A good morning for cycling is unusual in November, but this was one. Eight set off from King’s Square, and had our first puncture just outside Haresfield. A pretty slick tube change and we were on our way, picking up a ninth rider at Stonehouse. The climb onto Rodborough Common was brutal and E left us all behind – she must have set a new “Queen-of-the-Mountains”!
The route was planned to take advantage of the forecast Westerly on Minchampton Common, but there was little evidence of any help. After the short, sharp pitch into Cherrington, the route became fairly flat, and apart from passing the training ride going in the other direction, little appeared to happen, as we enjoyed the views and sunshine.
Unknown to the rest of us, E had snapped her rear gear cable somewhere near Kemble, which she announced at coffee. A quick re-plan of the return route to avoid steep pitches and we were ready to leave, when Edspresso spotted he had a broken spoke. What was worse was that this put the wheel so out of true that it would not go round. He resorted to a phone call to his personal rescue service, and the rest continued home.
A heavy shower after Daneway left us questioning whether Edspresso was actually a witchdoctor, and engineered his mechanical problem knowing what was in store. The shower passed, but not the mechanicals, as another puncture occurred at Foston’s Ash.
Despite all the stops, it was a good ride with a great group of people. 53 miles, 3,100′ ascent @ 14.6mph.