Last weekend before the Tourmalet - 10/11th July

With a week to go the Wayfarers Wheelers were split again. Chris had a family commitment on the Sunday so did a 42 mile ride on the Saturday in the very warm and windy conditions. The route consisted of a ride up the valley to Lambourn, up the hill at the end and then back via Hungerford and Kintbury. On Sunday, the other three; Simon, Steve and Pete went on a slightly longer 50 mile ride to Wantage and back.

Watching the Tour de France stage up to Avoriaz on the TV made worrying viewing as some big names were cracking under the strain of the climb and the heat. Tourmalet is much higher and longer and the forecast is hot!

Oh well ,we can't do anything now but rest and prepare for the big event on Sunday. The bikes leave on Thursday and we leave via EasyJet from Bristol to Toulouse on Friday morning.

Everyone has new tyres, chains and various other bits of kit. All we have to do now is get there.

Thanks to all of you who have followed our blog.

The next post will be after the event.

Saturday 3rd July, the final big training ride - A hilly Hampshire loop

For the first time in weeks the Wayfarers Wheelers Etape quartet of Chris, Pete, Simon and Steve were together again for what will really be the last big ride before the Etape. Chris had been off time trialling in recent weekends while the others had been doing fast shorter rides.

The route had been carefully planned to take in just about every hill we knew, mostly in ascent but some to descend too! This really was a Wayfarers Wheelers "classic" having been attempted before but never finished, there had always been an excuse not to do the final few hills.

After a Hilly start up White Hill out of Kingsclere and then up to Hannington there was some fast descending and a relatively flat section before the pull up Stoke Hill out of St Mary Bourne. Steve didn't make a great start to the climb as he slipped and fell off on some loose gravel at the turn before the hill. Then there was another downhill and then fairly flat section until the long ascent to Chute Causeway started. This out of the way, the route meandered towards Shalbourne, with a brief stop to take on board water, then Ham and probably the steepest climb of the route, Ham Hill.

After this it was onto Linkenholt and then a few further climbs; up from Coombe, down to Faccombe and back up to Faccombe again, Pete was heard to say "this is masochistic" at this point! then the final climb to Ashmansworth with a fast descent to North End and home.

This took a total of 4:52, so a pace of 14.8 mph for the 72 miles and 5229 feet of climbing.

We are as ready as we will ever be for the big challenge on 18th July!

Saturday 26th June - Team photo shoot with CN Sales

CN Sales of Highclere sponsor the Wayfarers Wheelers arm and leg warmers. They are likely to come in handy on the cold descents in the Pyrenees. Here are the team with Neil and Christine of CN Sales

Sunday 13th June - The Magnificat Sportive, Newbury - 127 miles

This was the big one, longer but less climbing than the Etape, only 2800m compared to 4500m!.All four of the Wayfarers Wheelers set off in the first group and covered the first 2 hours at over 17 mph. At the first feed station, Pete peeled off to complete the 81 mile ride in a very respectable time of 5:11 and Chris, Steve and Simon carried on to complete the 127 mile course.

Chris and Pete are pictured on Conholt Hill

It was tough and the guys had to "grind out the ride" over some tough climbs near Petersfield before returning to more familiar territory and finishing with climbs up to Hannington and Ashford Hill.

Steve and Simon both posted times of 8:44 and Chris trailed in at 9:08.

A tough day out for all!

Highclere Village Fete - the Turbo Challenge Saturday 12th June

Great fun and lots of interest from children and adults alike in our "Turbo Challenge"

We raised £60.15!

Even Sir George Young had a go and the Mayor of Basingstoke!

Sunday 6th June - Dented pride, by Chris

Training today took the form of a veteran's road race, my third since getting back into road cycling again and yet another disaster!

I will let the others(Steve and Simon) tell their stories, if they can be bothered but thought it was worthwhile recording my experience on the blog.

I had cut back on training all week so not to be tired and did a "motivational" ride on Saturday covering over 30 miles in two hours and racing up three hills trying to replicate road race speed. After that, I was reasonably happy that I might be able to stick in the bunch, if not to the end then for a few laps.

We had a unusually leisurely start for a Sunday morning bike event, to drive down to Farnham for the 10am race which was to be over 50 miles, comprising 7 laps of an "undulating" circuit. There were up to 120 riders taking part in various age groups from 40 upwards.

The weather was kind to us and contrary to forecast turned out to be dry and sunny as we started behind the lead car. The first couple of miles were unusually easy at speeds up to 20mph but then after a sharp left the dawning realisation of my abilities or lack of them became clear. The road climbed up, levelled off and then climbed again. The pace was just too much and I started to slip off the back of the bunch. I could see Steve and Simon ahead of me also dropping away.

Yet again, I was faced with a solo ride to try and catch up but it was to no avail. I was caught by the older age group on the second lap and stuck with them only to lose contact again on the same climb. The fast start and trying to stay in contact on the climb took its toll on my legs.

After hammering round for a couple of hours and being lapped by the race leaders, on the sixth lap I decided enough was enough and carried straight on to the race HQ and handed my number in, becoming a non-finisher.

Steve and Simon turned up shortly after in a similar despondent mood to mine having carried on to try to complete the course only to be turned back as the finishing line had been cleared away!

After a big boost training in France last weekend an abysmal performance in a road race was a real "come-down" I can't train any more than I do but over three road races have been dropped each time very early on. The riders are in a different league to me! I guess it's just time and perseverance?

All focus now is on the 126 mile Magnificat sportive next week and the the Etape du Tour, six weeks away today. As for road racing, I have entered one more next month but think it is the type of event I will aim to ride next year now I have the cycling bug, which luckily wasn't destroyed, only pride dented by today's experience!

In search of Lance in the south of France! - 29th/30th May - by Chris

The long awaited trip to Antibes, for some intensive pre Etape hill training finally came around.

Together with our wives, Simon and I flew to Nice on Friday with our bikes neatly fitted in their bike boxes. We arrived at our hotel in Antibes, The Beau-Site while it was pouring rain although this soon gave way to warm sunshine.

After a superb meal on the Friday evening at a great waterside restaurant, Le Cesar, we agreed to depart the following morning at 8am. Through Twitter we had picked up that none other than Lance Armstrong was staying locally and training in the same area. We resolved to get a photo with us and him together if we could.

Our planned route headed out of Antibes and finally made its way into the hills climbing up to the town of Vence and the over the Col de Vence (985m) before descending to Greolieres. After this there was another slog uphill to Greolieres Les-Neige at over 1400m. At this point and after a long stretch at a gradient of over 12% we both agreed the climbing for the day was over. We quickly turned around as dark rain clouds threatened to make it a tricky descent on wet roads.

The ride back to Greolieres was at speeds up to 46mph as we out ran the rain shower. A quick drink stop was taken before a more lengthy descent down the eastern side of a spectacular gorge. We eventually made our way into the outskirts of Antibes after approximately 30 miles downhill!

