After the excitement of Storms Dennis and Ciara, and the ride cancellations that followed, it was good to get out on the bike today. In the absence of both the Captain and Vice-Captain it was down to VP Pete to lead fourteen of us on the A ride to Hailes Abbey, aided by the President, despite the forecast of rain and his known aversion to it. A fast wind assisted start got us warmed up and the ride was going well until rain began to fall at Stoke Orchard. A series of stops was called as, one after another, riders caped up. The last to do so was our Scottish Treasurer, whose threshold of tolerance for rain may be set a little higher than most. Fortunately, it didn’t last too long and soon we reached Kemerton for a stretch to Toddington that had the wind fully on our backs. Turning at a road closure sign (Pete’s routes wouldn’t be complete without one) that stopped traffic climbing the hill to Ford we soon reached Hailes Fruit Farm cafe for a warm welcome both from the staff and from a gas burning stove that was making a good effort of masquerading as a wood burner.
All good things must come to an end and so we set off into the vigorous westerly wind. At Greet the group divided, some choosing the flatter route home through Gotherington. Unluckily they had to stop almost immediately to make an entry in the Bruce’s Bonus competition. The 150m climb of Cleeve Hill offered a choice for the others: the partial shelter of Langley Road or the fully exposed but better graded Cheltenham Road. Those with derailleurs chose the former, hard riders (at least those not doing the morning’s hard riders’ TT) on fixies the latter; Steve hung back on the descent to get a good view of the President’s souplesse, such as it was. The fixed/free regrouping was in Prestbury from whence we toiled home into the wind. Even Ermine Street felt uphill!
View the route here