Category Archives: ACG

In Da Club

As GB and I stood waiting in the Square for the other members of the ACG to join us, the South African pair hove into few, and my heart sank.  Mr and Mrs Very Fast.  Very lovely, but very fast.  They don’t RSVP so I never know to expect them.  Mr SA was wearing red, which as it turns out is red in the red rag to a bull sense.

You see normally today would have been a blindingly good ride for me.  My legs were feeling fine, the newly adjusted bike felt good, and for the most part I was flying along at 18/19 mph.  However…the peloton, being GB, DM, SD and the SAs were off on one…so I still got left behind! *grin*.  (Well, Mr SA anyway, as Mrs SA was under the weather and left us at Mark).

There’s this red competitive haze that descends over the testosterone afflicted when those two come out – heaven forbid we should admit we don’t usually go that fast.  Oh no, we have to keep up.  Well, I would if I could! *grin*.  I had to settle for knowing that I was doing really well by my standards, enjoying the relatively mild weather and the fairly unfamiliar roads, and not grumping too much.  Ho hum.

DM made us a lovely route which took us round the Levels and down to Catcott and Ashcott, taking in coffee at Sweets at the way back, from whence Mr SA headed for home to check on his good wife, leaving the rest of us to collapse in a heap and recover over coffee.  I’m sure keeping up was good for us but still…  The Tor 2000 lot were there when we arrived, and still there when we left….they clearly chatter worse than we do!  Not to us though, as clearly we’re not up to their lofty standards 😉

The ride home was a lot of fun.  My legs have felt like they had an extra gear all week – they seem to have benefitted from last weekend’s event – and there was some caffeine aided hurtling to be done.  Just for the flies in your teeth fun of it *grin*.  DM found us a totally uncalled for and very steep little hill on the way home, up which I think I managed to make a fairly good showing.  Mind you I noticed as I reached the top that I was doing that hot/cold sweat + lip tingling thing which is not a good sign.  Push too hard and…faint?  Except luckily I didn’t.  Sometimes I’m more afflicted that way than others – my postural hypotension is particularly bad today and I think it was related.  Yes, I’m getting old, and clearly falling apart *grin*.

We arrived back in the Square having done a reasonable distance at a very presentable average speed.  Honour satisfied 🙂

Cycling time: 2:25:23
Distance: 41.00 miles
Avs: 16.9 mph
ODO: 7643 miles

It was my first ride in a long time without my knee strapped up and I’m pleased to report that once it had warmed up it felt pretty good.  The right shoulder is another matter.  I really can’t look over it to, for example, check on traffic coming up from behind, without fairly excruciating pain, and that’s even with painkillers.  Far from ideal, and a tad dangerous.  :/  It’s also hard to tell if the tweaks to the bike have improved things until that’s stopped, although the ride did feel very comfortable, so that’s a good start.

Stone cold sober

Today’s entry is brought to you by the number 7 and the letter G.  There were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (8, 9, 10, 11 12..) members of the ACG who came out to play today.  In the interests of accuracy, there were 5 paid up members and 2 guests.  2 of “them” – aka mtb’ers.  OK, there’s no them and us really, but I thought I’d add a little unnecessary dramatic tension to the mix.  As it turns out, both the guests were called Chris.  Not Dave (which is our usual default name).  Which is good for remembering names, but bad for differentiating in blogland.  However since the first Chris, who has been out with us before, has a carefully calculated calorific and carbohydrate based reason for eating a fig roll every 15/20 minutes he shall henceforth be known as Figgy.  Now if I ate fig rolls like that, I would bear more than a passing resemblance to a figgy pudding…however he’s a whippet.  Sometimes there’s just no justice in this world…

GB has apparently not managed to get a lot of riding in this week, and was in coiled spring mode today.  Plus he was on the shiny bike whilst the other one has gone in for repairs.  Yes, I know it’s not about the bike, but…surely with a steed like that you feel the urge to live up to what it can do? As well as co-ordinating all your clothes to it of course 😉

Anyway, his proposed route was gratuitously hilly and thus, if you’re me, a tad scarey, but as I’m making myself do hills these days I didn’t complain, though I was worried about it, due to the pain factor this week.   However it would appear that I’ve done such a good job of complaining about hills in the past that these days everyone thinks I hate them.  (That’ll larn me).  And offers me opportunities to avoid them while the greater group tackle them.  I know, I know, it’s perverse of me, but I find that irritating.  But maybe that’s good as it makes me more determined to prove them wrong and to get up the hills by hook or by crook?  I like to think I’m getting better at them.  Of course it would help if all those around me weren’t getting better at the same time…but there you go.  I’m supposed to be trying not to compare myself with everyone else, do the whole PMA thing, but sometimes it’s hard…  It’s not that I hate hills.  It’s that I hate not being as good as everyone else up them.  There, does that make sense?

