Thursday of the month he buys you a drink. I think its called IVF - I'm Very Firsty.
Route out was a bit stop start but Neil put a good turn in across Puxton Moor to launch me and Lofty over Stinky Bridge. This bagged us 5th, 4th and 6th on Strava. Lofty got 5th, I then got 4th which demoted Lofty to 6th. You gotta love Strava.
More stops at Churchill, Wrington, Redhill before the usual madness down to Winford and across to the lakes. Ivan had already made up his mind that this was as far as he was going. A couple of others stopped with him while the rest carried on to Sutton Wick. At Sutton Wick the boys on bikes got a little excited when we encountered a group of women on bikes. I would like to call it a coming together but that might give the wrong impression and - let's be honest - it hardly ever happens. After a bit of inter-mingling the boys pulled off a little prematurely and left the women to please themselves.
The lane up from Sutton Wick was a shocker. Not only did it have a few pot holes it had damp patches too. I gently steered my beloved summer bike around anything wet that was more than 3mm deep. I never knew I could pick a line of sticking up stones that just about cleared the water. Despite my best efforts there was at least 7 specks of dust on it at the top. I phoned ahead to the cafe to organise a full decontamination when I arrived.
At the top of the lane we discussed the route at a junction. There was some banter among a few individuals the only word of which I heard was about Jim Kerr's brother Wayne. I don't know Wayne personally but a smiling middle-aged woman's head appeared over a garden wall holding one of her puppy's in her hand. She obviously thought she was going to cop an eyeful and was probably disappointed to see us lot hanging around.
At Timsbury we parked up around the back of the Chippy next door. Ade thinks he might have KOM for that one. Usual friendly staff and some good food and drink went down a treat. Lofty thought about taking home a souvenir of his trip and spotted a mug-cosy for sale. It was basically a strip of knitting a 5 year old might produce around a mug. The only mug would have been the person who bought it - £7 (mug not included)!
It was a reasonable pace on the way back although the favourable North-Easterly had turned more to a North-Westerly giving the odd blast of headwind. An unplanned split occurred on the run across the Mendips with most heading down Cheddar Gorge while a few stragglers turned off towards Burrington.
Those of us that chose the Cheddar option were not disappointed. The expected tailwind turned into a gale force headwind at the top of the gorge. We then all enjoyed the game of 'dodge the unexpected hazard' on the way down. First up was the stray goats on the side of the road. Next was the ramblers in the road followed by the slow moving car. Backed up behind the car were two motorcyclists. We all remained very patient behind the traffic and were on the brakes most of the way down. Then Burns the Bread took his chance and overtook. Clearly annoyed at having a cyclist overtake, the motorcyclist sped forwards to close the gap forcing Burns wide around the bends and across the road. Once behind the car things settled down a bit until Tracy and Nick steamed past both bikes and the car causing greater annoyance. At the bottom of the gorge the motorcyclists sped past and then stopped across the road to block our way. After exchanging a few words, probably along the lines of "What a nice day it is to be out" we parted company and headed off.
Phil put a bit of effort in up the Axebridge by-pass. So much so that he had to stop in the garage at the top for fuel. Problem is he couldn't remember whether his bike took diesel or unleaded. Eventually he settled for a snack from the shop. Nick said farewell in Winscombe and the remaining riders set off for Banwell. After Banwell the pace was ramped up again much to Lofty's delight!
Nice day, nice ride, a few idiots around but not too bad.
OJC: 3, TTCR: 9/10, KFC: 7.5/10
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