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Another southerly jaunt, weather set fair until mid afternoon.
Route out will be Wolvershill, Banwell, Banwell Castle should you wish to latch on.
Route out will be Wolvershill, Banwell, Banwell Castle should you wish to latch on.
3 posters
Saturday 29th July - Langport
anti-climb max- Posts : 781
Join date : 2012-07-05
Age : 110
Location : location location, homes under the hammer, flog it
Martin- Admin
- Posts : 518
Join date : 2012-06-24
Location : Worley
Ride video:-
showmethecakes- Posts : 350
Join date : 2012-07-01
Age : 110
Location : Weston-super-Mare
Sorry for the late report. Mrs W wanted me to do some decorating. After putting up the Christmas tree and attached all the baubles, tinsel and fairy lights she had a right go at me. Apparently it was the bedroom that needed decorating.
Week 1 of the summer holidays and already 337km in the legs. Wasn't sure which bike to use in view of the forecast of rain later in the day. It was already overcast with banks of grey cloud rolling around. Decided to put some effort in on Wolvershill for a change and was immediately tracked by Neil and Andy who sat on for the run over the top and down to Banwell. Found Misha prowling the streets and like a wild fox he immediately bolted up to the castle at the first sight of the group. Decided to hunt him down so got out the long horn hoping for a quick blow but had to quickly put it away again as members of the public were around. Instead I dug deep only to discover that the council had already made enough holes in the road to sink a battleship and to be honest digging a hole wasn't going to catch Misha.
After considerable effort I crested and pulled into the castle entrance a handful of seconds after Misha. It was one of those efforts I instantly regretted as my head drained of any sense it might have had and I seriously considered dismounting before passing out. It's not that I was concerned for my health but I couldn't live with a scratch on my bike.
Ivan clearly wanted to repeat the route to Weymouth and set off down Maxmill Lane. It's a crappy little lane with grit, shit, potholes and stones and I could feel the pain of my bike over every damp patch of dung. Like an elderly relative I would have liked to comfort it but when it's covered in piss and crap it's time to put it into a care home.
After the usual game of Frogger across the A38 we plodded along to Mark and a few of the natives were starting to get restless in view of the pedestrian speed. Ade then took off towards Burtle followed by Andy and myself. Not really thinking about how long we were going to keep this up for we eventually stopped at the bottom of Pedwell Hill. We were a little surprised when Andy Salter appeared with the veterans. It was like a tin of quality street at Christmas with all your favourites - Carlos, Bullet Baxter, Pale Pete. There was even a big purple one after Marcella's effort getting up High Ham. Anyhow, having waited 15 minutes at the bottom of Pedwell and then passing the vets up High Ham we ploughed on to Langport assuming the group had taken an alternative route. We thought Riverside was the most likely destination and parked up before ordering food and drinks. Andy ordered beans on toast and there was a lengthy discussion with the waitress as to how many beans you actually got and whether they actually came on toast or not. Theoretically it could be as little as 2 beans, one on each slice, but the young lady said it would probably be 56 beans.
Usually at these places you have to run around a bit to find the way in. We were very lucky this time as there was no mobile reception so we resorted to riding to other cafes after eating to see if we could find the rest of the group. They tried their best to hide, putting bikes around the back of the Parrat cafe and tucking themselves into a small annex but we tracked them down. They had ordered food but not yet eaten. We took interest in the local cultural activities on offer. In particular the leaflet entitled: "Activities for Adults" caught my eye. Now I like a bit of adult activity so I cannot express how deeply disappointed I was at the choices offered. "Get to know your sewing machine - Beginners" followed by "Expert Knitting". Ivan ordered a pot of tea for us to share while waiting. Given the choice of English breakfast tea or Assam I think he made the wrong choice. The Assam tea was clearly stuck in customs on the way back from India as it still hadn't arrived 20 minutes later.
On the way home Wayne insisted on stopping at the local corner shop to buy a lottery ticket as his buttered toast had actually landed butter side up. Shame Steve then stood on it. The group held together for about 200 metres before the first rant from Langport to Burrow Bridge. Surface dressing scuppered any more ranting and Misha was very concerned about stones shipping his paintwork. He thought about shouldering his bike over the worst patches but even then his wheels were still on the road.
As if this wasn't enough we then hit the Strada Biancha before gathering at Cossington. Rob hit the nail on the head when he described us as a bunch of excited school kids as we approached the Wooly Hill descent. Surprisingly there was little to hinder our descent and we swept round the corners like Ritchie Porte. Jeannie led us out onto the levels but 27 mph was too slow for Neil who blasted by at 31's. After a good pull on the front we started to rotate. That is to say rotate our heads to see what other stupid bugger was going to take it on. Eventually turns were shared between Andy, Martin and Ade before Neil took off again at some rediculoous speed. Not stopping to wonder why I busted a gut to get on to his wheel. Turns out he'd spotted a horse box in front and fancied a tow through Huntspill. Unfortunately it then immediately turned off leaving us exhausted. The group started to re-assemble again before the speed gradually increased again. By the time we got to Watchfield there were about 4 of us left to bag some top 10's on Strava.
I tried to bag a KOM between East Brent and Lympsham with Misha. Last time I attempted it my Garmin lost GPS signal at the end and despite me clearly being 3 seconds ahead of the KOM it did not register that I had got to the end of the segment. Having started behind Misha and finishing in front I should have a better time than him. Despite avoiding large overhanging trees that might block the satellite signal I still lost GPS and Strava gave the KOM to Misha with a time 1 second faster. Did the same segment again yesterday and despite being 8 seconds ahead of Misha's time I lost GPS signal again! Most people would give up and go find another segment. I'm all for bringing in the tree surgeons and demolishing Lympsham church.