Back to the ride.  What does the “G” stand for?  It stands for Group.  And when you’re in the Group it is Great, and Good and sometimes Glorious.  But then you hit a Gradient, and it is Ghastly and Grinding and the Gap Grows and you are Grumpy.

G also stands for Gorge, which was the first climb of the day.  I was quite pleased with how it went as I didn’t have to get out of the saddle at the steep bit, which feels like progress.   I even went back down for a bit to pick up MD who’d had mechanical issues.  The peloton waited at the top, which was nice, but I was soon left behind again.  Rather than Grumble too much (though the temptation was Great) I tried to focus on having a Thoughtful ride instead.  I paid attention to how I was pedalling.  I tried to keep my arms a bit looser, less rigid, to absorb more of the road noise.  I also made a point of changing position from time to time.  All of this is aimed to help the shoulder and knee issues, though I do intend to have a set-up check with Andrew at some point as well, and I think it helped.

We went through Priddy, and down the Wells Road, which was kinda fun.  GB did try and challenge me to going down without braking, but let’s face it, that wasn’t going to happen now was it?  Still, I did my best, and enjoyed the descent as best I could.  I even had time to have a chat with another cyclist from Bristol on the way down as he overtook me.  Yes – everyone is faster than me *grin*.

Once in Wells we went out up a Horrington.  I say we, I mean me, as the group had vanished in a cloud of smoke, and MD had dropped off behind me somewhere.  However once on my own, and with no reference point to compare myself unfavourably with, I settled into a rhythm of my own and pootled my way fairly happily up to where they were waiting, so on balance this was a good thing.  Once MD had joined us it turns out that we were practically at our destination – Hartley’s Café, a new one to us.  Which turned out to be unexpectedly lovely 🙂  Very friendly, with very good coffee, served in double americano form – my drug of choice!  I can definitely see us ending up back there again.  It looks like the food was good too, though there’s no way you’re going to catch me eating waffles, bacon, banana and maple syrup, but each to their own…or Figgy’s own in this case.  Again – no justice…

We had the usual “which way are we going home” debate, and I still refused to bail on the hills.  They’re good for me, right?  And why should I always be the killjoy?  It would appear that I’ve had such low expectations of my ability for so long, which I have clearly broadcast, that everyone else now agrees with me.  Hm.  (Again – that’ll larn me).  So after some interesting back road meanderings to get down to Chewton Mendip and then along past Litton, we went up a Harptree.  Which is a long long long climb.  Again, head down, every girl for herself, and see you at the top.  Once again the group reunited, this time outside the Castle of Comfort, where I did indeed take comfort – in the knowledge that they hadn’t had to wait too long for me.  MD rejoined us for the final time, and we headed for home.

For the last stretch I managed to pretty much keep up with the pack.  Which was Gratifying.  And when flying along the top at speed, also Grand.  We went along towards Burrington and then round via Charterhouse, where the downhill after Tynings Farm was as lovely as ever, and down from Shipham, where it was even better.  From there, buoyed up by endorphins, it was easy to put my foot down and push down the bypass to home.  Ok, I was the first back in the Square, but let’s face it, that just means nobody else was racing :D.

Cycling time: 2:43:53
Distance: 40.15 miles
Avs: 14.6 mph
ODO: 7439 miles

So, an interesting ride, with Grouchy overtones.  I did pretty well, and I’m not knackered now, even after a bath, about which I am Glad.   And we’re going to have Gammon for tea.  Just as well, as I appear to have forgotten to have lunch…

Join with us

I was supposed to ride yesterday, it being the only opportunity for me to do so this week what with the inconvenience of half term.  However it was grey, drizzly, and miserable.  And to be honest, I just wasn’t feeling it.  If I’m not feeling it, t’aint no point doing it.  Besides which I knew I was out today, I’m probably out Monday, and it’s not like I was doing nothing – I hit the gym and climbed hills there instead.  I’ve been doing a lot of gym hill-climbing lately, I wonder if it will make any difference in the long run?

