D
Danny Colyer
Guest
<URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/cycling/ridereports/cheddar05.html>
I'd fancied trying an audax ever since I first read about them, years
ago, but I'd never got round to it. This year I read several weeks in
advance about the Tasty Cheddar 100km. It started and finished in
Bristol, which was important - the thought of driving halfway across the
country for a bike ride has never appealed to me. By the time I'd
ridden to the start, and ridden home again at the end, the total
distance would be about 80 miles. That's a long way to ride with
October weather, particularly bearing in mind the hills. But I booked
the time off from the family, registered, and just decided to be
prepared to wimp out if it was wet and windy.
A few days before the event, the forecast was for a grey day, with
plenty of showers and stronger winds than I liked the idea of. It
didn't change much as the day approached, except for the forecast winds
to get lighter. Anyway, they were forecast to be stronger in the
afternoon than in the morning, and in the afternoon they should be in my
favour.
Thursday and Friday were grey, damp and windy. When I went to bed on
Friday the forecast was for more of the same.
I left my alarm set as if for work and got up as soon as it went off (so
10 minutes earlier than I get up for work). I opened the curtains to a
blue sky, glorious sunshine and not a breath of wind. I checked the
forecast, it was to be sunny all day, with no mention of wind. No
excuse to wimp out and visit the 2 local breweries that were having an
open day, then.
After a small bowl of cereal (all I can manage at that time of the
morning), I left at 08:20. I should have got to the start for 09:00
with no problems. Unfortunately I had trouble finding the Create Centre.
I didn't actually make a wrong turning - I just thought I had, and spent
quite a while trying to figure out where I /should/ have gone.
(For those who know the area better than I do, I got my roundabouts
mixed up in the centre of Bristol. I knew I wanted to turn right from
what I thought was the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, and that's exactly
what I did. I found myself on York Road, which I didn't think was right.
I checked the A-Z and found that York Road was a left turn from the
Bedminster Bridge roundabout, so I turned round and went back to the
roundabout. Eventually I worked out that what I had /thought/ was the
Bedminster Bridge roundabout was actually the Temple Gate roundabout.
By turning into York Road, I had been heading in the right direction all
along, /towards/ the Bedminster Bridge roundabout. I hate trying to
navigate in the centre of Bristol.)
Anyway, I reached the Create Centre at 09:20. I had planned to have a
sandwich before starting, and there was no way I was starting the ride
without one. So I was half an hour late starting. That put a stop to
my primary navigation plan, which was to ride with the bunch and hope
that enough of them had done it before and would know where they were
going. I forgot to check my mileage at the start, but based on my
mileage at the first control it must have been about 10.
The ride started by following the appalling (if you're on slick tyres)
cycle route along the West bank of the Avon, opposite the Portway. If
I'd twigged beforehand I might have planned a different route (and I'd
probably have got lost).
Not too long after leaving the cyclepath, I found a nice descent. I
changed up to, and then over, the big ring. Then had to stop and put my
chain back on.
My legs had had a hard day the previous Sunday. I'd made an effort
during the week to rest them and replenish my glycogen reserves
(including forcing myself to take it easy riding to and from work the
two days before the event), but every time I hit a climb it was
painfully obvious that I hadn't done enough. Still, I passed the first
two stragglers, checking their route guides, at 10:10, just after the
first sign post to Clapton and about 7 miles after starting.
In Clevedon there was an instruction to turn right opposite church,
signposted Sea Front. I found a church with a right turn opposite it,
but no signpost to the sea front - just a cul-de-sac sign. So I carried
on for a short distance. I could see the sea on my right, and no sign
of another church, so I decided the previous turning must have been the
right one. I went back to it and followed the road to its end, by which
time it was clear that I'd been right first time. So, back to the main
road, and I eventually found another church with a right turn opposite,
this time signposted to the sea front. I reached the first control at
11:05 (or 11:08 according to Rich, who was manning it, 8 minutes late),
with the computer showing 25.59 miles.
Navigating out of Clevedon involved getting out the A-Z and hoping that
Clevedon was included. Fortunately, it was. Cheddar was easy to find,
and I reached the second control at 13:13, with 11 minutes to spare.
The computer showed 44.01 miles.
I stopped in Cheddar for a couple of truly vile tasting doughnuts.
Don't buy doughnuts from Fortes ice cream parlour. I also replaced the
black lenses in my cycling glasses with amber ones, a decision that I
was to regret a couple of miles later when I had to change back because
I had the sun in my eyes. It started to spit with rain while I was
eating the doughnuts, but it didn't last long. I had intended to
acquire more water in Cheddar, but upon consolidating my supplies I
found that I had 3 full bottles and a smidgen more. I drank the smidgen
and decided not to carry any more up the gorge.
