Eight out-Brian, Mick, Chris P & Tom, Mark, Clive, Kieth & Everton.
From the Old Sun we left Ampthill via Abbey Lane. After running parallel with the by-pass for a mile or so we crossed using the new(ish) cycle crossing- It only took 10 years of campaigning to get this installed but there are still no signs to let you know it’s there. After the by-pass, we climbed through Silsoe & Wardhedges and on to Pulloxhill. Our toils were repaid as we sped down the steep hill to join the busy A6 at Speed the Plough.
The wind was blustery and making it hard work- a constant theme of this summer. Crossing the A6 we picked up the cycle path, for once in good condition (so often in the summer it’s completely overgrown).
We re-grouped at the roundabout where we left the cycle track and headed for Higham Gobian then on through Shillington and Upper Gravenhurst.
From there it was a quick sprint to Clophill, where Clive had a run in with an idiot car driver, who questioned his parentage.
Fortunately Mick’s mischief on our last visit to the Stone Jug had been forgotten. We stayed for an extra beer by which time it was a good bit chillier as we slogged our way up Badger Hill.
The Tandem Boys led the way back to Ampthill but there was some suggestion of impropriety at the Ailesbury Road roundabout and there may be cause for a steward’s enquiry.
A very pleasant but uneventful ride, even with Mick with us. Somewhere between 20 & 30 miles.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Friday, 21 August 2009
Battle of the Brave-15th August
I think I should point out from the start that the "Brave" of the title are not cyclists but those who are battling leukaemia.
This was an organised ride, run alongside a live music festival in Flitwick, to raise cash for leukaemia charities- (see http//giveatomarrow.org.uk). Last year a similar ride coincided with Ampthill Festival, the Cambridge to Ampthill event attracting over 100 riders despite torrential rain. This year a circular route, following much of Sustrans Route 51, led us through Bedford, Sandy & Biggleswade and back to Flitwick. The ride was well organised and marshaled so it was disappointing that only around 60 cyclists took part.
As for much of the summer, the weather forecast was mixed but in the end we were lucky. Other than brief, light drizzle late in the morning it kept dry. Five of us (Brian, Richard B, Oliver B, John & Chris H) were amongst the last to leave Flitwick. Back through Ampthill and down Hazelwood Lane, we were approaching 40 mph when the sight of the first yellow shirted marshals caused us to grab handfuls of brake and take a sharp left along the drive towards Ampthill Park House. Continuing his recent run of form, John managed to find a gravel trap and fell off. Fortunately this was the only mishap of the day.
After climbing through Millbrook, we headed out to Maston Vale, picking up Route 51 around the lake and under the A421 at Marston, then on to the first checkpoint at Wooton. Here we were caught by a father-and-son team who, having started even later than us, were clearly on a mission to get back and enjoy the hog roast. Despite their speed, we were to pass them at least twice during the day as they overshot turnings in their haste.
After Kempston, we picked up the River Ouse and followed the embankment through Bedford. This is certainly the nicest way to see the town and it looks quite grand when the sun shines. I think we were supposed to leave the river and ride through the centre but this was not clear so we stuck to the tow path. As we stopped to review the map we saw the srangest sight of the day- An ancient new aged traveller ( a walking oxymoron!) was headed towards us in miniskirt and knitted tights. He was about 65 with sparrow legs and looked for all the world like a bearded Zandra Rhodes. I think we've finally found something in a skirt that even Mick wouldn't chase.
Heading out through Priory Park, the wind helped us along, although our rhythm was disrupted by frequent gates. We were soon at checkpoint no. 2 at Danish Camp after which we began the gentle
climb out of the river valley towards Sandy. Before Blunham we hit the first stretch of cross country riding, as the gravel path gave way to a dirt track- "Good job it's dry" was the prophetic quip.