Which brings us today, and another attempt by the ACG to make it to Brean Down, even if setting that as our destination did seem to be tempting fate a little.  Four of us met in the Square at 9.30am, IH, SD, and a friend of SDs who, in the absence of surname, shall henceforth be merely and enigmatically known as C.  Not as cool as M or Q but still with a certain je ne sais quoi about it, no?

We took the direct route to Brean Down.  Up past the Webbington, watching as the mountain goats took to the hills leaving me and IH pondering the fact that, as GB would have it, allegedly hills don’t get easier, they just get faster.  Comparatively speaking presumably.  To be fair, neither the Webbington nor Bleadon Hill felt as bad as they have been known to, even if describing them as “good” would be a step too far.

It was an uneventful if rather windy ride out to Brean Down.  Very noisy wind too.  Luckily it turned out that the café, now run by day-glo orange clad NT staff, was open.  They were very friendly but not totally on the ball as my black coffee was white, and my scone fruitless.  However they sorted that, and £2.35 seemed like a good deal to me.  Even the coffee was passable, and you know how particular I am about my coffee 🙂

We sat in the café and put the world to rights for a bit, as you do.  Apparently according to C people down this end of the world know how to pick their Mayors.  Although it would appear that boredom is not a sufficient reason for taking over the world.  Well, it can’t be a feeling of civic duty and giving back to the community, that sounds way too worthy… C suggested that, since the suggested route down the main Mark road can be tad boring, I should take over Mark…he’s a funny man 😉

We came back a new and interesting way through Burnham/Highbridge and out to Mark.  It still amazes me when I end up on a road I’m not familiar with as I’d swear I’ve pretty much covered them all locally.  Apparently not.  We rejoined familiar territory, and the “mother in law” road to Mark (it goes on and on and on) is much less boring with a tail wind for sure.  We wiggled back through the Allertons and back down the usual route to home.  No point racing for the finish as I managed to keep on C’s tail for a while but after that…well, I know when I’m beaten.

It was fairly flat and fairly fast.  Both SD and C are quite fast enough thank you, especially in SD’s case as he hadn’t been out in a while and was definitely in coiled spring mode…  IH had been complaining about being out of shape but showed no sign of it. so chapeau to him.  4 of us started out, and 4 of us finished, and nobody fell off – almost unprecedented! *grin*

Cycling time: 2:22:42
Distance: 37.25 miles
Avs: 15.6 mph
ODO: 7223 miles

Now as you know, I’m not a mountain goat.  However apparently some of you out there actively enjoy going up hill.  Well for those of you to whom that applies (no accounting for taste *grin*) you might like to check out this year’s Black Rat Challenge.  I can’t vouch for it personally as I’ve not done it, and I can’t do it this year as I’m doing the Wheel Heroes that day (May 22nd), but maybe next year?  Well, the 100km anyway…  The guys who run it are very friendly, as well as being cyclists themselves, and that counts for a lot in my book 🙂

The show must go on

Another day when if people weren’t expecting me I’d have gone to the gym instead, as it was wet and very windy.  Hardly a surprise since yesterday, when I wasn’t riding, it was warm and dry.  Typical.

However today was an ACG ride, to which all but 1 of the expected riders turned out, making us a group of 5 – including GB, DM, BW and Mim.  We were supposed to be going to Brean Down, aren’t we always?, but rumour has it the supposedly open café isn’t, and the wind was coming from the south so…Glastonbury it was.  Out into the wind, back with it at our heels.  Sounded like a plan.

I don’t know if it’s a testosterone thing – I have to blame something – but put GB and BW together and let the half wheeling commence.  I did try and keep up for a while but no sooner had we turned over the bridge in Cheddar to head out to Wedmore and I was dropped.  Sod this 3rd cat, 2nd cat stuff, I’m thinking relegation zone…  I resolved not to sulk and just to get on with doing things my way.  PMA, remember?  Of course the down side to this is that DM got to choose the route and flat isn’t in his nature.  Luckily there aren’t many hills between here and there but he did ensure we did Mudgeley Hill both on the way out and back!  Plod plod plod…

To be fair the lead group did charitably stop and wait for me from time to time, and after a while Mim dropped back and we chatted the rest of the way over to Fairyland, which stopped me feeling quite such a Billy-no-mates and  made the slog into the wind a little more bearable.