One last push along 1 Mile Flat brought us all safely back in to Weston where we headed for our respective homes.
OJC: 2, TTCR: 8/10 (Riverside), 7/10 (Parrat), KFC: 7/10.
Week 1 of the summer holidays and already 337km in the legs. Wasn't sure which bike to use in view of the forecast of rain later in the day. It was already overcast with banks of grey cloud rolling around. Decided to put some effort in on Wolvershill for a change and was immediately tracked by Neil and Andy who sat on for the run over the top and down to Banwell. Found Misha prowling the streets and like a wild fox he immediately bolted up to the castle at the first sight of the group. Decided to hunt him down so got out the long horn hoping for a quick blow but had to quickly put it away again as members of the public were around. Instead I dug deep only to discover that the council had already made enough holes in the road to sink a battleship and to be honest digging a hole wasn't going to catch Misha.
After considerable effort I crested and pulled into the castle entrance a handful of seconds after Misha. It was one of those efforts I instantly regretted as my head drained of any sense it might have had and I seriously considered dismounting before passing out. It's not that I was concerned for my health but I couldn't live with a scratch on my bike.
Ivan clearly wanted to repeat the route to Weymouth and set off down Maxmill Lane. It's a crappy little lane with grit, shit, potholes and stones and I could feel the pain of my bike over every damp patch of dung. Like an elderly relative I would have liked to comfort it but when it's covered in piss and crap it's time to put it into a care home.
After the usual game of Frogger across the A38 we plodded along to Mark and a few of the natives were starting to get restless in view of the pedestrian speed. Ade then took off towards Burtle followed by Andy and myself. Not really thinking about how long we were going to keep this up for we eventually stopped at the bottom of Pedwell Hill. We were a little surprised when Andy Salter appeared with the veterans. It was like a tin of quality street at Christmas with all your favourites - Carlos, Bullet Baxter, Pale Pete. There was even a big purple one after Marcella's effort getting up High Ham. Anyhow, having waited 15 minutes at the bottom of Pedwell and then passing the vets up High Ham we ploughed on to Langport assuming the group had taken an alternative route. We thought Riverside was the most likely destination and parked up before ordering food and drinks. Andy ordered beans on toast and there was a lengthy discussion with the waitress as to how many beans you actually got and whether they actually came on toast or not. Theoretically it could be as little as 2 beans, one on each slice, but the young lady said it would probably be 56 beans.
Usually at these places you have to run around a bit to find the way in. We were very lucky this time as there was no mobile reception so we resorted to riding to other cafes after eating to see if we could find the rest of the group. They tried their best to hide, putting bikes around the back of the Parrat cafe and tucking themselves into a small annex but we tracked them down. They had ordered food but not yet eaten. We took interest in the local cultural activities on offer. In particular the leaflet entitled: "Activities for Adults" caught my eye. Now I like a bit of adult activity so I cannot express how deeply disappointed I was at the choices offered. "Get to know your sewing machine - Beginners" followed by "Expert Knitting". Ivan ordered a pot of tea for us to share while waiting. Given the choice of English breakfast tea or Assam I think he made the wrong choice. The Assam tea was clearly stuck in customs on the way back from India as it still hadn't arrived 20 minutes later.
On the way home Wayne insisted on stopping at the local corner shop to buy a lottery ticket as his buttered toast had actually landed butter side up. Shame Steve then stood on it. The group held together for about 200 metres before the first rant from Langport to Burrow Bridge. Surface dressing scuppered any more ranting and Misha was very concerned about stones shipping his paintwork. He thought about shouldering his bike over the worst patches but even then his wheels were still on the road.
As if this wasn't enough we then hit the Strada Biancha before gathering at Cossington. Rob hit the nail on the head when he described us as a bunch of excited school kids as we approached the Wooly Hill descent. Surprisingly there was little to hinder our descent and we swept round the corners like Ritchie Porte. Jeannie led us out onto the levels but 27 mph was too slow for Neil who blasted by at 31's. After a good pull on the front we started to rotate. That is to say rotate our heads to see what other stupid bugger was going to take it on. Eventually turns were shared between Andy, Martin and Ade before Neil took off again at some rediculoous speed. Not stopping to wonder why I busted a gut to get on to his wheel. Turns out he'd spotted a horse box in front and fancied a tow through Huntspill. Unfortunately it then immediately turned off leaving us exhausted. The group started to re-assemble again before the speed gradually increased again. By the time we got to Watchfield there were about 4 of us left to bag some top 10's on Strava.
I tried to bag a KOM between East Brent and Lympsham with Misha. Last time I attempted it my Garmin lost GPS signal at the end and despite me clearly being 3 seconds ahead of the KOM it did not register that I had got to the end of the segment. Having started behind Misha and finishing in front I should have a better time than him. Despite avoiding large overhanging trees that might block the satellite signal I still lost GPS and Strava gave the KOM to Misha with a time 1 second faster. Did the same segment again yesterday and despite being 8 seconds ahead of Misha's time I lost GPS signal again! Most people would give up and go find another segment. I'm all for bringing in the tree surgeons and demolishing Lympsham church.
One last push along 1 Mile Flat brought us all safely back in to Weston where we headed for our respective homes.
OJC: 2, TTCR: 8/10 (Riverside), 7/10 (Parrat), KFC: 7/10.
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