Like many of our fellow riders, we lost the route somewhere on the edge of Sandy but a bit of local knowledge soon got us back on track. Heading out into the countryside towards Biggleswade, the path again deteriorated and we wished we'd brought our mountain bikes. Things got worse after Biggy and the route under the A1 was all but impassable. Obviously the route is chosen to avoid major roads wherever possible but an advanced warning that there may be protracted stretches of unsurfaced track and/or mud would be useful next year.
Having crossed the A1, we were just about back on home territory as we entered Broom. For years the famous Cock has been a regular destination for our Thursday night rides. It's one of the most unusual pubs in the area, with ale being served directly from barrels on stillage in the cellar, but our last few visits have been disappointing. Needing sustenance, we decided to try the White Horse in the centre of the village. This turned out to be a great choice; food, service and beer were all excellent- hand carved ham, egg & chips washed down with Tiger Bitter is definitely recommended.
We stayed in the pub rather longer than anticipated and the combination of a couple of pints and a full-on headwind made the afternoon session heavy going. Nevertheless we managed to overhaul several of our fellow riders as we ambled through Southill & Old Warden. This is an area that we ride frequently and in truth I think we probably followed our own route rather than the official one-opting to stick to the side roads and avoid Maulden/Ampthill by-pass.
Before we knew it we were back at the Millennium Park where we collected our medals and sat and watched a couple of the bands in the afternoon sun.
Like the ride, the festival was well organised with bungee jumps for the really stupid and stunt bike demonstrations for the slightly less foolhardy- (I stopped doing that sort of thing when I realised falling off hurts more as you get older) Latest estimates are that they raised a fantastic £8.5k for the nominated charities.
All in all it was an excellent day out. It would have been nice to stay and see the headline acts but we had a date with a curry and some more beer.
The official route was 43 miles but we managed to clock 50+ at a very leisurely 13.5mph. Thanks to all of the organisers and marshals.
This was an organised ride, run alongside a live music festival in Flitwick, to raise cash for leukaemia charities- (see http//giveatomarrow.org.uk). Last year a similar ride coincided with Ampthill Festival, the Cambridge to Ampthill event attracting over 100 riders despite torrential rain. This year a circular route, following much of Sustrans Route 51, led us through Bedford, Sandy & Biggleswade and back to Flitwick. The ride was well organised and marshaled so it was disappointing that only around 60 cyclists took part.
As for much of the summer, the weather forecast was mixed but in the end we were lucky. Other than brief, light drizzle late in the morning it kept dry. Five of us (Brian, Richard B, Oliver B, John & Chris H) were amongst the last to leave Flitwick. Back through Ampthill and down Hazelwood Lane, we were approaching 40 mph when the sight of the first yellow shirted marshals caused us to grab handfuls of brake and take a sharp left along the drive towards Ampthill Park House. Continuing his recent run of form, John managed to find a gravel trap and fell off. Fortunately this was the only mishap of the day.
After climbing through Millbrook, we headed out to Maston Vale, picking up Route 51 around the lake and under the A421 at Marston, then on to the first checkpoint at Wooton. Here we were caught by a father-and-son team who, having started even later than us, were clearly on a mission to get back and enjoy the hog roast. Despite their speed, we were to pass them at least twice during the day as they overshot turnings in their haste.
After Kempston, we picked up the River Ouse and followed the embankment through Bedford. This is certainly the nicest way to see the town and it looks quite grand when the sun shines. I think we were supposed to leave the river and ride through the centre but this was not clear so we stuck to the tow path. As we stopped to review the map we saw the srangest sight of the day- An ancient new aged traveller ( a walking oxymoron!) was headed towards us in miniskirt and knitted tights. He was about 65 with sparrow legs and looked for all the world like a bearded Zandra Rhodes. I think we've finally found something in a skirt that even Mick wouldn't chase.
