On a cold March morning thirteen riders took off on the B ride. I think Neville was “on” but soon found out he had other plans. I was reassured by Toby and Theo that they would secure the rear of the group when we set off so onward to the first Climb via Podsmead, Tuffley, to the Stroud Road and then straight up to Edge. By this time, we were more concerned with catching our breath than being cold, but we continued right at the Church up towards Randwick, following in the wake of Abu, Hannah, and Matthew. We regrouped up at the bend on Main Road, where a warning was given about the descent and then we headed down through Whiteshill. On the way down I panicked a bit, not seeing anyone behind me in view, but when we regrouped at the island in Stroud, it became clear the descent warnings had had the desired effect and everyone had descended safely.
Continuing through Stroud down to the Sainsburys island we regrouped again and having originally planned to go up Selsley, we took the cycle track along the A419 towards Ryeford turning left into Kings Stanley for a less painful route. We proceeded on to Frocester where John W toyed with the idea of going up Frocester Hill, however, we continued (straight at the island) into Coaley and up into Uley. Again, Abu and Hannah led the way, still making the climb look easy. Was this a B ride I asked myself……
At the top of the hill, we encountered a procession of horseback riders, and at one time it appeared that one rider was in the middle of the road. To my surprise this was a police officer (or a Special Constable), which Ali confirmed.
On the route down to Dursley there was a brief stop/discussion to ascertain where the “lunch time” beverage group would meet, but that was soon sorted out then we dropped down to the B4066 to slide into Dursley. Along the main road Ali G had a major “mechanical” with his “free Hub” finally giving out. After a series of (shall we say) brief taps!! Toby reported that enough pawls were dislodged to enable Ali to get to The Bank, our designated coffee stop in Dursley. Surprisingly we arrived on time (with thanks to a few prompts from Toby). Ali decided that discretion was the best course of action and elected to catch the train home from Dursley. No other incidents to report, another fine but cold day. Thanks to Toby and Theo who had my back.
Post refreshments, four of the usual suspects set off for an extended ride to lunch. This took in the climb to Stinchcombe, then around to cross the A38 and on to Berkeley. The very cold south-westerly certainly chilled the spirits, but turning north we had the benefit of a tailwind. Skipping over the A38 again, a short reverse-repeat on the Coaley / Frocester road soon saw a final crossing of the A38 at Whitminster. From here it was down to Saul, over the canal and on to The Ship at Framilode, a rescheduled stop – once again avoiding a pub with the word Red. One beer was not of good quality, one was. Tip – always ask for a taster first! We met up with Nev from the AA ride already established, and the Social Sec – he was on motorised two wheels, so no points!
An easy and relatively speedy zip home on the lanes made it around 56 cool miles.