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Last-minute changes to rides - for Ride Leader use / HASTINGS RIDE CANCELLED - 31/12/2020
« Last post by GaryGristwood on 30 December 2020, 16:19 »New Tier 4 restrictions mean group rides are not permitted.
Recent Posts
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Ride Reports / Sunday Club Ride - 27 December 2020
« Last post by RobLillywhite on 27 December 2020, 16:00 »Storm Bella battered the UK overnight but left a clear and cold morning, although her influence persuaded a number of riders to stay in bed a while longer. More fool them as it turned out to be a lovely Sunday morning. There was a little debris on the roads but nothing serious and conditions were otherwise good.
Our route was a flatish loop to Evesham and back. It stayed dry and sunny and we experienced no issues and enjoyed a lovely ride. There were plenty of cyclists about and I believe we saw Martin near Stratford. Distance was 43 miles with 1600' ascent completed at 15.1 mph.
David Godefroy
Rob Lillywhite (RL)
Alison Speechly
Our route was a flatish loop to Evesham and back. It stayed dry and sunny and we experienced no issues and enjoyed a lovely ride. There were plenty of cyclists about and I believe we saw Martin near Stratford. Distance was 43 miles with 1600' ascent completed at 15.1 mph.
David Godefroy
Rob Lillywhite (RL)
Alison Speechly
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Ride Reports / Dene Ride - 24th December 2020
« Last post by DavidThomas on 25 December 2020, 00:30 »Pre Christmas run.
Well we had to keep moving to stay warm, the sun shone through with a blue sky but cold was in the air (hands and feet). The planned route was to be short to moderate and flat. Plans never go to plan and today’s were rearranged by the heavy rain and flooding through the night.
Planned route was to Stratford via Loxley then onto Clifford Chambers, Welford and through to Barton. A gentleman walking along the road told us the road was flooded and he was right, with information that the road was worse further along we turned round and shortened the route. Heading through Dorsington we travelled through a stream flowing across the road, but all managed fine. Pebworth was on the route to the Barn on Station Rd but unfortunately this was shut and so plans were formed for us to go our separate ways. John S returned home via Straford and some extra miles and John T and Mike W chanced a river Stour crossing at Wimpstone (which was successful) and gave some great views up the flooded valley and the water lapping at the top of the arches. The “I want to sure of my way” diverted to Illmington then Lee departed to continue home through Halford and we did the return leg through Newbold, Alderminster, Loxley. Olwen left me on the way into Wellesbourne so I was all alone when reaching the car parked in the lay by behind the Coop. That is the highest attrition rate of any of my rides, so if you want a repeat next week same time and place. Thanks to all for their company today.
While we were together a good day was had and the clear weather enticed a lot of other cyclists out that passed us on the road.
Starters, Olwen Kelly, Lee Robinson, John Tuck, John Sulley, Mike Wallace & David Thomas (RL)
Data, 37 ml, 1375 ft climbing 12.3mph
Well we had to keep moving to stay warm, the sun shone through with a blue sky but cold was in the air (hands and feet). The planned route was to be short to moderate and flat. Plans never go to plan and today’s were rearranged by the heavy rain and flooding through the night.
Planned route was to Stratford via Loxley then onto Clifford Chambers, Welford and through to Barton. A gentleman walking along the road told us the road was flooded and he was right, with information that the road was worse further along we turned round and shortened the route. Heading through Dorsington we travelled through a stream flowing across the road, but all managed fine. Pebworth was on the route to the Barn on Station Rd but unfortunately this was shut and so plans were formed for us to go our separate ways. John S returned home via Straford and some extra miles and John T and Mike W chanced a river Stour crossing at Wimpstone (which was successful) and gave some great views up the flooded valley and the water lapping at the top of the arches. The “I want to sure of my way” diverted to Illmington then Lee departed to continue home through Halford and we did the return leg through Newbold, Alderminster, Loxley. Olwen left me on the way into Wellesbourne so I was all alone when reaching the car parked in the lay by behind the Coop. That is the highest attrition rate of any of my rides, so if you want a repeat next week same time and place. Thanks to all for their company today.
While we were together a good day was had and the clear weather enticed a lot of other cyclists out that passed us on the road.