The final climb to the hotel in Cap de Antibes hurt, but it was two happy cyclists who soon rolled up alongside our sunbathing wives. We had completed 85 miles at an average pace of 12.5 mph. The total ascent was 2100m.

Saturday night saw us enjoy another very pleasant meal on the beach at Juan des Pines. This was followed by a deep sleep!

On Sunday we headed out of Antibes again, to the spectacular town of Grasse via Valbonne. A navigational error led to a small diversion to the village of Cabris but we were soon back on track at Saint Vallier de Thiey and climbed to the Col du Ferrier (1039m). There were lots of large groups of cyclists out, all immaculately dressed in their team kit as only the French can do!

After the Col, our legs were tired but we still managed an even steeper climb up to the Observatoire de la Cote D'Azur at 1265m. After this it was a fantastic descent first to Gourdon and then on to Valbonne again at very high speeds, breaking the record of previous day at 47mph. The speed limit was 30 mph!

After Valbonne, tired legs still allowed some fast riding, almost like a road race - 21mph uphill at one point! The ride had been shorter at only 65 miles but at an higher average speed of 13.4 mph and 1735m of climbing.

All in all, a great trip. My assessment of the benefit of our exploits sitting by the pool afterwards was that "The Etape won't be easy and the climbs will have to be ground out at our own pace, but baring injury, crashes and punctures should be within our capabilities" We'll see!

As for Lance, he was out training in the area and seen on the Col de Madone, but nowhere near us!

Another long, lone ride - Saturday 22nd May - By Chris

A family day out meant I had to miss the usual Sunday group ride. After a Friday night out in Manchester seeing Peter Kay (excellent!) I sat in the car the following morning until Warwick and then was kicked out by my wife and pedalled the rest of the way home.

My route followed a pretty direct course through Banbury, Woodstock, Witney, Wantage and up over the Ridgeway to skirt around Newbury to the west via Winterbourne, Stockcross and Marsh Benham.

The terrain was pretty flat in places but with some stiff 10% climbs near Banbury and then the final pull out of Wantage, all done in very hot conditions - 27 degrees C and almost no wind.

All in all 90.6 miles in 5 hours 42 minutes an average speed of 15.9 mph.

Within 20 mins of arriving home I was off out again to a "boys" night out watching the Champions League final. The first four beers went down in one gulp. After a long ride I figured I deserved it!

South of France next week.

Wayfarers trio win vets prize in 3-up 25 mile team time trial - By Chris

After an easy 25 mile ride on Saturday for all four Tourmalet riders, including Pete, finally back after his knee operation, this weekend finished on a high for three of us - Marwood, Simon and myself.

On Sunday, the three of us won the veterans prize of a bottle of fine Italian wine each for our efforts in a 3-up team time trial held on a fast but windy 25 mile course on the A3 near Liphook, Hampshire.

As Simon and I know all too well, it is easy to get psyched out at the start of these events while observing the impressive time trial bikes, skin suits and aero helmets used by the serious riders. As we got ready most of the participants were warming up on their turbo trainers and the sweet smell of embrocation filled the air. But not to be deterred we had a short warm-up ride and made off for the start.

There was a fair bit of piss-taking here by the three starters;

"Hey, these guys have got spokes in their wheels" one said (most riders in TT's now have disc or mag style wheels).

The name of our club also confused them "With a name like Wayfarers Wheelers are you going to stop off at the cafe?" said another. Ha ha, I thought.

Anyway, we didn't post a fast time but at 1:08:56 for the 25 miles, it was 10 minutes faster than my most recent solo effort over the same distance. And, thanks to our combined efforts, enough to win the vets prize. We achieved an average of 21.7 mph so it was also faster than the standard time expected for riders of our age.

Plus, as it was a new course, Marwood pointed out that we must now hold the veterans course record!

It was a very pleased but sheepish trio who went up to collect our wine at the presentation immediately after the event as we were all aware of the mind bogglingly impressive times posted by more experienced riders. But at least now we know what we can aim at and there is no way we would ride flat out in training in the same way, the element of competition clearly drives the pace.

The actual Hampshire Hilly 100 - Teamwork and Palpitations - By Simon

Having abandoned Chris to a solo and rather wet ride on Saturday, Simon, Steve and Stuart made an early start for the Hampshire Hilly on Sunday morning.

The event is one of the more popular rides on the circuit and had sold out weeks earlier. So, thinking ahead we had decided to arrive early to beat the queues for registration, unfortunately the 700 other entrants had the same idea! So after a rather lengthy check-in process we headed back to the car to don wind-proof jackets, leg warmers, arm warmers and winter gloves for the ride. The forecast North-Easterly was already setting in for the day, so much for a warm Spring day!

The three of us set off together, planning to spend the first half of the ride as a team before separating for Stuart take the shorter route. Stuart had been out for 4 weeks due to work commitments and an extended (thanks to the Icelandic volcano) business trip in the US, and sensibly opted for 60miles rather than the full 100. More on the ‘shorter route’ later.
The first 2 or 3 miles were the usual stretching and ambitious goal setting for the ride. With the first hill hit Simon and Steve pushed the pace slightly planning to ease off to let Stuart catch-up at the top, unbeknown to us, Stuart had taken an early puncture and was struggling to make a quick repair halfway up the hill. Being ‘team players’ we turned back and helped him make a quick repair and crack on….. No, I have to be honest, we did slow down slightly, but when he didn’t appear we abandoned him and pushed on – sorry Stuart!

So two became three for a while, until we were joined by another rider, ‘Mr. Bianchi’ who joined us. Having sat on our rear wheels for a couple of miles he kindly offered to take the front. This was a mistake, the pace quickly built-up to 20++mph with little let off on the hills! With only 10miles or so completed it was a mistake to push quite so hard at an early stage, we were to regret this later. ‘Mr. Bianchi’ soon realized that his temporary partners were not going to stick with his pace and he headed off with a new pair ‘Mr. Pinarello and Mr. Colnago’. Back on our own we started taking better note of our speed and pushed on towards the first feed station.
Refueled buy a great selection of cakes, bananas and energy drinks we cracked on into the stiff breeze managing to maintain a 16mph average with some strong through-and-off in the mid 20’s all good training for July.

The first third of the route had taken us along pleasant but unknown roads to the West and South of Winchester, It’s always more challenging when the hills are unknown and for me 40-60 miles is always a tough sector, so this was time to put your head down and push hard. Once we entered Alresford and started heading for Overton we were on familiar roads which made a huge difference and gave us both an extra boost.

We arrived at the control point in Hannington where our timing chips were read and we took a slightly longer break to take on liquid and more of the great selection of energy snacks.
Refreshed we headed on now very familiar ground over Sydmonton Hill and down along the Test Valley back towards the finish. Despite being passed by a few more ‘Mr Bianchis’ we were feeling pleased at holding a steady pace and confident of respectable finish times.