Well of course there was wind.  And as expected it was a headwind.  Or an earwind.  In that there was so much of it blowing past your ears it was hard to hear yourself think let alone carry on much of a conversation.  Standing in the usual café ordering my regular dose of rocket fuel I swear I was shouting slightly, like the after effect of spending the night in a noisy club and then stepping outside into the quiet street afterwards.  Not that I get to do that these days.  Ho hum.

The coffee and the lucozade jelly beans (which were consumed because there was no carrot cake) meant I got off to a fairly flying start on the way home.  That and the aforementioned wind now being behind us.  My cycling computer was playing up – the sensor having moved when all the bikes were locked together – but I reckon we went back in half the time at twice the speed!  Which, Mudgeley Hill not included, was mostly a lot of fun.  Especially the last stretch 🙂  I did my best to lead the peloton home, but BW still did the Cavendish thing and left us all for dust just to prove he could.  Nowt new there then.  Did I mention testosterone? 😉

I could moan about the weather.  And I’m sure I’d not be alone.  But after Thursday it was actually an improvement.  Yes, it was windy, but the rain was not torrential, and the roads weren’t flooded so actually…  Besides which I’d got the layers just about right and I could still feel my feet when we pulled into the Square 🙂

That makes 3 times a week for the last 3 weeks.  Not bad.  Be nice to think I was getting better, but only time will tell…

Distance: 33 miles
ODO: 7119 miles

Another one bites the dust

I think I should take out shares in Giro.  And if you want good cycling weather, then don’t come out on a ride I’m planning.  To be fair the actual weather today is glorious and beautiful and sunny.  But, and here’s the rub, it’s also cold and icy.  The sun is too low in the sky to melt all the ice on roads sheltered by hedges and shrubs, and it’s been so wet of late that there was an awful lot of water around to be converted to solid form last night.

So I planned an ACG ride, and awoke to glorious sun and crispy everything.  Marvellous :/  5 of us gathered, more or less on time, in the Square, with a certain sense of trepidation – GB having had to walk down Winscombe Hill to get to the main road due to the ice, which hardly inspired confidence.   There was myself, GB, KG, a new guy, and the Boy Wonder.  Plans to go to Brean Down were swiftly scrapped – not because of the uphills, but because of the possibly treacherous downs.  We opted instead to head straight down the A38 to Tarnock, go left and across to Mark, and from there to Rich’s Cider Farm for coffee.  Which went pretty well.  Rather annoyingly it would appear that the main road hadn’t been gritted but being wide and exposed, it wasn’t too bad.  The road across to Mark was icy but we took it very easy, and we all arrived for coffee in one piece, albeit a little chilly.  In case you were wondering, roads are not supposed to be sparkly 😉

Coffee and fuel on board, we headed off again.  KG had to get back and took what would turn out to be a very wise decision, and headed back the way we came.  OK, so he was right, but don’t tell him I said that.  The remaining 4 of us came back across the icy Levels, trying to use the driest clearest roads possible.  It was a bit hairy, and both BW and GB nearly came a cropper.

We were nearly on the home straight, up on the top before the Trotters somewhere, when things went a little pear shaped.  Again, it’s not the ice you see that gets you, it’s the other stuff.  Maybe sparkly is better?  So it was black ice that got the better of me, as I unexpectedly found myself hitting the road.  Literally.  Again.  Well, I suppose it was about time, it had been a while after all.  Luckily I wasn’t going very fast, as I had been being careful.  I wasn’t braking or anything, it’s just that the road was like an ice rink – my wheels completely lost traction, went out from under me, and I hit the deck on my right side, as usual.  The new guy following me went down too, braking to avoid me, and the rabbit we were about to go past went down having heard us go down.  I’m thinking dominoes here.  Oh, and ice doesn’t make the road any softer either.  My right hip took most of the impact, oh, and of course my head.  I have cracked another helmet – that’s the third now.  But that’s why you wear one.  Because the helmet gets cracked – not your head!  Have I mentioned I swear by them?

My mates variously picked me up off the road, those that weren’t picking themselves up of course!  The rabbit gave up and decided to walk home.  And new guy seems to have survived, without trashing his new jacket, which was his main concern 😉  It’s funny what you think as it’s happening.  I was just praying not to break anything because I’ve got too much on this season!  And I appear to have managed that.  I’m going to have a lovely bruise on the hip, and I’ll admit to having a bit of a headache but apart from that I’m fine.  The bike is going to need a bit of work – the saddle moved, so needs re-hair spraying and putting back in place, and it just generally needs checking over.  Good thing I’m due to see Andrew on Friday then.

