Do You Come From a Land Down Under?

Having recently discovered a new tool that analyses traffic flow to this blog, it was intriguing to see that there have been nearly 3000 hits from Australia in the past year.

Now, I'm aware of at least three cyclists from the Ampthill area who have emigrated in the past few years but I can't imagine any of them is homesick enough to spend their time looking at posts about cycling in Bedfordshire when they could be out riding in the sun (or watching England whip their hosts on the cricket pitch.)

I don't know much about T'internet, but am advised by a mate who works in web advertising that search engines pick up on certain words in the text.

At the risk of being accused of applying racial stereotypes, I suppose Beer and Banter may stand out to the average Australian and there was mention of the Southern Cross hotel in one post but other than that, it's hard to see the attraction. If you do happen to be reading this on the other side of the world, drop us a line to say what attracted you in the first place. (Assuming this post has not alienated you forever!)

At least one can see some connection to Australia but as to last month's hits from Kazakhstan.... I did read Vinokourov was looking for anew team but I don't think he'd like playing domestic the Everton!

Cock & Bull- 2nd June

I was a bit worried to read the the first line of the Chairman's text which said " I'm thinking of Cock"! Having opened the note I realised he was proposing a ride to the Cock at Broom. Lying at the outer edge of our range for a Thursday night ride, this quirky little pub has been the subject of an annual pilgrimage since the very early days of Ampthill Cyclists.

With only three weeks to mid-summers day and maximum daylight hours and yet another pretty well perfect evening for cycling, this proved to be an excellent proposal. Once again 10 riders set out via Water End, Clophill and Haynes, before Crossing the A600 to Ireland. Southill and Broom.

As predicted, David the Doors wasn't put off by his first outing and the rest of the crew included Richard the Pub (first ride of the year), Everton, Brian, Clive, Chedge, Nick, Gary, Loren and Mick. We trundled along at a very respectable 15 mph through some beautiful countryside and chocolate box villages and arrived at the Cock at in a little under an hour.

We've been going to the Cock for as long as we've been riding out on Thursday evenings. There's no denying that it's interesting- being one of very few pubs without a proper bar servery. The barman stands in the cellar which is a few steps below the bar and pours beer directly from the cask. As you can imagine, it goes down a storm with the CAMRA types but unfortunately it seems to lack regular local customers.

The beer's not bad (hard to muck it up when there are no pipes to clean) but the place is looking tired and I'd go so far as to say it's not even the best pub in Broom any more- that title going to the White Horse. Anyway, it was pleasant to sit in the courtyard and quoff a couple of pints before heading back towards home.

The route back picked up the surfaced bridleway around the back of Chicksands to Apsley Corner and then retraced our tracks back to Haynes. Avoiding the pull of the Stone Jug we decided to take the high road, dropping down Limbersley Lane to the White Hart in Maulden.

The Dangerous Brothers, aka Everton & Mick, went off the front. No problem when you know where you are going but somehow they managed to confuse London Lane with Limbersley Lane, ending up in Houghton Conquest. The Chairman received a very sheepish phone call from Mick to say he'd not be joining us at the White Hart but would go straight to the Old Sun. This would've been funny had we not realised that Mick was holding the kitty.

After a swift pint of GK IPA (bought out of a second whip) we left the White Hart, some heading home and others going off to the Old Sun in the hope that Mick hadn't drunk his way through the remains of the kitty.

By the time we got back we'd just about clocked 30 miles at 15 mph having had a very enjoyable evening. Good call Chairman!

One Hit Wonders19th May

There can't have been many Thursday evenings when we've broken double figures (cyclists not miles), but the continued good weather brought out 10 riders on another bright spring evening.

Our numbers were bolstered by latest recruit, David-the-Doors. After seeing our website (yes someone actually reads it!), David had been trying to track us down for a number of weeks. He finally managed to make contact having been given a number by somebody he met in the pub- very apposite for Ampthill Cyclists. Despite getting the full induction from Mick, indications were that he'd return in the future, unlike countless others who have only managed a single outing.

The list of "one hit wonders" is too long to produce here but, like The Crazy World of Arthur Brown See (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOErZuzZpS8) one or two of them do stand out. The reasons for not returning, I'm sure, are many and varied but I think more than their fair share are linked to alcohol. In some cases this is because "serious" cyclists have turned up expecting an 80k training run and have been shocked that we stopped in a pub (the clue's in the strap line!), while others have expected a two wheeled pub crawl and could not cope with the "Bikes" part. One local hod carrier and his mate had obviously spent the afternoon in the pub before joining us. They were last seen somewhere around the Chequers at Millbrook.