Starters, Olwen Kelly, Lee Robinson, John Tuck, John Sulley, Mike Wallace & David Thomas (RL)
Data, 37 ml, 1375 ft climbing 12.3mph
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Ride Reports / Mountford Ride 24 Dec 2020
« Last post by RichardBacon on 24 December 2020, 14:38 »A lovely winters day for a ride saw 7 gather for departure (ridden as two groups following at a suitable distance.
Due to Wednesday's rain we first headed to Hampton Lucy to check on river levels, on to Sherbourne and over the M40 by the cycle path. On to Budbrooke, Hatton (where some decided to grab a coffee), back to Sherbourne, Barford and Moreton Morrell.
Much enjoyed (GRH score 9/10
at a leisurely 12mph, 27.5 miles. And a record 6 crossings of the M40.
Richard & Sue
Shauna
Chas
Gayle
Suzi
Ian H
Due to Wednesday's rain we first headed to Hampton Lucy to check on river levels, on to Sherbourne and over the M40 by the cycle path. On to Budbrooke, Hatton (where some decided to grab a coffee), back to Sherbourne, Barford and Moreton Morrell.
Much enjoyed (GRH score 9/10
at a leisurely 12mph, 27.5 miles. And a record 6 crossings of the M40.Richard & Sue
Shauna
Chas
Gayle
Suzi
Ian H
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Ride Reports / Re: Sunday Club Ride - 20 December 2020
« Last post by PaulMarkwick on 21 December 2020, 14:22 »Rob, great to be back out with you guys. Can't take the credit at the Ford. Plaudits due to Adrian who grabbed at a stump, that was not attached, and performed a routine to be proud of, even landing on his feet. The only concern was no one had a camera on him at the time.
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Ride Reports / Sunday Casual 20th Dec
« Last post by MikeWallace on 20 December 2020, 16:08 »Sunday casual 20th December
Ten of left Wellesbourne picking up Richard en route. A small circuit out to Welford, up over to binton, Billesley, Stratford and home. 26 miles with 932 feet climb. Average speed 12.7. One or two were concerned about the amount of traffic which was mainly unavoidable but the ride went smoothly for most of us. Weather was kind to us. Cool of 6° and dry.
Riders:
Trevor, Larry, Charlie (wow) Ian H. Olwen, Scottie, Sue Z, Richard, Mike W.
Ten of left Wellesbourne picking up Richard en route. A small circuit out to Welford, up over to binton, Billesley, Stratford and home. 26 miles with 932 feet climb. Average speed 12.7. One or two were concerned about the amount of traffic which was mainly unavoidable but the ride went smoothly for most of us. Weather was kind to us. Cool of 6° and dry.
Riders:
Trevor, Larry, Charlie (wow) Ian H. Olwen, Scottie, Sue Z, Richard, Mike W.
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Ride Reports / Sunday Club Ride - 20 December 2020
« Last post by RobLillywhite on 20 December 2020, 15:29 »A dry, clear but blustery day promised a decent ride and it good to see a few people out after the depressing weather of the last couple of weeks. Especially, good to see Paul back with Club.
Our route headed south from Wellesbourne and we met our first dilemma in Fulready. Wait for the herded flock of sheep to pass and face a muck-strewn road or detour via the ford. We choose the latter. The ford was in full flood so we bypassed that via the slippy slidey bank. Paul almost took an early bath.
Onwards towards Moreton and Chipping Campden. A few spots of rain and our second dilemma: should we stop or not? We did decide to miss out the descent of Dover's Hill although I'm not sure that the route down into Mickleton was any better. Thankfully, the rain passed, the roads were flatter and we speeded up.
The route and weather were reasonable but it was good to get out. Distance was 45 miles with 2200' ascent completed at 13.7 and 16.2 mph by NQSF and Fast respectively.
Steve Kirk
Rob Lillywhite
Paul Markwick
Ashley Sherren
Adrian Stubbings
Martin Bemrose
Nick Hawtin
Our route headed south from Wellesbourne and we met our first dilemma in Fulready. Wait for the herded flock of sheep to pass and face a muck-strewn road or detour via the ford. We choose the latter. The ford was in full flood so we bypassed that via the slippy slidey bank. Paul almost took an early bath.
Onwards towards Moreton and Chipping Campden. A few spots of rain and our second dilemma: should we stop or not? We did decide to miss out the descent of Dover's Hill although I'm not sure that the route down into Mickleton was any better. Thankfully, the rain passed, the roads were flatter and we speeded up.