We cycled the rest of the way home in a relatively respectful and restrained fashion, which may have meant us not cycling in the ice by the edge of the road and thus taking up some of the road that clearly belonged to the blonde passenger of the car that went past shouting obscenities at us.  I may have told her to go forth and procreate in response.  I mean really, what did she hope to achieve by that?  She’s bl**dy lucky the traffic lights that we were approaching turned green just as she got there or I think the posse might have had a few choice words to share with her…  BW and the new guy headed off to Cheddar and home, leaving GB to chaperone me to my door to make sure I was ok, chivalrous to the end 🙂

I’d give you my stats, but apparently my cycling computer has been happily riding along without me again as I sit here, evidenced not least by the fact that it thinks my average speed was 27mph…  At a rough guess it added about 25 miles to the ODO.

So, on balance, not the best ride of my career.  However up until then I was feeling pretty good.  Legs were happy, bike was smooth, back was diclofenac numbed, knee never really got a chance to cut in, and it’s always nice to be out with the ACG.  Better luck next time 🙂

We’re walking in the air…

Well, we’d hardly be cycling, now would we?  So my fellow fish out of water and I went for a long winter wonderland walk instead of the ACG ride that had been mooted.  Bearing in mind the effort required to advance through the snow whilst staying upright, this had the potential to be a fairly good substitute, albeit one sadly devoid of coffee stop potential.

I met GB at the Kings Wood car park – having walked there along the Strawberry Line from here.  And there’s no apostrophe on the sign so I don’t know if the Wood belonged to one King or many – just in case the grammar police are reading and tutting under their breath at the lack of correct punctuation.

Anyway, the Strawberry Line was fun, because watching rabbits trying to run away over thick snow is amusing.  They have this odd bounding motion more reminiscent of how a kangaroo moves than their usual skedaddle.  Quite a few of them couldn’t be bothered with that, and just crouched where they were in the hope that I would go away.  Which of course I did – I’m very obliging like that.

Crossing the A38 was unsurprisingly easy as, at that time, all but the odd ejjot in a 4×4 were staying home.  However the climb up to the car park proved challenging, as the ice underfoot was both crunchy and slippery at the same time, and the last stretch was definitely the road less travelled.

I was early.  He was late.  Or maybe he was on time, and it’s just that I was early?  Not that it matters.  Off we went in the direction of Crooks Peak.  Now usually on a Sunday, this route has something of a motorway feel to it – but not today.  Today it was all ours although, to be fair, we weren’t the first to have gone that way.  It wasn’t as cold as I’d expected, the early morning wind had gone, the views were great, and we had the place to ourselves.  Very cool.

It was uncannily like cycling.  The trodden path, such as it was, was one person wide…so GB sat on my wheel, leaving me to lead the way *grin*.  And again, to draw parallels, the flats were easy enough, the ups were hard work, and the downs were treacherous.  I only fell over properly once – but there were plenty of near misses to be had.  I may have an interesting bruise on my left hip in the fullness of time, and I appear to have pulled a muscle in my back.  Mind you, it was kinda fun – and landing on thick snow hurts a darn sight less than landing on frozen tarmac! 😉

We didn’t make it as far as Crooks Peak, coming down instead to Compton Bishop, where the roads were like the Cresta Run, making life all the more interesting.  Always good to have a challenge.  From there we followed the nicely slushy main road home.  We had a bet on as to the number of cars that would pass us but we both lost dismally as we had failed to take into consideration the foolhardiness of people absolutely having to be somewhere else.  Today’s Prize P*llock award goes to the 4×4 that went past us and turned right across in front of us, with the driver on his mobile phone.  Priceless.

By the time I got home, having detoured for the Farmer’s Market and a Sunday paper, I’d been out about 2 1/2 hours, which is fairly respectable I feel.  Hey, it’s not riding, but it’s a darn sight better than doing nothing at all! *grin*.  Now, where’s my coffee?

