NEW AAA 200 PERM - COTSWOLDS AND MENDIPS GRIMPEUR 200 (2.75AAA)

[Bairdy]

Sounds nasty.
Hope you're back on two wheels soon.

[bikey-mikey]

Thanks guys, yes mainly just bumps and bruises I hope! slightly concerned the hip/lower back pain seems to be taking a while to go. But if no improvement by the weekend will be up the doctors. Also found a new pain on my shin I was not aware of!

Was leading a group of 18 on a club run and luckily 2 of us were 20 yards ahead, we both slowed and aligned to roll over the tracks head on, I made it over 2 sets and went down like a sack of spuds, Mark B who was just behind also went down on the first set and broke his collar bone    If the whole group had been tightly packed it would have been carnage!

I have heeded the warnings many times about railway tracks in the wet, always treat them with respect, slow down, ride over straight etc. Will never ride over a set again after that experience!

Hope you're 'back on track' soon... and excuse the railway pun, which I hope will amuse you !!

[Reg.T]

... you can all get a cashpoint receipt at the Tesco around the corner and then I'll line up tea/coffee/cake for you all chez moi...

Is this still an offer Graham? Bairdy & Mikey still planning to ride on Sat morning, and somehow I haven't formally ruled myself out yet. Aim is to meet at HSBC in Keynsham at 6:15, and leave by 6:30, which should put us in Wells at around 8 (give or take). I suspect we/they might be a bit wet.

Reg

[GrahamG]

... you can all get a cashpoint receipt at the Tesco around the corner and then I'll line up tea/coffee/cake for you all chez moi...

Is this still an offer Graham? Bairdy & Mikey still planning to ride on Sat morning, and somehow I haven't formally ruled myself out yet. Aim is to meet at HSBC in Keynsham at 6:15, and leave by 6:30, which should put us in Wells at around 8 (give or take). I suspect we/they might be a bit wet.

Reg

Reg, if it weren't for the wife I'd say yes - she's going to be on the vino tonight (last day of term!) and I think 8 am visitors would be a bit much for her  

That would've been good timing too, as I'm doing the mince pies today..

[Reg.T]

No worries. As we have a schedule to hit to be in Tetbury for midday, and the weather is likely to slow us down, I suspect that we won't be doing much more than collecting PoP anyway.

Hopefully see you 29th.


Reg

[Henry]

Reg, if it weren't for the wife I'd say yes - she's going to be on the vino tonight (last day of term!) and I think 8 am visitors would be a bit much for her  

That would've been good timing too, as I'm doing the mince pies today..

It's OK mate just leave the baked goods outside the front door for us!!

Only kidding, plus I think any such deposits would just be a soggy mush according to the forecast.

[Bairdy]

It's OK mate just leave the baked goods outside the front door for us!!

Only kidding, plus I think any such deposits would just be a soggy mush according to the forecast.

I've been checking the weather forecast for Saturday 3 times a day for the last week and if anything it's got worse.
It will rain all day in Keynsham, Wells and Cheltenham and I'm guessing all ports in between.   

Sometimes, going out on the bike is just stupid isn't it! 

[bikey-mikey]

No need to pre-soak the washing....   

[Reg.T]

But a definite need to do the washing (mine is on now) - it's been a bit mucky out today. Somewhat challenging conditions.
4 of us started from Keynsham at around 6:30 (me, Bikey-Mikey, Bairdy and Henry). Thankfully the conditions today were generally less bad than we'd anticipated, but it was still quite wet, with the rain only properly letting up between Tetbury and Cheltenham.
Met up with TG on his Hyper 700 at Tetbury and rode with him back to Keynsham.
Bairdy had a tyre blow-out a bit after Cheltenham - the sidewall gave way near the rim, leaving a long slit that couldn't be fixed with a boot. Sadly that meant we had to leave him to sort out his own way back.
Mikey decided to bide his time after reaching Wotton, so that left 3 of us battling the last leg. Henry and I were struggling a little with the combination of glasses, darkness and rain, and that didn't get any better when Henry's light gave up (just when it was his turn to go on the front  )
Lots of standing water, and a flood after Pucklechurch, but when a car drove through it we established that it wasn't too deep to ride through.
Glad to be home and to have finished this ride. I look forward to doing it again when the days are longer and the weather is more benign.

[Bairdy]

I left the house less than enthusiastic this morning.
Henry turned up very cheerful which always helps and Mikey too.
Met Reg. T in Keynsham, I thought he would have been the sensible one and stayed in bed, glad he joined us.
I found it a bit hard to get into the ride until we left Bath and the route was less busy with traffic.
Good to see TG in Tetbury on one of his 700's  (I'll use that Cafe again, 53 Long St?)

Tetbury to Cheltenham was good, we even dropped off a card for the Wing Commander.
Started feeling good out of Cheltenham then BANG! My rear tyre blows. Third time it's happened.
First two times when my bike has been sat in the basement.
I've only had one p**cture this year but 3 blowouts!