The route and weather were reasonable but it was good to get out. Distance was 45 miles with 2200' ascent completed at 13.7 and 16.2 mph by NQSF and Fast respectively.
Steve Kirk
Rob Lillywhite
Paul Markwick
Ashley Sherren
Adrian Stubbings
Martin Bemrose
Nick Hawtin
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Ride Reports / Dene Ride - 17th Dec 2020
« Last post by DavidThomas on 17 December 2020, 23:44 »Today was a local Park & Ride from Shipston, have heard that there is another rival cycling gang operate from here but we did not encounter any hostiles.
The uptake of the ride was changeable with more hopefuls showing interest that I was looking forward to running 2 groups, unfortunately some were unable to join us and we had a full team of 6. One member had a scary moment the previous day with a delivery van and decided to miss club runs until after the busy Christmas delivery period. This is something that we can all understand and give our support to his choice and welcome his return when that moment is.
The 6 of us set off from the car park and headed to Todenham, I still appreciate that resurfaced stretch of road up to the village. From there we passed through Morton in Marsh, and into the quiet lanes to Evenlode, Oddington Lower and Upper. We stopped at the summit of Upper where Wendy commented on the first ascent, I had to reply that there are 3 on the route and that was not listed – there was no rebellion just fortified resolve. A lovely sweep down the hill through Bledington and onward to the ascent through Kingham and past the school. From here the road deteriorated to something more akin to a dirt track quite fitting as we passed Chastleton Barrow Fort, those late bronze age folk had a good eye for a view looking out from the top of Adlestrope Hill. Swooping cautiously down the mud track road and past the National Trust Chastleton House we turned right to Little Compton to the second ascent and dirty descent to Barton on Hearth. A smooth ride to Long Compton followed by the steep ascent out of the village with the rewards of the views from Weston Park as we dropped down to Cherrington, the road was blocked to Sutton under Brailes so the longer rout was taken to Brailes. Incidentally this was where we saw the first of the signs to Shipston 4 miles, we stoically ignored these for at least 10 miles before succumbing to the allure of ride end. At the top of the hill out of Brailes Lee left us as his road home was muddy if he took the direct route to Whatcote. We then enjoyed the ride into Shipston and the end of a good day.
It was decided that it was a route to repeat on a warm dry day with clean road surfaces and there are many possibilities to tweak the route along other quiet back roads to give a new perspective.
The riders were David Thomas RL, John Sulley, Wendy Skyte, Trevor Shaw and John Tuck.
Vital statistics pleasant sunshine giving splendid views and manageable chilly wind.
41 miles, 2500ft climbing and 12 mph. We had a few numerical values so this is a median representation, the true measure was all will be ready for a re-run and enjoyed today’s adventure down new lanes. Thanks to all that joined today’s ride, it always feels like presenting a meal that you want to be memorable for those attending and leaving all with a contented feeling.
The uptake of the ride was changeable with more hopefuls showing interest that I was looking forward to running 2 groups, unfortunately some were unable to join us and we had a full team of 6. One member had a scary moment the previous day with a delivery van and decided to miss club runs until after the busy Christmas delivery period. This is something that we can all understand and give our support to his choice and welcome his return when that moment is.
The 6 of us set off from the car park and headed to Todenham, I still appreciate that resurfaced stretch of road up to the village. From there we passed through Morton in Marsh, and into the quiet lanes to Evenlode, Oddington Lower and Upper. We stopped at the summit of Upper where Wendy commented on the first ascent, I had to reply that there are 3 on the route and that was not listed – there was no rebellion just fortified resolve. A lovely sweep down the hill through Bledington and onward to the ascent through Kingham and past the school. From here the road deteriorated to something more akin to a dirt track quite fitting as we passed Chastleton Barrow Fort, those late bronze age folk had a good eye for a view looking out from the top of Adlestrope Hill. Swooping cautiously down the mud track road and past the National Trust Chastleton House we turned right to Little Compton to the second ascent and dirty descent to Barton on Hearth. A smooth ride to Long Compton followed by the steep ascent out of the village with the rewards of the views from Weston Park as we dropped down to Cherrington, the road was blocked to Sutton under Brailes so the longer rout was taken to Brailes. Incidentally this was where we saw the first of the signs to Shipston 4 miles, we stoically ignored these for at least 10 miles before succumbing to the allure of ride end. At the top of the hill out of Brailes Lee left us as his road home was muddy if he took the direct route to Whatcote. We then enjoyed the ride into Shipston and the end of a good day.