My heart will go on

As those who set sail in 1912 will tell you, it’s not the ice you can see that gets you…  As proved to be the case 20 minutes into today’s ACG ride, when SD came a cropper on a patch of black ice going round a corner…  Although he appeared to have survived with minimal injuries, his bike was not so lucky, and being stuck in top gear is no way to spend a two hour ride, so he bailed.  One down…

A suitably chastened and restrained group carried on, rewriting the route as we went to avoid hills and overly shaded roads.  Upon reaching Mark Causeway, KG peeled off homewards, having a deadline to get back for.  Two down…

From there it was a straight push to Rich’s Cider Farm for coffee and a very nice warm scone.  The Pocket Rocket met us there, having cycled over from Wells, making our meagre mileage look even poorer.  One up…

In order to avoid retracing our steps at all we wiggled back across the Levels via Burtle, Westhay, Blackford and so on.  At some point near Rug Hill we dropped MD, partially because we were all trying to keep up with the Hare (yes – that would make me the Tortoise), though quite frankly I don’t know why we bother…*grin*.  One down…

I pushed my fastest down my favourite road and thought I was holding my own but which merely served to slingshot the menfolk past me on the straight and left me to be waited for at the Cheddar turn.  Epic fail, as my son would say.  The Hare hurtled off to go up the Gorge (and down and back up apparently!), leaving but three to head for home.  One down…

As we went past the fire station, a gorgeous black Corvette roared its way towards us and past.  I commented on how much I’d like that.  GB thought I was referring to the firemen.  Normally this would be a valid point.  However I admit it – I chose a Corvette over firemen. What is the world coming to?  And what does it say about GB that he paid more attention to the firemen than I did?  😉 *grin*.

I tried to win the race for home, and managed to push past GB as we got near the turning for Axbridge but…it was never going to happen.  Must try harder, as they say.  No sprint jersey for me.

Cycling time: 2:13:26
Distance: 35.97 miles
Avs: 16.1 mph
ODO: 6615 mile

If I’m being honest, cycling with the ACG isn’t quite doing it for me at the moment.  I love the coffee stop, and the bits where we do cycle together, and take turns at the front, and so on…but I seem to end up spending quite a bit of it cycling on my own these days.  And I can do that anytime.  However, overall it is good for me – because it makes me push harder and go faster than I would if left to my own devices, so I should probably just put up and shut up.  I’m just sulking because I’m not as good as everyone else and I want to be! *grin*

Ice ice baby

Finally, a ride!  I got to dust off the wall sculpture and use it for the purpose for which it was designed.  And I did have to quite literally dust it off – the on-going building work has a left a film of dust all over everything…

It has to be said that I kind of went out against my better judgement.  And if it had been just me going I’d probably have wimped out and headed for the warm gym again.  However, after many texts and the ACG Christmas do last night, it transpired that I would have been letting 4 other people down, and that goes against the grain…  So I ignored the fact the the temperature reading at Brent Knoll was negative.  I overlooked the fact that the water on the road outside was a long way from liquid.  I let GB tell me how much warmer it would be when the sun came out, put on as many layers as possible, and went up to the Square for 10:30am.

It wasn’t an official ACG ride, but it might was well have been.  There were 4 of us who headed out gingerly to Cheddar to meet my new pet cyclist.  OK, he’s not really a pet.  But he’s so young that I’m having to play responsible adult for him so that he can do the Wheel Heroes 100 later this year.  Yes, I know, funny as! *grin*.  Bless.   I’m SO easily old enough to be his mother.  And having seen the speed he goes at, I think he’s going to wish he’d picked someone less mumsy as a riding partner.  Ah well…I’ve offered him an out and I promise not to be offended if he takes it  😉

We had to wait in the sunshine for him, while GB cycled up and down to keep warm (and get closer to his annual mileage target!) before we all headed off to Glastonbury the usual way.  I’d been worried about how icy the roads would be but actually they were ok.  However the risk of ice combined with thick freezing fog made for interesting riding conditions….  I had to stop wearing my sunglasses as they were misting up, and mist plus fog seemed unnecessary.  It was an interesting dichotomy (a word I particularly like).  I could feel sweat running down my back…as ice formed on my eyelashes.  No word of a lie – it really did.   When we arrived at the cafe, there was ice on the bikes, our clothes…  Very weird but oddly amusing.

A large cup of good coffee was as welcome as ever, along with the by now almost obligatory carrot cake.  GB sat by the window twitching every time anyone approached the bikes, as the locals that usually congregate around the monument were having to walk around to keep warm, which looked suspiciously like loitering with intent…*grin*.

