Now pay attention, this is very complicated.
There were eight in the square, four opted for the Tempo ride and four for the Fast. The fast guys were late starting as a power meter crank needed a new battery (not something that would have been appropriate on the Steady group ‘retro’ ride).
A ninth rider swung onto the front of the Temp group on Stroud Road and dragged us all the way to Brookthorpe before we were able to catch up and tell him that the Fast guys were a couple of minutes behind.
The Tempo group then split with two opting for a ‘guaranteed to get us home before the storm’ route to Dursley. That left two of us to follow the published climb-fest of Edge, Selsey, and Frocester, followed by a wild and windy trip through Wooton and Charfield to the cafe at Falfield.
The fast guys were already there, having negotiated a far-from-flat route through Stinchcombe and North Nibley at over 17mph. Having swapped tales of our different journeys, we scoffed cake, and then looked long and hard at the forecast and the big black clouds. It was agreed that the best option for getting home was a team time trial straight down the A38.
And so it was that the two Tempo riders were hanging on by their fingernails as the GCCC fast train thundered along, towing us home in half the time it would have taken us otherwise. Apart from a tiny smattering of drizzle at Stonebeach we all got home bone dry, having thoroughly enjoyed the heady combination of tough climbs, fast trains, coffee, and companionship.
52.9 miles 3,179 ft, 16.7 mph
SP