Part way up the gorge, I decided I'd be better off if I knew roughly how
far I had to go. I stopped to check the map, and was passed by 4 riders
who had left the control shortly after me (I soon passed two of them
once I set off again). I reckoned that the serious climbing would
finish no more than a mile from the control, so I set my computer to
show trip distance and rode on with the expectation that the road would
get easier before I reached 45 miles. I was right - just. I had
another 2.3 miles of climbing before turning off of the gorge road, but
they were much less severe (although perhaps not for the dead badger
that I saw at about 46 miles).
At the turning off of the Cheddar Gorge road, I met the other two riders
who had passed me on the gorge. They were waiting for their mates to
catch up. After the turn, the road continued to climb for a further 1.4
miles. This was where I started having trouble following the route sheet.
The route sheet told me to go straight on at the first crossroads, then
right at the next crossroads, signposted West Harptree. I went straight
on at the first crossroads. At the next crossroads I was ready to turn
right, but noticed that West Harptree was signposted straight on. As I
was pondering, the cyclists that I had met at the earlier turning caught
up. One of them stopped and told me it was straight on here - the
previous crossroads hadn't been included in the route sheet. He
mentioned that he'd done the ride twice before, and had previously met
people stuck at this particular crossroads complaining about the directions.
He then stayed to wait for his mates to catch up again. I should have
stayed with him, but instead I carried on. I must have missed a couple
of instructions, and as a result I ended up going straight on at a
crossroads where I should have turned right (I did check the sign, but
West Harptree was signposted diagonally, it could just as easily have
been pointing either right or straight on).
By the time I realised my mistake, I'd ridden 2 miles (including a
fairly long descent) out of my way. I managed to find my way to West
Harptree, then had enormous difficulty working out where to go next. At
this low point of the ride, as I was lost and it seemed unlikely that
I'd make the third control on time, it started to rain. Hard. I did
not welcome the cold shower, fortunately it only lasted a few minutes.
I eventually found the steep hill into Hinton Blewett, and ended up
walking it because my rear tyre couldn't get sufficient traction on the
wet road. I reached the 3rd control at 15:45, 50 minutes after it
closed! The computer showed 58.14 miles.
After leaving the 3rd control, I wasted no time in getting lost again.
The first instruction was to turn left at the T-junction signposted Chew
Magna. I never found that T-junction (and I still can't find it on the
map).
The first junction I found was a crossroads. Well, sort of. The road
bent round to the right, in what appeared to be completely the wrong
direction, with straight on and left effectively being turnings. After
looking at the map I decided that I needed to go straight on to Bishop
Sutton. At Bishop Sutton I came to another crossroads, where I decided
the best bet was to go straight on again and continue to follow the NCN
route 3 signs. I lost the signs twice, each time struggling to find
them again.
When I found a signpost telling me that I was ½ mile from Stanton Drew,
I was finally able to work out on the map where I was. I was only a
mile off course, but it looked a lot more. I was also more than 6 miles
- as the crow flies - from the finish, with only 10 minutes to get there
and every chance of getting lost again in the attempt. I phoned Joe
(the organiser) to tell him that I wouldn't be finishing on time and
that I probably wouldn't bother finishing at all.
Shortly after that, I worked out that I was probably closer to home than
to the finish. Home would also be easier to find - all I had to do was
follow the NCN route 10 signs. With sore knees (my right knee started
to twinge at 47 miles, on the climb of Cheddar Gorge), home seemed like
a very good place to head for. The decision was made painful by the
thought of missing the mini beer festival that was supposedly being laid
on for us at the finish.
At 17:25, with the computer showing 66.09 miles, I was between Pensford
and Compton Dando when I heard a sound from the direction of the rear
wheel very much like that made by a flat tyre. I stopped and found that
I had a flat rear tyre. As I fixed it, having to use my knife to remove
a thorn, a WVM stopped to check that I was OK.
One thing I *did* get out of my diversion was a photo of Compton church.
I failed to get one when I passed this way last year, because my
camera battery was flat.
I arrived home at 19:50. The computer showed a distance of 77.35 miles,
riding time 6:48:54, average riding speed 11.3mph. I'd ridden near
enough the same number of miles that I'd expected to ride, they just
weren't quite the same miles. I think I did all the climbs at least
once, and then some. And, of course, I completed the all important
climb of Cheddar Gorge.
It was a nice ride, but would probably have been better with company.
Thanks for organising it, Joe. Perhaps I'll try again next year. Maybe
next time I'll find the start on time and manage to complete the route
without making so many mistakes.