Back on the (still there) bikes and off down the main road to Wells.  It was definitely more about riding than the ride.  Single file, head down, breathe in as the traffic scrapes past… GB, DM, and little AK (well, he does have initials) were off in a cloud of competitive testosterone leaving me and IH bringing up the rear.  Even with that, AK was off like a greyhound out of the gate the minute he was able to leave us and head for home.  Man he’s fast!  And built like a whippet too.  Which probably explains why he was even colder than we were – no reserves and not going fast enough for him.  Although GB and DM did a very good job of looking like that kind of speed was totally normal.  I on the other hand looked like a middle-aged mum…

I did my best from Wells to Wedmore, and beyond, and I thought I  was going pretty fast really.  Especially as my knee was twingeing and I had a stitch again.  However on the main straight “no sprinting today” bit, the three MAMILs went past me like they’d pushed the turbo button.  I had a quick look around but couldn’t find mine…and was left to follow them home at a respectful distance.  I’m trying not to be disheartened by this and am taking comfort in the fact that I’m going to get better next year.  I am.  So there 😛

Cycling time: 2:07:43
Distance: 34.83 miles
Avs: 16.4 mph
ODO: 6579 mile

Actually, considering the conditions, and the average speed, I was actually doing pretty well.  For me.  Outclassed as ever *grin*.

In the meantime I think it’s time I went to see the sports physio again.  I’ve been religiously doing the exercises, and haven’t been on the bike for ages, but 90 minutes in, the knee was off again.  Not good.  And the plan was to have it sorted by Christmas…

There must be an angel

I was supposed to ride yesterday with George and Mim.  George bailed.  So did Mim.  Faced with wind, rain, and my cold, I figured the gym was a better idea.  Not only would it keep me dry and warm, it meant that I didn’t need to get my kit washed and dried in time for today’s ride!  It also meant time was a little less tight, as I was due over at Andrew’s to get my new headset fitted.  Now that didn’t go according to plan – as it turned out to be the wrong size.  Quite a long round trip just to get a new pump clip (he had one spare) and to get my cleats tweaked again.  Ah well, it’s not like I’d had anything else planned…

Which brings us to this morning, when the ACG were due out.  Due to the usual failure of people to RSVP, and a few who couldn’t make it, I was only definitely expecting DM.  As it turns out there were double that number.  2+2 = 4 again.  I’m starting to spot a trend…  Returning newbie Chris arrived unexpectedly, braving the elements in shorts again, and a new lady called Caroline also joined us, ominously equipped with tri-bars… As it turns out, she’s been off the bike for (all of) six weeks so didn’t leave us for dust 😉  In the absence of better ideas, and having not been to Sweets for a while, we did a loop via Winscombe, Christon, Loxton, Rooksbridge and Mark to get there.  Caroline, having come over from Bleadon, peeled off half way round having other places to be, leaving the three Musketeers to carry on.  The originally glorious weather clouded over leaving a blanket of grey cloud over the Levels which was a shame.  We did have fun seeing how many herons we could scare off though 🙂  And the seven cygnets were still a-swimming…

Sweets was blissfully not full, and did a great espresso.  Have you seen the size of the full breakfasts there?  I don’t think I could get back on the bike after one, but they do look nice!  We sat and warmed up, and then cooled down…and had to get going again.  We opted for the direct route home, which seemed to involve drafting a tractor up Mudgeley Hill.  DM stuck it out at least halfway up, with the rest of us having given up the chase quite some time before!  However, and this is going to sound odd and Chris won’t agree with me, it almost didn’t go on long enough.  After the steeper bottom bit I was just getting settled into a rhythm – the effort level had dropped, the breathing rate had slowed and…it ran out!  I’m going to need to find some longer hills for training next year for sure.  Although it was quite encouraging to find it easier than usual 🙂

We took it easy the rest of the way home in an attempt to stay together and not leave Chris behind.  He’d not been out since the last time he joined us so he was suffering a bit, and as GB keeps telling me, what does the G in ACG stand for?  Yes – Group – that would be it.

Cycling time: 1:55:47
Distance: 29.15 miles
Avs: 14.9 mph
ODO: 6460 miles

It was a pretty leisurely ride.  It’s sometimes nice to take it a bit easy – I must remember that 🙂  My knee twinged initially but then settled, so I think the cleat position was definitely an improvement.  Let’s hope it doesn’t move again…  My bike was feeling lovely and we got on pretty well together, so as a reward I even cleaned it properly when I got back – chain and all.  Aren’t I virtuous?  😉

Free falling

I have my baby back!  OK, it’s not had all the work done yet, but a girl can only wait for parts for so long, so when the headset finally comes in, I’ll go back and Andrew will fit it.  In the meantime it has new wheel bearings, and very sexy new brakes.  I know, you’re thinking, sexy, brakes… oxymoron right?  Well, who knew?  Because they are 🙂  They’re smaller and (like it makes a difference) much lighter than the old ones.  Oh, and they’re a nice shade of stealthy grey metal too.  Very lovely.  But looks aren’t everything, right?  Do they work?  Well, let’s see…

