Another warm day in prospect and another good turnout on the Buttermarket. 18 riders were once again eager for a magical mystery tour. Albeit a little less of a mystery than the week before. And so it was decided that Hollow Trees should be the destination, via a circular route.
It was good to see some new faces along on the ride. Jonathan Howe - from the 'B' ride, Richard Muchmore - a well known local rider, and another Richard (Emmerson) - an erstwhile Wheeler and keen mountain biker. The rest of the crew were: Paul Rooke, Tricia Dennison, Julian Coleman, Adi Grimwood, Andrew Davison, John Dumont (any relation to Margaret?), Deane Hill, Ben Mickleburgh, Ron Fisher, Gareth Doman, Jeff Agricole, Paul Callow, Stephen Hill, Steve Newman and me.
Off we went on the circular route. Some rolling countryside to Glemsford, where Stephen and Steve turned back to Bury [ It possibly ought to be mentioned that Stephen (SJH) was on the front for the first 35 minutes or so] Stephen with a mission to catch up with Tony Panting who was riding his first 12 hour race at the age of 74 and 10 months - he's a late developer. On a day when the vast tracts of tarmac on the A11 and A505 must have heated up to give a nice reflective glow, Tony tapped out a very respectable 213 miles. His unorthodox final week of tapering off for the big day consisted of a 120 mile ride the previous Sunday and a hilly 73 mile Wednesday clubrun AFTER he had risen at dawn and ridden 40 miles. There's no doubt that they broke the mould before they made him!
And so us mere mortals, and Deane, carried on circularly to Foxearth, Long Melford and a strange little circle around Upsher Green (check-out Tricia's Gamin's stats for more details). Onwards and downwards to Monks Eleigh and up to Hollow Trees (cue Paul to do his Valentino Rossi impression up the hill and away to climb Semer Hill twice before tea). As we approached Hollow Trees we saw our 'B' run swing into the car park just ahead of us. By the time we had parked our bikes they had formed an orderly queue. Falling in behind them we must have sent a wave of panic out to the cafe staff. However, the girls coped manfully - no doubt due to the absence of the young man who on previous occasions had been a bit slow. Mike Bowen and Nigel Stemp had also stopped in. Quite a cyclists' convention.
Home via Bildeston, One House, Thurston and Woolpit. The tailwind made for a fast ride with the group lined out for most of the way. New boy Jonathan's cardinal sin was to tear of the front at high speed and make the rest of us look slow. Bearing in mind that he has cut his cycling teeth on spinning classes and a bit of mountain biking he must realise that he can't go so quickly without first suffering a like we all did. It's not fair otherwise.
And so ended another Sunday clubrun under blue skies and blazing sun - not bad for a 'poor summer'.
For mileages and speeds see Trisha's stats.
I may not be out next Sunday as there's an Audax at Mildenhall Rally on Saturday and I might ride the 100km route. I understand from Mike Bowen that there's a group of Wheelers leaving for Mildenhall at 7.15am from the Tollgate. The extra miles should add up to a decent morning's ride.
Justin
excellent report...
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