The last refreshment stop at 80 miles was very brief as we had both decided to make our final stop at 85miles to test our secret weapons, a Lucozade Alert Plus for me and a Red Bull Energy Shot for Steve. Taking note of the warnings ‘may cause heart palpitations’ ‘only one per day’! We knocked them back and carried on for the final push home.

It was with 15miles to go that we saw a familiar figure ahead, pushing a big gear head leaning to the left, it had to be Stuart, he’d had a tough ride, apart from the puncture, the ’60 mile’ route turned out to be a 78mile route which had just joined up with the 100 route that we were on. A baptism of fire for Stuart after missing 4 weeks, so well-done to him for battling round and finishing in a very respectable time. We decided to ride in together as a team……. briefly. The chance of a PB for a 100 miler and the buzz from the energy shots got the better of us and we pushed ahead, sorry again Stuart!

The last few miles were uneventful and completed at a surprisingly high speed, despite the final few hills that we had to contend with. All in all a great ride, with all of us making good times and getting another chunk of miles under our belts as July 18th looms closer.

The Hampshire Hilly 100 - a day early! - by Chris

A Confirmation service to attend and the last match of the Premier League season at Molineux meant I had no choice but to do my long weekend ride on Saturday.

The selection of a route was an easy one. I had signed up weeks before to do the Hampshire Hilly 100 mile sportive on the Sunday which I would now miss, so why not ride the course the day before?

And so I did, all on my own, in the rain and wind. Naturally, none of my usual group were interested in joining me, they were either in the actual Hampshire Hilly the next day or had other long Sunday rides planned.

The Hampshire Hilly route came within 3.5 miles of home, so just shave 7 miles off the course and I would have a perfect 100 mile ride. After a quick call to Garmin support I downloaded the route to my GPS and was very pleased with myself - all I had to do was follow the arrow on the screen. Little did I know this assumption would be short lived and within 5 miles or so the GPS would be telling me to do a 'U' turn and a few miles later would keep pausing and then switch off all together! The impact of this, in addition to my annoyance was that I would cover more than 100 miles.

In the end, while out on the road, I deleted the route from the GPS and carried on with the general map and time/speed/distance functions. I did however manage to follow the Hampshire Hilly route very closely, although I ended up well of course in Stockbridge at one point and circumnavigation of Winchester took a while. The rain here at it's heaviest.

Anyway, my route basically made a big loop around Winchester to the south and then back home via Alresford, Micheldever, Overton and Hannington.

I ran out of drinks after about 75 miles and had to wait until I reached Overton and a busy supermarket, where I received some strange looks in my wet mud stained kit, to replenish by bottles.

The last long climb up to Hannington required me to focus on other thoughts as the rain came on heavier again. The GPS at this point was showing 90 miles but my legs and in fact whole body told me it was longer.

I finally rolled into my drive after over 7.5 hours in the saddle. My GPS showing 7:08 for 100 miles, much slower than previous weeks. I calculated I had actually covered at least 110 miles taking into account the fact I hadn't stopped when the GPS was either off or paused. Good training though and character-building stuff. The total climb was 6500 feet, the greatest climbing total yet.

A welcome rest from long rides next week but more competition with a 10 mile time trial on Wednesday and 3 up team time trial on Sunday. I will let the others tell the story of the actual Hampshire Hilly!

The Sunday ride on a Saturday! By Chris

The forecast for tomorrow is so bad we brought forward the weekly "big" ride to today. The "we" being me, Simon and Steve.

During the week there had been many exchanges via Twitter about doing a 100 miler and so we did!

Basically, we followed the same route I used with Steve a couple of weeks ago. The good news is that we did it much faster. Just over 100 miles in 6:28, an average of 15.5 mph compared to my 14.6 mph previously. This was due to Steve and Simon keeping a good pace going with lots of thru 'n' off, especially in the closing miles- up to 23 mph and strong ride up to the top of Chute Causeway, quite impressive with the long ride "in" our legs!

We managed to avoid the rain too, it just started as we neared Highclere at the end. The ride was also almost puncture free, with Simon the only victim this week.

All agreed our best training ride to date; 100.5 miles and over 5000 feet of ascent. A few well contested village sign sprints but many left alone as we saved ourselves for the long ride.

Big challenge next weekend - the Hampshire Hilly 100 mile Sportive. Sadly, I might not make it due to a Confirmation service to attend. Small matter of a Bank Holiday 25 mile time trial and a 10 mile TT on Wednesday evening though. We'll see!

Sunday 25th April - "A lost hour" By Chris

Sunday morning and it was raining! A bit of a shock to the system having got used to the dry and pleasantly warm conditions and the fact we hadn't been out in the wet for weeks.
The previous evenings forecast had warned of this, but only showers, not persistent stuff and mist as well. It was commented upon as the four of us(me, Steve, Simon and Mark) rolled away that punctures could well be a problem again. How true this would be!

I had in fact entered a road race but elected not to ride as I couldn't face the thought of another drubbing by people a lot older than me and a 90 mins drive each way to Epsom! So, I had "sold" the plan to do at least 80 miles and get lots of climbing in to the others during Friday's pub session. Everyone was more than willing.

Our planned route took us first to Burghclere, then Kingsclere, down a lane with a ford where the water was at least 2 foot deep so the footbridge did the trick and over to Brimpton. Steve wound up the pace big time for the Brimpton sign and took it easily as a car coming in the opposite direction made a last dash for me too dangerous.

We then dropped down to Woolhampton with another ferocious sign sprint - this time I got my own back. After crossing the A4 and a short climb is was onto Bradfield at speed - 23mph then Pangbourne and Whitchurch on Thames where Simon got the first puncture of the day and showed how not to use a gas canister to reflate the tyre, most of the CO2 escaping into the atmosphere and freezing his hand at the same time. A navigational error by me took us down a narrow, but fast lane which came to an abrupt end in a farmyard! We turned around and I punctured almost immediately.

The others were so impressed with my tyre changing prowess, particularly without tyre levers, I let it go to my head and completely forgot to check the tyre for other foreign objects. No sooner had I pumped the tyre up than it was hissing again and the procedure had to be repeated. What a prat!

Within a hundred yards or so there was a loud PISSSST! No one knew at first, but it soon became clear, Mark was the next victim of the dreaded road flints.

Mark confidently set about changing the tyre and gave a perfect demonstration, much to all of our amazement, of how to use a gas canister to reflate a tyre. It was impressively, almost instant. "Wow" we all exclaimed. But our amazement was very short-lived. Mark quickly noticed that his inner tube was bulging, like a small hernia, through a nasty cut in the sidewall of his tyre. We tried a repair but the same happened again and he decided to call his wife for a rescue, it would only be a matter of time before there would be a loud bang and another flat.

I totted up the cost of my "navigational" error in my head - 3 inner tubes, 1 tyre - about £50. Sorry guys - at least I had been a victim too!