Today, being the first day in two weeks that opportunity coincided with actually having a bike, I was due to go out with GB for a flat easy ride to looney town for coffee and a chat.  Both of us agree that, had we not been meeting each other, the rain discovered on opening the curtains this morning would have kept us both in our respective beds…  It’s just as well it didn’t, as once that had passed, the weather was gorgeous.  Cold – given the NNE wind – but clear and sunny, with autumn colours all around.  And, layered up properly, cold isn’t a problem either 🙂

I headed up the road all excited to be trying out my “new” bike.  Instantly it was weird as, when free-wheeling, my bike no longer makes the loud distinctive noise that it used to make.  Very strange.  How am I going to announce my imminent arrival to pedestrians now?  It’ll be better for wildlife spotting though, as my inadvertent slowing to watch things always used to make the noise which made the thing I was watching run away.  Or fly.  Depending on what variety of thing it was.  It was also a problem when cycling behind SH.  He’d hear me free-wheel, and accelerate!  So, no noise is good noise *grin*.

I arrived in the Square a little early, and GB arrived on time.  Shortly followed by DM who, as it turns out, was meeting IH for a ride.  Great minds and all that.  Now, A-level maths was not my strong point, but even I can manage 2+2=4.  That would be an even more impromptu than usual ACG ride 🙂

We went the flat easy way over to lay-line central, where the first of the natives encountered was wearing pink fairy wings.  As a place, it never lets me down *grin*.  To be fair, we were obviously a bit early for the denizens of Glastonbury as the nutter quotient was way down.  We sat and drank coffee, and ate cake (aka fuel) in the sun outside, which was very pleasant.  Too chilly to hang around for long though, even having taken the precaution of taking my jacket off so as to be able to feel the benefit of putting it back on again.  Yes – we really do do things like that.  Sad isn’t it? 😉

It didn’t get much warmer on the way home as the headwind had a nasty chill to it.  GB desperately scrabbled for routes to get us home that avoided it but, being south of home, and the wind coming from the north, well…options were limited.  We stuck to cycle tacking across it instead, across the beautiful Levels south of Mark.  We made a brief stop when the under-fueled IH was persuaded by a nagging female (yes, that would be me) that a bar might be a good idea, as he’d bonked completely.  I always go equipped you see.  2 tubes, 1 bar, 1 gel!  That break was shortly followed by a much longer one near Blackford which involved me watching three MAMILs fixing a puncture, whilst laughing a lot.  What I wouldn’t have given for a camera *grin*.  I would have helped, but I might have broken a fingernail or something 😉  Only a man could be minorly pleased about a puncture, seeing it as an opportunity to try out a new toy (a CO2 pump in case you were wondering).  You know who you are! *grin*.

From there we headed for home, with the usual stupidity down the usual road.  I was, as ever, outclassed.  Even on a bad day GB is better than I am.  Minorly galling when you come to think about it.  And he was having a bad day.  It’s a new form of echo location.  He coughs, and I know exactly where he is.   Doesn’t seem to affect his sprinting ability though…

But I haven’t answered the main question yet.  Do the new brakes work?  Oh yes.  Oh yes indeedy.  They kick a*se!  I didn’t get that much opportunity to check them out, but coming down Rug Hill I got to test them a bit, and they work.  Like work instantly and well and when you want them to.  So well that when we stopped in the Square at the end of the race for home, they almost stopped me faster than I could unclip, which made for an interesting wobble.  Dignity was preserved though.  Combine the new lovely stopping ability with the tips Andrew gave me for cornering (push down on the outside down foot) and I think I acquited myself a bit better round corners and down hills than I usually do.  Not that anyone will have noticed but that’s not the point *grin*.

If I can rely on my bike to stop when I want it to, then I’ll be able to panic less about my ability to stop when faced with a corner at the bottom of the hill.  I’ll be more confident and thus do it better.  Well, that’s the theory.  And even in practice it got off to a good start.  Yes – my new brakes are sexy 🙂

Cycling time: 2:34
Distance: 40.7 miles
Avs: 15.8 mph
ODO: 6398 miles

It’s fabulous to have my bike back again.  It’s in very good form, and I’m hoping that I will be too, in time to do it justice for all next year’s events 🙂