It was decided that it was a route to repeat on a warm dry day with clean road surfaces and there are many possibilities to tweak the route along other quiet back roads to give a new perspective.
The riders were David Thomas RL, John Sulley, Wendy Skyte, Trevor Shaw and John Tuck.
Vital statistics pleasant sunshine giving splendid views and manageable chilly wind.
41 miles, 2500ft climbing and 12 mph. We had a few numerical values so this is a median representation, the true measure was all will be ready for a re-run and enjoyed today’s adventure down new lanes. Thanks to all that joined today’s ride, it always feels like presenting a meal that you want to be memorable for those attending and leaving all with a contented feeling.
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Ride Reports / Hastings Ride - 17 December 2020
« Last post by GaryGristwood on 17 December 2020, 18:17 »GO Intro: Just seen the Mountford report from today where they had no less than 12 riders! Couldn’t quite match that, but we were also into double figures with 10 (needless to say there were sub groups of 5 or 6 across all Mountford and Hastings rides today!).
Steph led our faster group, whilst Lynn got the relaxed paced group round and here are their reflections on the day:
Steph - Group one comprised of Gary, Steve K, Peter, Simon H-S and myself. Approx 40 miles at 16.5mph in the beautiful sunshine, great route. Lovely to see everyone and ride in a group.
Lynn - Group two included Martin, Graham, Steve T , Lynn and Ashley. Everybody in the slower group enjoyed getting out in fine weather. Definitely a good decision to stay away from muddy roads.
Anyway, stats are:
Distance 40 miles (we came back into Stratford with Steve T and then through Tiddington back to Wellesbourne)
Ave speed 17.2 mph - only joking, in my dreams! It was actually 14.8 mph
Ascent 1428 ft
Route was: Wellesbourne > Charlecote > Hampton Lucy > Sherborne > Norton Lindsey > Bearley Cross > Aston Cantlow > Billesley > Temple Grafton > Binton > Welford > Long Marston > Lower Quinton > Preston on Stour > Stratford > Wellesbourne.
Steph led our faster group, whilst Lynn got the relaxed paced group round and here are their reflections on the day:
Steph - Group one comprised of Gary, Steve K, Peter, Simon H-S and myself. Approx 40 miles at 16.5mph in the beautiful sunshine, great route. Lovely to see everyone and ride in a group.
Lynn - Group two included Martin, Graham, Steve T , Lynn and Ashley. Everybody in the slower group enjoyed getting out in fine weather. Definitely a good decision to stay away from muddy roads.
Anyway, stats are:
Distance 40 miles (we came back into Stratford with Steve T and then through Tiddington back to Wellesbourne)
Ave speed 17.2 mph - only joking, in my dreams! It was actually 14.8 mph
Ascent 1428 ft
Route was: Wellesbourne > Charlecote > Hampton Lucy > Sherborne > Norton Lindsey > Bearley Cross > Aston Cantlow > Billesley > Temple Grafton > Binton > Welford > Long Marston > Lower Quinton > Preston on Stour > Stratford > Wellesbourne.
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Ride Reports / mountford Ride 17 Dec 2020
« Last post by RichardBacon on 17 December 2020, 15:01 »A lovely winter day for a ride. We had a full turnout of 12 in 2 groups.
Richard, Ian H, Les, Chas & Shauna headed off to Hampton Lucy, picked up Rob at Snitterfield, then on to Wilmcote, Binton, Luddington and home. 26.5 miles @ 13.2
Sue, Gayle, Philip & Claire, Peter and Richard FH went the other way round and went Shottery - Wilmcote to trim the route to 23 miles.
Richard, Ian H, Les, Chas & Shauna headed off to Hampton Lucy, picked up Rob at Snitterfield, then on to Wilmcote, Binton, Luddington and home. 26.5 miles @ 13.2
Sue, Gayle, Philip & Claire, Peter and Richard FH went the other way round and went Shottery - Wilmcote to trim the route to 23 miles.