We left Mark to be picked up as the weather improved to descend at speed into Goring, climbing up Streetly Hill(easier than last time!) then onto Compton, East Ilsley and Farnborough. At Farnbough it was clear time was ticking on and no one wanted to be out until mid-afternoon, so we took a left there to return towards home via Wnterbourne, Bagnor and Stockcross.

The last few miles were a bit of a grind and I felt empty. My hot cross buns that had worked so well during my 100 mile ride last Saturday just didn't do the trick today and nearly every time I tried to eat one I nearly choked. Steve's ham sandwiches seemed far better. Maybe also it was because I only had part of my important first feed, a banana which broke in half and did a lap of my front wheel before being jettisoned off behind.

Nevertheless, we did do 67.5 miles and nearly 4,000 feet of climbing so not bad. The "lost" hour faffing around with punctures would have seen us comfortably get over the 80 miles mark.

Weekend of 17th/18th April - By Chris

This was a weekend to savour! The forecast lived up to the promise of clear skies, light winds and warm days - over 18 degrees centigrade.

After all the concerns about Simon's knee injury and whether we would get a ride as a reserve team. Sadly, Steve, Simon and I weren't able to do the Antelope RT 3 up team time trial. Simon was delayed in Calais, waiting with thousands of others for a ferry following the closure of all UK airspace due to the volcanic cloud covering the country. The organiser had called me on Thursday evening to confirm our ride only to be told it looked unlikely we would be there due to the uncertainty about Simon's return.

I had already resolved earlier in the week that if we didn't ride the team time trial I would do a "big ride". So on Saturday morning I set off with Steve to ride a 100 mile route around Berksire, Hampshire and Wiltshire. First we completed a clockwise loop of Newbury ending up at Hannington and then St Mary Bourne At this point, about 45 miles, Steve peeled off for home as planned and left me to carry on heading south to Stockbridge and then west to Grately before turning north to climb up the Chute Causeway. The views were fantastic but I wasn't really in the mood for sight seeing after 75 miles.

I ran out of food(3 hot cross buns - half of one consumed every hour) and drinks after Chute and the shop in Shalbourne was closed. I had no option but to hang on and stop in Kintbury for an energy drink and chocolate bar. With only 13 miles to go to complete the Century I was reinvigorated and found the last part of the route fairly easy, completing the 100 miles in 6:50. Approx 14.5 mph, quite pleasing considering the 5500 feet of ascent.

Sunday was billed yet again as an easy ride and lived up to this although my companions, Steve and Mark persuaded me to climb up Walbury Hill to Coombe Gibbet and then the long ascent to Faccombe. My legs felt fairly fresh and surprisingly I enjoyed both climbs and in fact the whole 28 mile ride at an easy pace.

A good training weekend. Hopefully we will get the whole group out again soon with Simon now home and only Stuart not around - stranded waiting for a flight from Las Vegas. Can think of worse places to be stranded though!

Chiltern Big Dipper - 11th April

With the rest of our crew unavailable through injury I (Steve) was the only one fit enough to attempt the 100 mile Chiltern Big Dipper. This event is new to the calender and I can see it becoming a favourite. A good course on quiet roads and the dry spring weather helped. The organisers had a few teething problems at the start with some minor delays registering and the signage on the course could have been clearer, but I am sure they will learn from this for next time.
So how was it?.... The route is 103 miles long and includes category 3 and 4 climbs with a total ascent of 7505ft. I completed the whole route in 7hrs 36mins which works out an avg. 13.6 mph. Looking at the results I was in the bottom half of the field of 130 and guess I am a bit dissapointed with that. However on the positive side I did finish.... and my muscles aren't aching today (Monday).
The highlight for me was the spectacular chiltern scenery with red kites swooping above along the way. Low points were two close shaves with vehicles / pedestrians. In the first I was almost taken out by a car driver pulling out of their drive without looking. Thankfully we both took evasive action otherwise I would have hit the bonnet at >20mph. The second near miss was an old lady who decided to walk out onto the road without looking. She would have been toast if my 85kg had hit her at speed.
But the biggest frustration for me was mechanical problems with my bike. Both front and rear derailleurs need adjustment. My chain was thrown off the crank several times when changing up to the big ring and on the rear the chain was 'jumping' between gears. I have now read the Shimano maintenance instructions so will be sorting that out this week. However the scariest moment was when my rear brake lever came loose when I attempted to brake hard on the first big descent. After a serious wobble I managed to keep control and slow down using the front brake only. I don't like descending at the best of times so this really spooked me. I knew I would be unable to repair the lever quickly so took the rest of the descents very gingerly using the front brake.
The other 'learning' point for me was my physical preparation. A weeks skiing (with all the alcohol that involves), followed by a week entertaining house guests (more alcohol) was not ideal. I tried to manage my nutrition and hydration on the day but fatigue was starting to kick in at about 80 miles. I will have to be better prepared come July.
In summary this was my first ever 100 mile sportive and all the winter training certainly helped me get round. However my preparation ignored nutrition and bike maintenance. I won't be making that mistake again.

Sunday 11th April - A not so easy, easy ride!

Chris, Simon and Mark and elected to take an "easy" ride in view of the recent injury problems to Chris and Simon. Steve was out at the Chiltern Dipper 100 mile sportive.

The "easy" ride got off to a fast start. Although the Sydmonton sign wasn't contested, after forcing the pace over the next climb, the Kingsclere sign was a full on competition, taken by Simon. No evidence of the knee injury then. The summit had been crested at 19mph and after a fast decent there was a big sprint for the sign.

After Kingsclere, the route went up White Hill and then up to Hannington with a fast descent to Overton. On the road from Overton to Whitchurch there were a couple of flat out sprints with both Chris and Simon ignoring their injuries of the previous week.

The gradual climb up the St Mary Bourne valley then commenced. Simon peeled off home at Binley to leave Chris and Mark to continue up to Vernham Deane and then descend to Shalbourne. After that it was a slog into wind through Inkpen, East End and home with 50 miles covered in just over 3 hours.

50 kms Team time trial for Chris, Simon and Steve next Saturday and probably an "easy" ride again next Sunday. We'll see!

More injuries for the Wayfarers Wheelers Etape team! By Chris Boulton

You may have read about the exploits of some of the team members at the water jump on the ski slopes of Les Arcs last week and also have seen that I struggled home after the Bank Holiday 25 mile time trial.

Well, now I know why I came to struggle home!

By Wednesday morning my thighs had become very swollen and even more sore than they had been immediately after Monday's time trial. However, I soldiered on and still took part in a 10 mile time trial on Wednesday evening with my eldest son, Albert.

After an uncomfortable ride, by the following morning I decided I needed some medical attention so booked myself an appointment at a sports injuries clinic in Harley Street, just around the corner from my office.