Heading out through Priory Park, the wind helped us along, although our rhythm was disrupted by frequent gates. We were soon at checkpoint no. 2 at Danish Camp after which we began the gentle
climb out of the river valley towards Sandy. Before Blunham we hit the first stretch of cross country riding, as the gravel path gave way to a dirt track- "Good job it's dry" was the prophetic quip.Like many of our fellow riders, we lost the route somewhere on the edge of Sandy but a bit of local knowledge soon got us back on track. Heading out into the countryside towards Biggleswade, the path again deteriorated and we wished we'd brought our mountain bikes. Things got worse after Biggy and the route under the A1 was all but impassable. Obviously the route is chosen to avoid major roads wherever possible but an advanced warning that there may be protracted stretches of unsurfaced track and/or mud would be useful next year.
Having crossed the A1, we were just about back on home territory as we entered Broom. For years the famous Cock has been a regular destination for our Thursday night rides. It's one of the most unusual pubs in the area, with ale being served directly from barrels on stillage in the cellar, but our last few visits have been disappointing. Needing sustenance, we decided to try the White Horse in the centre of the village. This turned out to be a great choice; food, service and beer were all excellent- hand carved ham, egg & chips washed down with Tiger Bitter is definitely recommended.
We stayed in the pub rather longer than anticipated and the combination of a couple of pints and a full-on headwind made the afternoon session heavy going. Nevertheless we managed to overhaul several of our fellow riders as we ambled through Southill & Old Warden. This is an area that we ride frequently and in truth I think we probably followed our own route rather than the official one-opting to stick to the side roads and avoid Maulden/Ampthill by-pass.
Before we knew it we were back at the Millennium Park where we collected our medals and sat and watched a couple of the bands in the afternoon sun.
Like the ride, the festival was well organised with bungee jumps for the really stupid and stunt bike demonstrations for the slightly less foolhardy- (I stopped doing that sort of thing when I realised falling off hurts more as you get older) Latest estimates are that they raised a fantastic £8.5k for the nominated charities.
All in all it was an excellent day out. It would have been nice to stay and see the headline acts but we had a date with a curry and some more beer.
The official route was 43 miles but we managed to clock 50+ at a very leisurely 13.5mph. Thanks to all of the organisers and marshals.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Thursday 13th - Stop, Start, Go
I'm not sure if it was anything to do with the date, but this ride was dogged with mishaps throughout. Bad luck particularly seemed to bug John, who, having arrived home late, set off for Ampthill as we were headed for Maulden to pick him up. After a brief interlude while he and Kieth, another late starter, caught up, we set off for Southill via Clophill, Haynes, Northill & Old Warden.
Later, John was to lose his chain, bend his valve and burst a tyre- but at least he didn't fall off this time.
The weather was perfect and our group of ten included a debutant in Mark the Fireman- riding the first mountain bike seen on a road ride since last year's tour.
As it happened, the MTB was better suited to large chunks of the route than most of our road bikes. The Highway Authority are in the midst of their annual road "repair" programme. This entails spraying vast stretches of road with liquid tar, throwing a few tons of chippings at it and hoping at least some will stick. Some three or four miles of this week's route had been treated thus, making it virtually un-rideable in places.
This is a very un-bike friendly method of maintenance. Not only does it provide a poor surface, at best it fails to repair underlying potholes and at worst it disguises them , leaving traps for un-suspecting cyclists.
Anyway, enough of a rant and back to the ride.
This is a well worn route for us, through some beautiful countryside & picturesque villages. The sun on our backs and a decent tailwind made for a very pleasant outward ride, even if it was punctuated by John's puncture and another stop while Richard & Brian redeemed the various bits of Mick's rear light from the road.
Brian, riding his racer for a change, was absolutely flying- even giving Everton a run for his money on one climb. CP was clearly missing the additional power of a stoker as he rode solo for the first time this year, but he still managed to keep with the pack for the most part.
As ever, the tailwind became a headwind as we turned for home- Funny how it always feels stronger when it's in your face, but we still made decent time back to the Stone Jug.