--
Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
I'd fancied trying an audax ever since I first read about them, years
ago, but I'd never got round to it. This year I read several weeks in
advance about the Tasty Cheddar 100km. It started and finished in
Bristol, which was important - the thought of driving halfway across the
country for a bike ride has never appealed to me. By the time I'd
ridden to the start, and ridden home again at the end, the total
distance would be about 80 miles. That's a long way to ride with
October weather, particularly bearing in mind the hills. But I booked
the time off from the family, registered, and just decided to be
prepared to wimp out if it was wet and windy.
A few days before the event, the forecast was for a grey day, with
plenty of showers and stronger winds than I liked the idea of. It
didn't change much as the day approached, except for the forecast winds
to get lighter. Anyway, they were forecast to be stronger in the
afternoon than in the morning, and in the afternoon they should be in my
favour.
Thursday and Friday were grey, damp and windy. When I went to bed on
Friday the forecast was for more of the same.
I left my alarm set as if for work and got up as soon as it went off (so
10 minutes earlier than I get up for work). I opened the curtains to a
blue sky, glorious sunshine and not a breath of wind. I checked the
forecast, it was to be sunny all day, with no mention of wind. No
excuse to wimp out and visit the 2 local breweries that were having an
open day, then.
After a small bowl of cereal (all I can manage at that time of the
morning), I left at 08:20. I should have got to the start for 09:00
with no problems. Unfortunately I had trouble finding the Create Centre.
I didn't actually make a wrong turning - I just thought I had, and spent
quite a while trying to figure out where I /should/ have gone.
(For those who know the area better than I do, I got my roundabouts
mixed up in the centre of Bristol. I knew I wanted to turn right from
what I thought was the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, and that's exactly
what I did. I found myself on York Road, which I didn't think was right.
I checked the A-Z and found that York Road was a left turn from the
Bedminster Bridge roundabout, so I turned round and went back to the
roundabout. Eventually I worked out that what I had /thought/ was the
Bedminster Bridge roundabout was actually the Temple Gate roundabout.
By turning into York Road, I had been heading in the right direction all
along, /towards/ the Bedminster Bridge roundabout. I hate trying to
navigate in the centre of Bristol.)
Anyway, I reached the Create Centre at 09:20. I had planned to have a
sandwich before starting, and there was no way I was starting the ride
without one. So I was half an hour late starting. That put a stop to
my primary navigation plan, which was to ride with the bunch and hope
that enough of them had done it before and would know where they were
going. I forgot to check my mileage at the start, but based on my
mileage at the first control it must have been about 10.
The ride started by following the appalling (if you're on slick tyres)
cycle route along the West bank of the Avon, opposite the Portway. If
I'd twigged beforehand I might have planned a different route (and I'd
probably have got lost).
Not too long after leaving the cyclepath, I found a nice descent. I
changed up to, and then over, the big ring. Then had to stop and put my
chain back on.
My legs had had a hard day the previous Sunday. I'd made an effort
during the week to rest them and replenish my glycogen reserves
(including forcing myself to take it easy riding to and from work the
two days before the event), but every time I hit a climb it was
painfully obvious that I hadn't done enough. Still, I passed the first
two stragglers, checking their route guides, at 10:10, just after the
first sign post to Clapton and about 7 miles after starting.
In Clevedon there was an instruction to turn right opposite church,
signposted Sea Front. I found a church with a right turn opposite it,
but no signpost to the sea front - just a cul-de-sac sign. So I carried
on for a short distance. I could see the sea on my right, and no sign
of another church, so I decided the previous turning must have been the
right one. I went back to it and followed the road to its end, by which
time it was clear that I'd been right first time. So, back to the main
road, and I eventually found another church with a right turn opposite,
this time signposted to the sea front. I reached the first control at
11:05 (or 11:08 according to Rich, who was manning it, 8 minutes late),
with the computer showing 25.59 miles.
Navigating out of Clevedon involved getting out the A-Z and hoping that
Clevedon was included. Fortunately, it was. Cheddar was easy to find,
and I reached the second control at 13:13, with 11 minutes to spare.
The computer showed 44.01 miles.
I stopped in Cheddar for a couple of truly vile tasting doughnuts.
Don't buy doughnuts from Fortes ice cream parlour. I also replaced the
black lenses in my cycling glasses with amber ones, a decision that I
was to regret a couple of miles later when I had to change back because
I had the sun in my eyes. It started to spit with rain while I was
eating the doughnuts, but it didn't last long. I had intended to
acquire more water in Cheddar, but upon consolidating my supplies I
found that I had 3 full bottles and a smidgen more. I drank the smidgen
and decided not to carry any more up the gorge.