On entering the physiotherapists room, I was asked what the problem was and explained that I was a cyclist and during an event on Monday I had developed a soreness in my inner thighs. I then showed him the swelling. His first question was "What have you been doing to get an injury like that on both sides, it can't be from cycling?"

I explained that I had ridden the two time trials and that the problem first seemed to appear halfway around Monday's course and then I had struggled home. "But what else?" came the question again. I responded that "I was skiing last week and did a water jump"
"Ah ha" he said. "That will be it, you have probably strained your groins leaning back as you went across the water and the cycling has made it worse". His subsequent examination and manipulation of my muscles confirmed this initial diagnosis.

Phew I though, nothing serious then. Twenty five minutes later, after lots of checks and stretching together with a massage on my thighs and £100 paid, I was on my way to Boots for some Ibuprofen gel, to take the swelling down.

"Just take it easy for 3 days and I shouldn't need to see you again" were the physios parting comments!

So the water jump of a week before had led to me having two rather uncomfortable rides and missing training for the whole week. I won't be doing one of those again. Luckily, the ski season is almost over so there is no chance!

Some of the Wayfarers Wheelers hit the ski slopes and get a little wet!

The ski resort of Les Arcs 1950 would be a great base for Etape training with a serious "hair pinned" climb from Bourg St Maurice. Sadly, Chris and Simon didn't have their bikes plus the road was covered in snow most days anyway, so the ski slopes provided daily exercise for the budding Etape cyclist's and the other Wayfarers Wheeler on the trip, Chris's son Albert.


Albert

Chris

Nothing much to tell apart from a (hopefully) minor knee injury to Simon and some fun on the water slide - see pictures and guess who got the wettest!

Simon

Suttie romps home as the Wayfarers Wheelers ride Bank Holiday 25 mile Time Trial

Only three riders from the Wayfarers Wheelers made it out today for the Newbury Road Club 25 mile Bank Holiday time trial - Chris and Steve, fresh from the ski slopes and Marwood. Others had better things to do on a Bank Holiday or are injured. Of the Tourmalet team, Pete has now been joined by Simon with what is hoped should be a minor knee problem after an off-piste wipe out.


The day dawned dry but with a blustery westerly wind. Steve and Chris set out to ride the 14 miles to start of the time trial near Aldermaston and were joined there by Marwood.


Given consecutive start numbers, the intrepid trio started off a minute apart. Steve first, followed by Marwood and then Chris. Of the Wayfarers Wheelers contingent, Steve romped home first with a time just of 1:12:05 followed by Chris with 1:21:39. Sadly Marwood punctured after only 6 miles but still put in a creditable 1:30:19. The event was won in a time of 1:00:22 so the guys still have some work to do to be competitive!



After the event, Chris and Steve left Marwood, who was headed north, to retrace their earlier route back to Highclere with Chris struggling with what seemed like cramp in his inner thighs! The pace was slow and into wind but despite a few threatening clouds the weather remained dry and the two completed a overall mileage for the day of nearly 55miles.



A big sportive next week, the Chiltern Dipper 100 miler!

Friday 26th March - Father and son ride out together

Although the weather forecast had been poor, Friday started off dry and Chris with his son, Albert decided to fit in a short ride in advance of leaving on the family ski trip.

The route took in Old Burghclere and then Kingsclere, climbing up to Hannington before descending to Overton. the roads were dry and the sun came out but there was a strong south westerly wind which made the going tough at times.

At Overton the main road was joined, just after Chris was nearly "taken out" by a City Link van. Chris had seen it sitting at the junction and as he approached it started to pull out, luckily both parties put on their brakes and a collision was avoided. Could have been nasty, Chris was doing over 25mph!

After Overton it was on to Whitchurch and then a pleasant ride back through Crux Easton and a fast descent into Highclere. Albert was told he would win 10 Euros for the ski trip if he won the sprint for the Highclere sign but Chris made sure this wasn't to be. A fast last mile or so at nearly 30 mph through the village ended a good ride.

30 miles in just over two hours.

No cycling for a week as it's off to the slopes for all but one of the Tourmalet team.

Weekend 20th/21st March - Team kit arrives, a party and even some cycling!

Busy weekend for the Wayfarers Wheelers. The team kit arrived from MSTINA and all agreed it looks excellent - a big thank you to our team sponsors Stuart and Lisa Cameron of Cache Media and Neil and Christine Leah of C&N Marketing. Also thanks to Gianluca at MISTINA for "pulling out the stops" and getting the kit delivered in record time! Saturday night saw our second major fundraising event for the National Autistic Society. With nearly 80 people attending our Red, White and Blue Party, a 70'S-80's disco in Highclere village hall we raised £2012.00 from ticket sales, the guess the weight of the rider competition, raffle and charity auction. A good time was had by all and the quartet riding the Etape were resplendent in their new team jerseys.

After only a few hours sleep, Simon and Chris were off to a r45 mile road race in the Cotswolds and had a tough time in coping with the speed but nevertheless a good training opportunity. Steve(see blog below)took a long training ride with Stuart(his favourite route), over the Wayfarers Way at Sydmonton and then up the valley to Shalbourne and home. The weather was excellent for all concerned.

Easter holidays and late-season skiing trips now get in the way of training activities but the Wayfarers Wheelers should be back together on the road again for Easter Monday and after that the Chiltern Dipper 100 mile sportive.

Sunday 21st March (part 1)

Whilst Chris and Simon were off racing in the Cotswolds that left Stuart and I (Steve) to return to one of our favourite rides. After the excesses of the Wayfarers Wheelers fundraising Disco on Saturday night we decided to have a late start. We set off at the gentleman's hour of 9am in glorious sunshine, and whilst the clouds did appear later we had great weather all morning.

Our ride took us first over Watership Down at Sydmonton then South towards Whitchurch before turning West to St Mary Bourne. The route then follows the Bourne valley through Hurstbourne Tarrant, Upton and Vernham Dean heading toward Oxenwood. We peeled off the main road to climb up past the Shalbourne Gliding Club who were making the most of the weather. The steep decent into Shalbourne marked the turning point toward home. On another day we may have taken in some hills on the way back, but instead opted for for the easier route through Ham, Inkpen and Ball Hill.

38 miles in total at a steady 14mph was all we needed to clear our hangovers.

Saturday 13th March

Spring is here!

The temperature was finally into double figures and the skies blue. A team of 4 set off from Highclere this morning to do our regular hilly ride, taking in Wantage and Lambourn but in an alternative clockwise route. The group comprised Mark, Chris, Simon and Steve.

As we freewheeled downhill, away from the start an agreement was made to "work together" doing some "thru 'n' off" to keep the pace up. It was suggested there would be a fine of 20p a mph for anyone who came through and increased the pace above 16mph! It wasn't long before the potential for fines was substantial! Especially for Steve!