This was our first visit for several weeks. Despite Mick causing mayhem while ordering, we got the usual warm welcome and the Haybaler was so good we decided to stay a while and forsake the Old Sun.
The final mishap of the night befell Loren who managed to ride into a traffic cone in the roadworks in Maulden! Fortunately, other than pride, there were no serious injuries this time, but let's hope it's not an omen for the forthcoming tour.
Later, John was to lose his chain, bend his valve and burst a tyre- but at least he didn't fall off this time.
The weather was perfect and our group of ten included a debutant in Mark the Fireman- riding the first mountain bike seen on a road ride since last year's tour.
As it happened, the MTB was better suited to large chunks of the route than most of our road bikes. The Highway Authority are in the midst of their annual road "repair" programme. This entails spraying vast stretches of road with liquid tar, throwing a few tons of chippings at it and hoping at least some will stick. Some three or four miles of this week's route had been treated thus, making it virtually un-rideable in places.
This is a very un-bike friendly method of maintenance. Not only does it provide a poor surface, at best it fails to repair underlying potholes and at worst it disguises them , leaving traps for un-suspecting cyclists.
Anyway, enough of a rant and back to the ride.
This is a well worn route for us, through some beautiful countryside & picturesque villages. The sun on our backs and a decent tailwind made for a very pleasant outward ride, even if it was punctuated by John's puncture and another stop while Richard & Brian redeemed the various bits of Mick's rear light from the road.
Brian, riding his racer for a change, was absolutely flying- even giving Everton a run for his money on one climb. CP was clearly missing the additional power of a stoker as he rode solo for the first time this year, but he still managed to keep with the pack for the most part.
As ever, the tailwind became a headwind as we turned for home- Funny how it always feels stronger when it's in your face, but we still made decent time back to the Stone Jug.
This was our first visit for several weeks. Despite Mick causing mayhem while ordering, we got the usual warm welcome and the Haybaler was so good we decided to stay a while and forsake the Old Sun.
The final mishap of the night befell Loren who managed to ride into a traffic cone in the roadworks in Maulden! Fortunately, other than pride, there were no serious injuries this time, but let's hope it's not an omen for the forthcoming tour.
Chris H/Brian/Richard B/Chris P/Mark the Fireman/Everton/Loren/Mick/John/Kieth
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=ampthill&daddr=Maulden+to:Water+End+Rd,+Maulden,+Bedford,+Bedfordshire,+MK45+2BD+
Approx 26.5 Miles @ 14.7 mph
Friday, 7 August 2009
Cockleshell Heroes -Thursday 6th August
It hasn't rained so much on a club ride since the Sunday of last year's tour. On that occasion Loren ended up in casualty with a broken collar bone and Everton & Oliver returned home in the broom waggon with battered bikes after a six bike pileup on a wet Essex lane. No surprise then that the less hardy (more sensible?) found a variety of excuses not to ride on Thursday. Even so, there was a decent core of brave soles who donned snorkels & flippers and took on the elements. Below is Brian's account of a very soggy night: -
‘A Wet One’ August 6th
The day started lovely but slowly got worse. By 4.00pm it was raining.
By 5.30 it was still raining. The phone started ringing:- “Are we going out?”
Some said “yes”, some “no”.
So five of us (Brian, Mike, Loren, Richard the Photo & Keith) met at the Old Sun in the rain wondering why we do these things.
Down Oliver Street, carefully past the police cars and breakdown truck, attending a car with a very mangled front end. How do these things happen?
Along the back roads into Clophill, which resembled a race track rather than a village high street. It was still raining but after a while you don’t really notice. Up Great Lane to the old school and then left to the A6. Then it was across the road into Haynes West End, where Richard quickly realised that the puddle (lake?) he was riding into was somewhat deeper then he thought. He had to unclip very quickly to stop his feet disappearing!
Coming down Limersey Lane it started to rain very heavily and continued like that until we got back to the Old Sun.
The people in the pub thought that we were clearly mad, as we were a rather bedraggled bunch by then.
