I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that a 100 mile ride starting at three in the morning is a pretty daft idea, but with the expectation of a sunrise over Avebury as compensation, I was willing to give it a go.
It was surprisingly busy in the middle of town, mainly young people, but not obviously under the influence of anything other than youth. I had forgotten that Eastgate Street would be closed off but we sneaked through on the pavement.
Nut Hill and Buckholt were a good way of warming up, and once out of the city we had the roads to ourselves.
Once up on the Cotswolds the temperature dropped a few degrees and we all felt a little under-dressed, any descent chilled us even more, and we passed through a few pockets of cold air which were positively freezing. The beautiful full moon and starry sky were some compensation, but it was starting to look like a really daft idea to be out riding at this hour.
The chill was at least encouraging us to keep a decent pace up. By 5:00 am we only had 20 miles to go. With two hours before sun up we decided to slow down a bit. It’s amazing how much difference not stopping for traffic made to our average speed.
A slog up the wonderfully named Clyffe Pypard Hill certainly slowed us down, but after a thrash along the main road we got to Avebury at about 6:50, ten minutes before sun rises. Spot on.
The predawn sky was shaded pink and purple, enjoyed only by us, a few photographers, and a couple of dog walkers. Dawn itself was a little disappointing, an uncooperative bank of cloud blocking our view of the sun, but it still felt special to be in such a magical place as dawn unfolded.
By twenty past there was still no sight of the sun, and with the lure of hot food waiting for us in Chippenham we elected to get going and dash down the lightly trafficked A4 rather than explore the off-road bike path. We pulled up outside The Boat House on the dot of 8:00 am, just as they opened the doors. Brilliant planning. Or dumb luck. Probably dumb luck.
We all felt considerably better with breakfast consumed, and set off on the return leg in good spirits. We had an uneventful ride home, somehow missing the rain showers and enjoying a strengthening tailwind.
More hot drinks and cake at The Lazy Goose fuelled the last few miles, the wet roads testimony to our continued good fortune in shower dodging.
So, a brilliantly different day out or a barking mad interruption of a good night’s sleep? Well, probably both. It was certainly memorable and I’m very grateful to the others for their support and company on an excellent adventure.
I’ll leave the final word to one of my companions:
Up at 2:30am, group roll-call in Gloucester at 3:30am. Excitement levels: off the charts. Packing ability: non-existent. Left my water bottle and my warm jacket at home, then rode straight into the clearest, moonlit coldest night I’ve known — the kind where the moon lights the road like silver, and every breath hangs visible in the air.Â
Made Avebury exactly for 7:01am sunrise… and then we waited. Twenty minutes. No sun. Just the stones, the quiet fields, and that pale dawn glow that just wouldn’t turn golden. Eventually we called it — the sun had other plans.
Still — miles in the moonlight, good company, and a very welcome breakfast in Chippenham on the way back. The dawn didn’t arrive on time, but the adventure did. Wouldn’t change a thing.Â
99.5 miles, 4,961 ft, 15.1 mph