Our first 2 hours of the eventual 4 hour ride were done at well over 16mph and its only when we hit the hills after Lambourn that this reduced slightly, with the overall ride being done in just over 15mph - the fastest yet for a Wayfarers Wheelers training ride. Made more impressive by the 3500 ft of climbing en route.

Sign sprinting got off to a start at Kintbury, taken by Chris(the next one for him was at the end of the ride at Bagnor!). Each sign was contested by all with Steve taking his fair share but others won by Simon and Mark and the Marwood who joined us just before Lambourn.

The hills were another matter, Mark's climbing abilities were more than matched by Marwood as they powered away up each ascent. Simon and Steve followed with Chris bringing up the rear, although he did manage to beat all the group to the top of one steep climb towards the end of the ride after Farnborough "This isn't meant to happen" said Steve as Chris powered past " I am practising for the hill sprints in next week's road race" Chris replied. Fat chance!

After Peasemore and then Chieveley, the group slowed down as tired legs from earlier exertions had an affect. Marwood turned off for home at Winterbourne and the group broke up. The Bagnor sign was a big tactical game. Mark taking the pace up, then Steve "boxing in" Chris. The uncertanity about where the sign actually was contributed to a nervous mile or so with Chris eventually going very early and managing to hold off the others all the way.

In the last few miles Steve disappeared and Chris turned back to find him but soon gave up on the assumption that he had headed straight for home. Later it emerged that Steve's chain had come off and tangled, bending a link in the process - a ride home on jumping gears followed.

Great ride in perfect conditions with 60 miles covered in under 4 hours, no wonder everyone was tired.

Sunday 7th March

As mentioned last Sunday, the Wayfarers Wheelers went off to do different events this week.

The weather was the best this year so far with clear skies but still very cold - about minus 3 degrees C, warming up to only plus 5 degrees as the day went on.

All of the group had a late night the night before with Pete, still recovering from his knee operation, gloating as we left our Murder Mystery party that he would be reading the Sunday papers as we left very early to get to our respective venues.

Steve went on the Evans "Ride it!" event at Watlington, near Oxford with a route around the Chilterns and came in just over 4 hours for the medium 60 miles route.

Chris and Simon took part in the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists 19 miles 2-up team time trial at Napton in Warwickshire. A real "baptism of fire" for the two of them but a lesson in how fast they will need to go to be contenders at their level. They recorded a time of 1:05:30 compared to a winning time of just over 46 minutes. It had started so well with smooth changeovers between the two of them but a strong easterly wind and prolonged climb had its effect, particularly on Chris as they battled to turn in a respectable time. Simon remained strong to the end and there were some fast bursts in the last few miles but overall the field was a good 5-8 mph faster over the distance! The duo did however beat their "standard" time for their ages by 3 minutes 25 seconds and are keen to do another!

Back to a group ride next week and more hills no doubt but with a mind to the need for greater speed!

Wayfarers Wheelers team kit finalised!

Here is the team kit that the Wayfarers Wheelers will be wearing when competing in road races, time trials and sportives as well as out training this year. Sponsored by local media solutions company, Cache Media www.cache-media.com a big thank you to Stuart and Lisa there.

There is also a separate deal with another local company, C&N Sales www.cn-sales.co.uk for

arm warmers and legwarmers - designs to be released soon. Thank you to Neil and Christine at C&N.

Also thank you to Gianluca at MSTINA Cycling Wear www.mstina.co.uk for the jersey designs and production.

The boys are going to look smart!

Sunday 28th February

The forecast was bad, very bad, but Simon, Steve and Chris ventured out in the heavy rain and strong winds. In the end it was better than expected but other things took their toll on this week's small group.

The route took us out towards Hannington for the first climbs of the day and then turned west to, Overton and St Mary Bourne and our now favourite Stoke Hill before heading to The Chutes and then turning north to arrive home via Linkenholt and Faccombe.

As usual the sign sprints got going early, Steve sneaked away to get the Old Burgclere sign and then there was a full sprint for Sydmonton, won by Chris. His last showing of the day apart from the Stoke sign as he was complaining of feeling energy-less after a "bad" chili con carne the night before. The same chili had also affected Steve and Simon, but was clearly brushed off by Steve who remained strong throughout the ride.

Simon had shown good form in the sprints after Overton and towards St Mary Bourne as he pushed the pace to drop the other two as he practiced the speed he needs for an event next weekend. Sadly though, shortly after Stoke Hill he had to make a dash for home and apparently descended into Hurstbourne Tarrant at 45mph such was his need! No more details, but in the end his wife was called to the rescue!

Chris and Steve soldiered on and made a wrong turn adding a few miles and another climb to the route. At the highest point, Chute Causeway, Chris punctured. The wind was cold and the tube was swapped quickly but not before both of them lost the feeling in their hands.

There was a resolve to push on homeward after this unfortunate event and Steve pedalled away from Chris on the climbs only to take a wrong turn and be beaten home by him. Chris had assumed he had been (quite rightly!) left to fend for himself in view of his suffering.

The route felt like over 60 miles but was only 55 and 2500 feet of climbing.

Next week the group go their separate ways; Chris and Simon to a two-up team time trial in Southam and Steve to the Evans Wallingford Sportive. Pete is now out for a few weeks after keyhole surgery on his knee. All were Amazed he had walked into the pub unaided on the Friday night - you can't keep Pete from his beer!

Sunday 21st February

On Saturday night the group was promising to be our biggest ever at 7 cyclists. By Sunday morning we were down to only 5. Simon had to stay at home decorating and Pete was still recovering from a stomach bug picked up in Barcelona, missing his last ride before knee surgery tomorrow.

We headed off towards the west in light rain. After only 3 miles or so we were down to a group of 4 - Mark, the new boy last week, punctured and after a quick replacement of a tube and two blasts with CO2 canisters the tyre went down again. He suggested we carried on without him and so we did!

The pace was our quickest ever over the first three hours as we stuck to "B" roads in view of the sporadic icy patches. It was great to cruise along at over 18mph, sharing the work and all of four of those remaining; Chris, Fran, Steve and Stuart were up for contesting the village signs. There was an equal spread of "wins"around the group and the pace often quickened a substantial distance from the signs which certainly took it toll on the legs later on.

The route passed through Hungerford and onto to Chilton Foliat then turning at Liddington Crossroads to head over to Uffington, up the tough climb over the ridgeway to Lambourn and then down the valley to Boxford, with signs coming thick and fast. At Boxford we turned north to Winterbourne to add in a little more climbing and then down the narrow lane to Bagnor. After Bagnor, it was to Stockcross, Marsh Benham and home via East End.

The pace slowed considerably over the last few miles as we waited for Fran and Stuart. Poor Fran certainly paid for his early forcing of the pace and the fact it was his first ride with the group for many weeks. The sun came out towards the end but we all were all covered in mud from the wet conditions of earlier and received some interesting looks from pedestrians at the roadside.

A good ride without the big hills of recent weeks but still over 2,500 feet of ascent in 56 miles and lots of fast and furious village sign sprinting.

