If it had just been me, I’d have turned tail, and headed for the gym.  Instead, in extremely early sunshine, I was stood in the Square, at 8:30am, in a temperature that was quite literally freezing.  I sometimes wonder about my sanity…

But if I’m mad, so are the other four people who joined me.  Yes – the ACG were off again.  We lost one straight off, as due to bike failure he’d had to bring his MTB which really wasn’t cutting it.  So, only four of us headed out into the low rising sunshine.

Boy was it ever bitter as we set off down the road to Cheddar.  Out the other side, and a right turn into the Nyland road to take us over to Wedmore.  About 20 minutes in, my body had warmed up enough to reheat my fingers, which came as a relief.  Cold hurts!  We went through Wedmore, out on the unusually quiet Wells road, turning right at the Panborough to head across the levels to Godney and then Glastonbury.  We had coffee and cake at the Rainbow’s End cafe there – always good, not least because you can park your bikes in the rear courtyard and keep an eye on them.  Better still was the hot coffee…and in the cirumstances, carrot cake seemed like a good idea too *grin*.  It’s got a vegetable in it, so it’s practically a health food…

Somewhat reluctantly, having warmed up a little, we set off again.   It was nice to have the sun behind us and not in our eyes, but it was just as cold.  We single filed back along the main Wedmore road, with another 20 minute wait to get my fingers back again.  We swung a left before Mudgley Hill to come back through Blackford, Cheddar and home, since climbing up hills is hard when your feet are no longer a part of you.

Cycling time: 2:40:33
Distance: 36.288 miles
Avs: 13.6mph
ODO: 8022.1 miles

The weather was glorious, the wildlife was beautiful – I love a good kingfisher in the morning – but the temperature was neither!  Some of the group were suffering more than usual post holiday season too, so it was a pretty slow ride.  All things considered, I think the average speed isn’t too bad.  Better to enjoy the ride, stick as a group, and get home in one piece, than to hurtle off and come a cropper.  That’s not what the ACG is for 🙂  Roll on longer warmer days…

And as for saluting my legs?  Well, my cycling computer kindly informs me that I have now officially done over 8000 miles on this bike!  (plus a bit when it wasn’t working but hey, who’s counting).  That’s quite a long way :).  Yep – go legs!

The Axbridge Cycling Group went out for a Sunday morning ride yesterday.  Although the morning started a little frosty, causing a couple of people to pull out, the sunshine meant that the roads were actually fairly clear by the time we headed out, and there was still a pretty good turnout.

There were two groups of us – a slower group of 4 headed direct for the coffee stop whereas a faster group of 6 took a more circuitous route.  Due to puncture issues, the long route took considerably longer than it ought to have done, and after plenty of stopping and starting it seemed to take forever to get to coffee!  Although the levels were looking rather beautiful – all flooded and wintry – by then I really just wanted to get to where I was going, rather than sit back and enjoy the view.  My legs were feeling great, but it just wasn’t one of those days where I could properly enjoy that.

The coffee stop at Sweets Peat Museum was jam packed with cyclists – and the slower group had been there for some time.  We were lucky to get a table as a few folk left just as we were queuing for coffee.  Sadly, good though the coffee was, by the time it arrived I had chilled right down, which wasn’t pleasant.  So, once finished, all that was left to do was head straight for home.  Straight up Mudgeley Hill and back down the main road from Wedmore to Cheddar, to home.  Not the world’s most satisfactory ride, but a nicely sociable one nonetheless.

As it turned out, the wire for my cycling computer had snapped, so there’ll be no ride stats today.  Hubby has since repaired it, so normal service should be resumed shortly.  If not, I’ll be buying a new one asap!

The Axbridge Cycling Group, or ACG, headed out on one of their rides this morning.  I instigated the group earlier this year, and it’s pootling along quite nicely.

Unusually there were 9 of us this morning, and we fell into two groups.  I’m not sure how ideal that was, but some folk wanted to go one way, and some folk another, and you can’t please all of the people all of the time.  The faster folk (which in this case actually includes me) took a more circuitous road route, whilst the slower folk took the direct Strawberry Line route.  The Strawberry Line is not renowned for being good for road tyres…  We aimed to meet up the Plantations café in Kingston Seymour.

However circuitous we were, we didn’t quite time that right, and the faster group were ready to leave – after some very reasonably priced coffee and snacks – just as the slower group arrived.  Ah well.  As they had plans for a different route and another coffee stop later, we stayed divided, as I (amongst others) had to get back for lunch.  So, it was back pretty much the way we came, but this time with the strong blustery wind behind us.  Lovely :).

Cycling time: 2:08:37
Distance: 29.864 miles
Avs: 13.9 mph
ODO: 7629.0 miles

To be honest it was a little slower than I’d have liked, but that’s not what the group is about.  The lethal gusting side winds combined with the mucky roads made for some hairy moments too – especially bearing in mind what happened last time I went out with the group – I have this totally understandable urge to stay on my bike!  More miles under the belt whatever 🙂