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?  😉