Sunday 14th February

Only four out today. Pete had left for a week on business in Barcelona(although he squeezed out with Chris for an "easy" ride the day before - it was a far from easy 2 hours!) and Steve on a half term break in the Trossachs. Although Albert was back from school for half-term he preferred a lie in! So it was left to Simon and Chris, joined by Stuart and new boy, Mark.

We had agreed on the same route as three weeks previously - Wantage, Lambourn, Hungerford and home. At our meeting point the weather looked grim with sleet falling under grey skies. All agreed it was probably going to be a wet one!

We headed out through the lanes to Marsh Benham, onto Bagnor and Winterbourne then Chieveley, Stammore and Farnorough before the long descent to Wantage. This wasn't as much fun as three weeks earlier, with a north wind blowing hard and requiring us to pedal on everything but the steeper sections. There was a brief pause to regroup at Wantage and then we turned for home via Letcombe Regis and up over the 10% gradient hill to Lambourn.

Our route then made its way to the village of Eastbury for our last climb of the day up to Lambourn Woodlands. We were then back on lanes everyone knew and Stuart obviously got his "second wind" pushing the pace up to 31mph briefly with us all strung out behind. The pace then remained well over 20mph for the next few miles until a sharp right turn took us up a short but steep climb. Mark impressively powered up this in the big ring with the rest of us, nursing tired legs, going more slowly.

Soon after we were at Hungerford Common and looking to complete probably our fastest ride this year until Simon punctured. A quick turn around followed and we made our way back to Highclere at a fair pace.

Not mentioned yet are the village sign sprints; these got off to a slow start with Chris and Simon making a note of the new Bagnor sign for future rides. Overall it was probably an equal contest between both of them, with new boy Mark soon getting into the swing of things after an explanation by Chris of the folklore of Sunday club run village sign sprints!

Yet another great workout, nearly 60 miles in just over 4 hours and over 3500ft of climbing.

Copy of article on us in the local Newbury Weekly News

Article on us in The Newbury Weekly News

Sunday 7th February

The four man Tourmalet team set off this morning in the cold and murky conditions. A decision had been made in the pub on Friday night that we would have another crack at finishing all the climbs on our own version of the Hampshire Hilly Sportive. It was not to be!

The pace was quite quick and Steve and Chris contested the Sydmonton sign, "won" by Chris. Then it was up over the Wayfarers Way towards St Mary Bourne. As usual, the group split up, Simon and Steve benefiting from their compact gears. Pete and Chris pushing something slightly higher. At the top there was a brief re-group so Steve could adjust his rubbing rear brake - it hadn't slowed him down up the climb!

On the descent, Simon and Chris pulled away working effectively together down the valley at speeds in excess of 23mph, practicing for their first event of the season, a 2-up Team Time Trial on 7th March. Steve caught them up as they slowed and it was then it was noticed Pete wasn't with us. Two weeks ago Pete had punctured at the same place and we had gone back, so this time Chris set off as before., he reached the bottom of the final steep section of the descent with no Pete in sight. As mobile phones weren't working it was assumed he had turned around and gone home. This was confirmed a little while later when text messages finally came through saying "handlebars loose have turned back" We were now down to three.

As usually happens the pace picked up and we worked well together up the Bourne Valley. The St Mary Bourne sign couldn't be contested due to traffic but Chris took the Stoke sign, which he immediately regretted as the route then turned sharp left up the prolonged Stoke Hill.

We then made our way over the A343 and on to the various Chute villages with some tough climbs and all three of us "mixing it" pushing the pace. Little did we know it, but this would take its toll on all of our legs and make the last few miles very tough!

The road undulated over the Hampshire/Wiltshire border and then after a fast descent into Shalbourne it was back over the ridge again from Ham up to Buttermere. It was after this climb and Chris's first puncture for nearly 3 months that all three of us decided we weren't going to last the whole course yet again and that we would truncate the route after Linkenholt by climbing up to Faccombe and then again to Ashmansworth and home. The long dragged out climb to Faccombe took it out of our tired legs. Steve kept on trying to come past Chris who forced the pace each time but after 5 attempts let him go and Simon, unusually out of form brought up the rear.

The last descent into Highclere was pleasant and all agreed it had been a tough but necessary workout. 56 miles and 4150 ft of climbing.

Weekend of 30/31st January

No bike rides this weekend. The team and 8 others were in Argentiere in the Chamonix valley, skiing.

Fun was had by all and the efforts should add to fitness. Everyone was certain that the cycling had helped develop strong legs for off-piste skiing and our guide, Mark Seaton was impressed.

It wasn't all down hill too, we had to go uphill on skis(called skinning) to reach a valley to ski down and Chris sneaked off for more of this on Sunday morning. Here is a picture of the group putting skins on their skis.

No injuries although Pete did manage to ski off a cliff and land on his head and Simon ended up in a deep gully, pictured.

Great news on the sponsorship front, Stuart and his business, Cache Media have agreed to sponsor the Wayfarers Wheelers team jerseys and shorts.

We also had a good article on us in our local paper, The Newbury Weekly News.

Back to getting the miles in next weekend.

Sunday 24th January

Biggest group out this year - 5 in all - Chris, Steve, Simon, Pete and Stuart, still tanned from his Christmas hols in the Caribbean.

The day started gloomy but soon brightened up, almost Spring like, a real tonic after the weeks and weeks of wet conditions pre-Christmas and then the snow of the New Year.

The planned route strayed no further than 10 miles from our home village of Highclere but was over 55 miles and over 3500 feet of climbing.

We set off heading for Whitway to pick up Simon and then the first ascent of the day from Sydmonton up over to Whitchurch. Chris made a solo effort for the Sydmonton sign and then on the climb the group split up and but soon re-formed at the top. Simon and Chris then descended quickly and forced the pace only to have to ride back up to find Pete had punctured.

From Whitchurch is was up the Bourne valley to Stoke, with Steve and Simon dominating the village signs, then we turned sharp left and up the impressive hill of the same name. We then ventured into new territory around Enham Alamein and onto Tangley and Chute. The turning for Chute Causeway was missed, a shame as the views would have been excellent, so the slight change in route took us to Shalbourne and down to Ham.

The roads were undulating and there was no shortage of attempts to force the pace on the uphill sections by various group members. After Ham, Stuart took a wrong turn and let us know by text he had headed back for home. Not a bad decision as the route ahead was a real "rollercoaster" - the stiff climb up from Ham then onto Linkenholt with a fast descent where Pete pealed off to head back on his own via Faccombe and Ashmansworth. He didn't fancy climbing over Coombe twice!

Steve, Simon and Chris kept up a good pace through Coombe village and then up to Coombe Gibbet. Chris certainly "struck his last match" here as he kept the pedals turning hard all the way to the summit.