Some six or seven years ago we were approached by a guy in the Stone Jug and asked if he could come along the following week. As he was in the pub and had seen that we all liked a glass of beer,it seemed reasonable to think that he'd sussed the level of the club We were delighted that somebody wanted to join us and looked forward to seeing him out with us. I'm not sure who was most shocked when he turned the next Thursday up with wife, teenage daughter & son in tow but it was no surprise when they failed to make a second appearance.

Any way onto the ride. The route was a mixture of regular haunts and some roads less travelled as we set off through Steppingley, past Tingrith to Westoning and on to Harlington. Dropping down Harlington Hill we rode through Barton and on to Higham Gobian, Shillington and Clophill before stopping off at the Stone Jug.
Apart from Mr Hopes stopping the traffic in Barton to avoid having his front light run over, there were few incidents. The pace was brisk and it was pretty evident who had been training for the Addenbrookes run (see below) and who's still in couch potato mode but it looked like the Chairman had been doing some moonlight rides judging by the way he sped up Badger Hill en route to the Old Sun.
BR/Chedge/Clive/Mick/Nick/Gary/Everton/Keith/John/David-the Doors. About 24 miles.

Bethan's Bike Ride- 11th June 2011

To paraphrase Lance Armstong, it's not just about the bikes, beer & banter. Like many of the guys, Loren has long term connections with Ampthill Rugby Club and was moved to receive the note below from a first team prop Simon Sapvins. The up-shot is that Mick, Brian, Richard-the-Pub, Mark-the Fireman, Clive, Gary, John & CP have all signed up for the 90+ mile ride. When asked last week, it seemed they are at various points in their training regimes from "haven't started" to "not been off the bike for a month" but I'm sure pure determination will get them through what promises to be a tough but extremely rewarding day.

The latest available info is that an incredible £7600 has already been pledged to the event. If you'd like to make a donation, use the link below.

http://www.justgiving.com/bethansbikeridestarlightchildrensfoundation
http://www.justgiving.com/bethansbikeridethesickchildrenstrust

Good Luck to all concerned and best wishes to Bethan and her family.

Dear Friends,

Over the last ten months, as you are aware, Bethan has been seriouslly ill and reguarly in and out of hospital. During this time it gave Angharad and I time to reflect and we became increasingly aware how important charities are in providing help, fun, and support to the seriously sick children and their families. This time made Angharad and I think of ways in which we could potentially raise money for charity and after a few drinks on New Year's Eve with a couple of the Ampthill Rugby oldboys (the old is the giveaway!) we came up with the idea of a charity bike ride to Bedford Hospital and then Addenbrookes and back.

We have set the date of Saturday 11th June 2011 for the bike ride and we will be setting off from Ampthill Rugby Club early in the morning, cycling to Bedford Hospital, onto Addenbrookes for a few photo's, and then back to Ampthill to meet family and friends at the rugby club for a BBQ and few beers with plenty of John Wayne impressions and the opportunity to raise more money for the charities. Please spread the word to friends and family to put the date in the diary and join us up at the club to see us ride back and celebrate afterwards.

The charities that we have chosen are Starlight (www.starlight.org.uk) and the Sick Childrens Trust (www.sickchildrenstrust.org) and both have already advised that they will fully support the ride and event. We will also shortly be setting up a just giving page for both charities to enable the fund raising to commence.

Although we have spoken to some of you about joining us for the whole ride or a section (i.e. Ampthill to Bedford , Addenbrookes to Ampthill) we need to firm up numbers and some of us will need to commence some training (!). If you are interested in coming on what will be a great day for a couple of worthwhile charities then please let us know asap. Please note that numbers are not restricted and the more people that take part the more money we will make so if you are interested or feel there is anybody else that might be interested then please let us know. If you are a yes please let us know your T Shirt Sizes as Angharad will organise them from the Charities.

If you need any insentive then just watch Starlight at 7:30pm every wednesday night on Channel Five and you'll then respond with a definate yes! Bethan appears in the episode on the 13th April.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Simon & Angharad x