I was gutted to have braved such a wet day out and have to abandon the ride on the way back but that's life.
I was the slowest of the group so at least they could push on without having to hang on for me.
It was slow going even by my usual standards due to the rain. ( I did a sub 10hr 200 a week ago, honest I did!)
All in all a good route, the best bit for me is Bath to Cheltenham.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/253573926

[Paul Rainbow]

Well done guys! That took some serious commitment to head out on a day like today!

I nearly bailed out going Christmas shopping let alone doing a 200k! Guess riding a group perm you feel more inclined to go through with it where had it been a solo you might have thought otherwise. Sorry to hear about your blow out Bairdy, not fun with most the ride done too : (

[Bairdy]

Well done guys! That took some serious commitment to head out on a day like today!

I nearly bailed out going Christmas shopping let alone doing a 200k! Guess riding a group perm you feel more inclined to go through with it where had it been a solo you might have thought otherwise. Sorry to hear about your blow out Bairdy, not fun with most the ride done too : (

I wouldn't have gone out alone today. Not even to the Off Licence.
But when you're fighting with a Gorrilla you don't stop fighting when you get tired!
Telling the likes of Mike Lane and Steve Abraham that you aren't playing out because of the rain isn't going to get you any sympathy.
TG's still out there for another few hours to get back to MK. 


Not sure what's going on with my exploding tyres. 

[bikey-mikey]

As Bairdy more or less implied it was one of those days. I never had dry feet all day, and managed to wring about a mug of water out of my gloves at each stop. RegT kindly made us proper coffee and toast / marmalade / peanut butter at his office in Bath, which was first class. Henry bought me a strawberry milkshake in Cheltenham and also let me nick a chip in Tetbury. Bairdy wasn't always the slowest either - I was last up Harptree Hill and though I try to look as if I'm only going slow cos I WANT to, there were times when my legs were pretty iffy.....

It was just about the shortest day and I struggled to see with car lights turning into kaleidoscopic distraction on my glasses all the time.

Today's route on a reasonable day would be great and I recommend it.

PS good luck to the estimable TG on his 700s though I doubt he needs it. It was interesting to see him riding with gears!!

[bikey-mikey]

Oh yes - I felt I was holding up Reg, Henry and Steve, and they would not just ride on but rather kept waiting here and there - that's what I have down when people have tried to tell me to let them find their own way back. Never have I left them - its not the audax way. At Wooton I bought a coffee and a Tikka Slice and said I was gonna sit and enjoy. I also mentioned that this was my back yard and extremely well known to me from many club runs and training rides and there was not far to go, so they reluctantly went on. thanks guys for taking care of me. I finished at 7:36 and saw Henry (I think) on his way home about 900 metres from the finish!!!

[tonyh]

Congratulations all, magnificent. Including Bairdy of course. And thanks for all the updates!

[Henry]

Henry and I were struggling a little with the combination of glasses, darkness and rain, and that didn't get any better when Henry's light gave up (just when it was his turn to go on the front  )

Oops you found out my tactic for avoiding work on the front *turns light back on when they've all gone*

Yes a good route with plenty of climbing but nothing very severe, well recommended. Any talk of people holding others up is irrelevant as it was a Group swim ride and I personally wouldn't have made it round on such a damp day off my own back.

Disappointed for Bairdy when his tyre went bang with most of the job done 

It must have been me at the finish Mikey, tho didn't see you! Went for a train but it was cancelled so went to buy food before the next one.

Here's to another group outing some time soon, and hats off to Steve on his big adventure 

[bikey-mikey]

Here is my Garmin link....

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/254737006

13:06 time but only 10:46 actually moving.....   

3,521 metres climbed according to the garmin 

[3peaker]

Sounds great Steve, need a few more AAA events round this way. Can it be ridden from Keynsham? Would be handy for Bristol riders.

We rode Steve's Glos & Somerset 200 perm last July using Keynsham as our start and finish control. So it may be OK for this new ride. But possibly not, as the ride details on the perms webpage show less than 2800 metres total climb (the minimum for a 200), which means the AAA points are awarded for a hilly stretch within the ride, not for the whole distance, as I understand it. In theory at least, this could invalidate certain start points.

Despite breaking my L leg the day after this post, I have marshalled a few more hills and changed the Northern start and, using the good services of the Bristol Audax team of Mikey and Bairdy, proved a few revisions that Validate the AAA for any Control S/F. Perhaps not a ride for this weekend but a useful 202km, 2.75AAA Grimpeur linking Wells, Bath, Keynsham, Brockworth (4m S of Cheltenham). Includes Bannerdown Road out of Bath, Wick Lane (Pensford), Harptree Hill, Birdlip Hill (descent) and some fine villages. When I develop a Clockwise route it will climb Birdlip Hill, followed by Bubb's Hill!

A goodwill decision, by AAA-man, recognising my incapacity, agrees rides pre-today can be AAA-validated.

Thanks db for the prompt. The whole route is now AAA-legal.