A couple of hours later we were as wet on the inside as we were outside, so that was alright.
Mileage 12, avg 13.3
‘A Wet One’ August 6th
The day started lovely but slowly got worse. By 4.00pm it was raining.
By 5.30 it was still raining. The phone started ringing:- “Are we going out?”
Some said “yes”, some “no”.
So five of us (Brian, Mike, Loren, Richard the Photo & Keith) met at the Old Sun in the rain wondering why we do these things.
Down Oliver Street, carefully past the police cars and breakdown truck, attending a car with a very mangled front end. How do these things happen?
Along the back roads into Clophill, which resembled a race track rather than a village high street. It was still raining but after a while you don’t really notice. Up Great Lane to the old school and then left to the A6. Then it was across the road into Haynes West End, where Richard quickly realised that the puddle (lake?) he was riding into was somewhat deeper then he thought. He had to unclip very quickly to stop his feet disappearing!
Coming down Limersey Lane it started to rain very heavily and continued like that until we got back to the Old Sun.
The people in the pub thought that we were clearly mad, as we were a rather bedraggled bunch by then.
A couple of hours later we were as wet on the inside as we were outside, so that was alright.
Mileage 12, avg 13.3
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
The Hills Are Alive (With the stench of maggots)- 30/7
After a couple of low turnouts, we were back into double figures as a veritable pelaton set off from the Old Sun. (CH/RMB/BR/EP/AP/Kieth/JKJ)CP/TP/Blunty)
For the second time in recent weeks somebody (Richard B?) lost a light outside Redbourn School. This is, perhaps, as much to do with the appalling state of the road as it is with any lack of maintenance. The vibration's enough to shake your teeth lose (Older members beware!)
For the second time in recent weeks somebody (Richard B?) lost a light outside Redbourn School. This is, perhaps, as much to do with the appalling state of the road as it is with any lack of maintenance. The vibration's enough to shake your teeth lose (Older members beware!)
Though calmer than last week, there was still a stiff headwind for the first half of the ride. This had little impact on the speed merchants as Everton & the Tandem Boys, assisted by Blunty( fresh back from the Alps) and Andrew (our resident timetrialist) set a blistering early pace. We were soon well strung out and stopped to regroup in Ridgmont. After a mass sprint along the back wall of Woburn park, we snaked our way through Aspley Guise & Salford to begin the long steady climb up to Cranfield.
The guys at the front must have been feeling pretty good about their speed and fitness until Andrew decided to show how real cyclists do it. Without breaking sweat, he powered to the front- over taking the tandem at such a pace I'm sure saw CP try to dismount in the mistaken belief that they'd stopped.
After re-grouping again in the village, there was another cavalry charge down Cranfield Hill towards the Sheltons. This hill feels a lot longer and steeper when going the other way but Richard B still managed to top out at over 40 mph. Others may have been faster but were not brave enough to look at their speedos. Once through the newly refurbished under-pass ( yet to regain the stink of stale piss) we picked up the Sustrans route through Marston Country Park and out through Stewartby. It's hard to believe that the area around the lake was desolate waste land less than 10 years ago.
A change to the planned route took us through How End, past one of Joe's old houses- Last week it was his grandad's house in Potsgrove - no wonder he knows half the county. We had a brief look for a blue plaque as we rode past Simmo's house- founder member and original Chairman of our fine club- before the grind up London Lane. The debate about whether the maggot farm'still open was settled as we were greeted by the acrid stench halfway up the hill.
It was every man for himself as we dashed down Limersey Lane to the White Hart where a fine pint of Tim Taylor's Landlord convinced us to stay for the rest of the evening. The service was friendly, even if the barmaid did think that Tim Taylor was related to Banks & Taylor and brewed in Shefford! Several of the older clientele were keen to regale us with tails of their past cycling exploits- Shame Ken wasn't there to provide a counter.
Approx 28 miles at an average 14.6 mph.
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