Saturday 23rd March 2013 - Cheddar

Some riders turned up - 10???
Weather was cold AGAIN!!!
We set off for Sweats via Sandford where Pete got the first puncture, Churchill, Shipham, Longbottom, top of the Mendips where Adrian had the second puncture. By now it was hailing with a freezing wind. For those of you that could'nt make it out you picked the a good one to miss! We decided to cut our losses and rather than go down to Wells and back to Sweats we would go down the Gorge to Cheddar. On the way down Ivan had the third puncture. He gallantly told us to go on to the cafe while he fixed it. The Mouse Hole was nice and warm and when Ivan turned up he looked frozen. We set off back to Weston via Shipham hill where Adrain got another puncture (4th pucture - hope your counting). At the top of the hill Andy felt left out and got a puncture - 5th one! We then made our way directly home and did'nt even clock up 40 miles. I think we are all looking forward to some warmer weather.
Knacker factor - 6/10 (would have been lower if the weather was better)
Tea Cake rating - 6/10 average rating but unlimited jam packets
Puncture rating - 10/10

Stats:- http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1195338

Soooo happy I missed this one! As it turns out I couldn't go to Hertfordshire because of the snow. I did not know until it was too late to meet up so did some chores around the house instead. Shocking puncture rate! I am planning on a couple of hours tomorrow when hopefull the weather will be better.

Like your Avatar.
I'm hoping to get out tomorrow sometime to make up for the lack of miles. Let me know if you want to meet up.

You should have txt'd me - I'd logged off the forum before I saw your message about going out today. I did do a 32 mile ride but it was quite windy and cold. Wouldn't have wanted to stay out much longer - toes were numb when I got back. Did you get out today?

Watched The Flying Scotsman DVD last night. Have you seen it? Really enjoyed it. Even Mrs W watched it all.

Spent some time looking for my avatar. Quite pleased with it myself!

No prob. Mrs J was going out for the day so I thought I'd make the most of it and do some decent miles. As I was going down the toll road I met a group of other cyclist who were from Burnham. When I told them I was thinking of going to Sparkford near Yeovil they said I was mad with this cold wind. Well that kind of made up my mind to go for it! Had an easterly head wind but made it to Hayes motor museum at Sparkford and had a nice warm bowl of soup and a very nice ginger cake. Going back was not as easy as i thought but made it with 88 miles.
Knacker factor 10/10
Cake rating 9/10
Hayes motor museum might be a cafe stop we could do in the summer but the big prob is they don't do cooked breakfasts or bacon rolls just toast, soup, or panninis.

Sunday evening greetings chaps!

I thought I'd indulge you with tales from the darkside after the group split at the Cheddar Gorge cafe yesterday....

Well the plan was to return via Shipham Hill (as you know). Ivan and I didn't make it past the bridge at the bottom of the Gorge. I heard words like "my chain's fallen off!" I thought it was strange, using the word 'fallen' but it had actually snapped and was lying in the middle of the road. Unrepairable, we decided to take refuge in Cheddar Cycles, but Mr Baker unfortunately couldn't replace the offending item with a compatible Dura Ace version. Ivan's ride ended there and then. The mobile phone came out & 30 minutes later the benevolent Mrs Clapson was parked outside. On the bright side we did at least have the opportunity to chat to Paul Burns as he was bringing his cheap and nasty Kervelo in to the shop for a damn good seeing to - and rightly so!

Meanwhile, little did we know that you guys were floundering in a sea of yet more punctures. So, coupled with the unusually low and miserable temperatures (20 degees colder than last year) it was a deflating day indeed! ..... cheap breakfast though !

Thanks for the update. Apologies for forgetting to mention your disapearance. We assumed Ivan had refused Shipham hill or you had a puncture and would catch us up.
What kind of a cycle shop does not stock dura ace chains :-) Perhaps he is a Campy fan!

Paul Baker does normally stock's Shimano chains, but on this occasion had only KMC to offer.

I use KMC chains and prefer them because you can get a gold one which matches my filling. You know me - colour co-ordination and all !

Hey, I'm going to start a topic soon about the freezing temperatures if the man upstairs doesn't sort it PDQ ! You're Admin, can't you have a word with him? Hmmm, that'll be a no then.