We then cut the route short with another fast descent leading to a climb up Coombe again, this time a slightly easier route. Steve at this stage had been descending cautiously as his rear brake blocks were almost worn away, but made up for it by powering up the last ascent.

At the top, it was agreed that time was running out(a second puncture for Pete had given us a us a bit of a break between climbs) and lunch was calling so instead of Faccombe we dropped down to East End. Downhill speed merchant Chris managed to increase is maximum speed here to over 43 mph.

The pace then slowed, with a bit of feisty riding by Simon occasionally to test our legs as we continued through East End, onto Woolton Hill and home.

51 miles and an excellent hilly workout of 3500 feet. All agreed, next time we would try to complete the whole Wayfarers Wheelers version of the Hampshire Hilly.

Sunday 17th January

After another blast of midweek snow, the roads were clear again or so we thought! Black ice was still a problem this morning and with a certain amount of trepidation, the three riders out for the first real training ride of 2010, Pete, Chris and Steve, set out with a large circular route planned, taking in Wantage and Lambourn and Hungerford.

It had threatened to be a larger group but Simon was a late withdrawal with the Flu and the effects of the Port at the dinner party the night before had given false hope of Fran and even Matt joining us. We did however agree to meet up with Marwood and his friend Mike in Chieveley.

After a slow and cautious start we decided to change the route to take in more major roads and headed straight into Newbury on the A343. This out of the way we took the main Wantage road and the pace was fairly fast up the first climb of the day. Sadly the following descent wasnt fast due to the ever-present concern about ice and there certainly were some small patches here and there.

Due to the cautious riding the Chieveley village sign wasn't contested and we carried on over badly crumbling roads, caused by the weeks of ice, towards Peasemore. We soon came across Marwood and Mike as planned and they turned around to ride with us to Farnborough(no not the one in Hampshire, the smaller one in West Berks!).

After Peasemore, we soon encountered large patches of ice through Stanmore and on the descent to East Ilsley. A new riding style was adopted by most of the group which entailed leaving one foot out of the cleat in anticipation of counteracting a fall. Luckily no one succumbed to the ice.

The pace quickened again on slightly safer roads for the climb up to Farnborough and we came across a small group of mountain bikers dressed in what appeared to be shell suits. They didn't seem to take too kindly to us passing them, probably viewing us as a bunch of road riding, Lycra clad poofs! To their credit as the pace quickened up the climbs two of them made a good effort of sticking with us and eventually they turned off with a friendly wave from their leader.

After Farnborough we bid farewell to Marwood and Mike and descended towards Wantage. The roads looked clear of ice so the speed built up with Chris reporting an impressive 41.3 mph on the main straight.

Wantage out of the way we followed the pleasant lanes through Letcombe Regis towards Lambourn with a couple of 10% gradients to contend with. At the top of the last one there was a brief stop for a few energy gels to be imbibed and then it was off again to Lambourn.

Steve, as he often does, wound up the pace as Lambourn neared with victory in the sprint for the village sign in mind. He probably went a bit too early and Chris sat on his wheel to then sprint past at the "finish". Pete was nowhere to be seen so a quick double back found him replacing an inner tube due to a puncture.

We set off again, back through Lambourn and onto Eastbury to climb up to the A4000 and then take the lanes around Hungerford. At this point having covered 40 miles or so it was agreed we would aim towards Kintbury and the shortest route home. Tired legs for all and Pete was obviously feeling the effects of missing a few road sessions.

The last few miles were covered at a fairly leisurely pace and the weather could be best described as "Spring" like with warm sunshine. Bliss!

All agreed ithad been a good workout with 56 miles covered and over 900 metres of climbing in the best conditions we have enjoyed for a while. Only 25 Sundays to Tourmalet!

Sunday 10th January

The snow is back - in a major way! Not to be put off by this, four of us; Chris, Steve, Fran and Simon headed out for an off-road excursion on the mountain bikes. Pete made what was probably a sensible decision to opt for the warmth of the gym but missed out on a fun time with lots of thrills and spills!

We met up at the Carpenters Arms in Burghclere, it was still nearly dark at 9am. After a brief ride on icy roads we were soon off onto hard packed, snowy tracks making for the Wayfarers Way. Trying to cope with the rutted snow was difficult and everyone slipped and fell over at some point.

The route twisted and turned with on and off road sections to Old Burghclere and then there was the major ascent up onto the Wayfarers ridge. This was along a tricky and narrow path which was very slippy in places. As the path levelled off it opened up onto an exposed field, snow flurries blew across and it looked really bleak. We picked our way over to the ridge itself and then followed the Wayfarers Way towards the A34. At times the depth of the drifted snow made cycling impossible but all the time fun was had as our bike handling skills were tested to the limit.

We came across another group of mountain bikers just before we crossed the A34, they were carrying out some major running repairs and we wobbled past with a brief "Hello".

Then it was up towards the West and into the Highclere Estate. This involved a long walk up along a badly rutted and snowy track which gave way to an open field section. Everyone spilt up and rode the best they could with regular stops to regain composure after numerous wipe outs.

The bikes were easily supported in the deep snow as seen in the photograph. At the highest point of the ride we followed a good track with firm snow although rutted in parts. Then Simon and Fran carried straight on to descend back down towards Whitway and home and Steve and Chris took the meandering track down to Highclere Street, back past the Red House pub and home.

14 miles in just over 2 hours. But a good work-out in the difficult conditions.

Weekend of 2nd/3rd January

No Sunday group ride this weekend, brought about by a mixture of icy roads and probably the last of the team's Christmas and New Year holiday social commitments.

Steve and Chris ventured out on Saturday despite the ice. The sun had lured us out and some roads were clear while others white-over with crunchy ice which was amazingly not slippy. We decided to stick to well used routes, but even then came unstuck. The road from Woolton Hill to Kintbury had some ice-rink like stretches. On one of these Steve came a cropper. We then became more cautious and ended up walking over the worst bits of ice.

After Kintbury a decision was made to head for the perceived "safety" of the A4. The traffic was quiet but the road still suspect with icy edges. We picked our way to Hungerford and then the road quality improved as our route took us to Chilton Foliat and up Stag Hill to return towards home on the A4000. We then took a short diversion to Great Shefford and on to Welford, Boxford and Bagnor. All the lanes were still considered impassable on two wheels so we headed into Newbury and the safety of well-used roads.

After negotiating through Newbury we headed home and turned off the main road again at Wash Water. This took us yet again onto ice covered roads and it was nearly midday - obviously a day when the temperature wasn't going to rise above freezing.

We arrived safely home having covered just over 32 miles at a very slow average speed. Our walking stretches at the beginning took their toll although the pace of between 17-22mph back from Hungerford helped.

Not surprisingly no signs were contested. Chris told Steve he could "have" the Kintbury one as it loomed up ahead along the whitened road. After that they were passed unnoticed.

Next planned group ride the Evans "Ride it" event at Chieveley, a 65 mile route. We'll see how the weather affects this!