Part way up the gorge, I decided I'd be better off if I knew roughly how
far I had to go. I stopped to check the map, and was passed by 4 riders
who had left the control shortly after me (I soon passed two of them
once I set off again). I reckoned that the serious climbing would
finish no more than a mile from the control, so I set my computer to
show trip distance and rode on with the expectation that the road would
get easier before I reached 45 miles. I was right - just. I had
another 2.3 miles of climbing before turning off of the gorge road, but
they were much less severe (although perhaps not for the dead badger
that I saw at about 46 miles).
At the turning off of the Cheddar Gorge road, I met the other two riders
who had passed me on the gorge. They were waiting for their mates to
catch up. After the turn, the road continued to climb for a further 1.4
miles. This was where I started having trouble following the route sheet.
The route sheet told me to go straight on at the first crossroads, then
right at the next crossroads, signposted West Harptree. I went straight
on at the first crossroads. At the next crossroads I was ready to turn
right, but noticed that West Harptree was signposted straight on. As I
was pondering, the cyclists that I had met at the earlier turning caught
up. One of them stopped and told me it was straight on here - the
previous crossroads hadn't been included in the route sheet. He
mentioned that he'd done the ride twice before, and had previously met
people stuck at this particular crossroads complaining about the directions.
He then stayed to wait for his mates to catch up again. I should have
stayed with him, but instead I carried on. I must have missed a couple
of instructions, and as a result I ended up going straight on at a
crossroads where I should have turned right (I did check the sign, but
West Harptree was signposted diagonally, it could just as easily have
been pointing either right or straight on).
By the time I realised my mistake, I'd ridden 2 miles (including a
fairly long descent) out of my way. I managed to find my way to West
Harptree, then had enormous difficulty working out where to go next. At
this low point of the ride, as I was lost and it seemed unlikely that
I'd make the third control on time, it started to rain. Hard. I did
not welcome the cold shower, fortunately it only lasted a few minutes.
I eventually found the steep hill into Hinton Blewett, and ended up
walking it because my rear tyre couldn't get sufficient traction on the
wet road. I reached the 3rd control at 15:45, 50 minutes after it
closed! The computer showed 58.14 miles.
After leaving the 3rd control, I wasted no time in getting lost again.
The first instruction was to turn left at the T-junction signposted Chew
Magna. I never found that T-junction (and I still can't find it on the
map).
The first junction I found was a crossroads. Well, sort of. The road
bent round to the right, in what appeared to be completely the wrong
direction, with straight on and left effectively being turnings. After
looking at the map I decided that I needed to go straight on to Bishop
Sutton. At Bishop Sutton I came to another crossroads, where I decided
the best bet was to go straight on again and continue to follow the NCN
route 3 signs. I lost the signs twice, each time struggling to find
them again.
When I found a signpost telling me that I was ½ mile from Stanton Drew,
I was finally able to work out on the map where I was. I was only a
mile off course, but it looked a lot more. I was also more than 6 miles
- as the crow flies - from the finish, with only 10 minutes to get there
and every chance of getting lost again in the attempt. I phoned Joe
(the organiser) to tell him that I wouldn't be finishing on time and
that I probably wouldn't bother finishing at all.
Shortly after that, I worked out that I was probably closer to home than
to the finish. Home would also be easier to find - all I had to do was
follow the NCN route 10 signs. With sore knees (my right knee started
to twinge at 47 miles, on the climb of Cheddar Gorge), home seemed like
a very good place to head for. The decision was made painful by the
thought of missing the mini beer festival that was supposedly being laid
on for us at the finish.
At 17:25, with the computer showing 66.09 miles, I was between Pensford
and Compton Dando when I heard a sound from the direction of the rear
wheel very much like that made by a flat tyre. I stopped and found that
I had a flat rear tyre. As I fixed it, having to use my knife to remove
a thorn, a WVM stopped to check that I was OK.
One thing I *did* get out of my diversion was a photo of Compton church.
I failed to get one when I passed this way last year, because my
camera battery was flat.
I arrived home at 19:50. The computer showed a distance of 77.35 miles,
riding time 6:48:54, average riding speed 11.3mph. I'd ridden near
enough the same number of miles that I'd expected to ride, they just
weren't quite the same miles. I think I did all the climbs at least
once, and then some. And, of course, I completed the all important
climb of Cheddar Gorge.
It was a nice ride, but would probably have been better with company.
Thanks for organising it, Joe. Perhaps I'll try again next year. Maybe
next time I'll find the start on time and manage to complete the route
without making so many mistakes.
--
Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
(i'll be adding a gps unit once I get to those
