End of my First TT Season

This evening I completed my 4th local time trial event and the final one of the season. Although only achieving my 3rd quickest time over the course, I’m still pleased to have maintained my targeted sub 30 minutes.

I’ve been amazingly consistent on the first split with most time, gained or lost on the second; so something to work on for next year. My season’s times for the 10 mile course were - 29:57, 29:15, 29:30, 29:54.

It’s been a blast and naturally I’m now going to be looking out for those bike upgrades and personal improvements to make those all important marginal gains which could help me achieve a sub 28 minute time next year!

Thanks to Clive & Richard, my AVP racing buddies, for their encouragement and support in getting me into this new area of competitive cycling.

New AVP Race Jersey

With the advancing interest in competative cycling, the AVP has a new jersey for its fledgling race team! This is a potential game changer for a club which has a predominately social and ageing cycling membership. The importance of the second kit, lost on some but starting to be understood by most, is to differentiate the heritage from the competitive; after all, the memory of me being asked to remove the word 'sport' from our Charter a few years back is still all too fresh in my memory! I've even designed a new club flyer to illustrate the intent.

The new Club flyer

You'll notice the new jersey sports, not only a new colour scheme but also a couple of sponsor names: our local and now more of a club house than cycle and coffee shop, The Filling Station & Colyford Cycles and RBS Scaffolding.

You'll see this more and more over the summer as we have 2 riders competing in the Seaton Cyclefest and race and TT season gets into full swing.

Dartmoor at 25 Degrees

Dartmoor can be one of those places where the weather can be predictably very wet, windy and during the winter months, rather cool with sub zero temperatures the norm. This August bank holiday weekend we were treated to the exact opposite; it was a day to be spent by the beach rather than astride a bicycle!

The ride had been planned for some months as our annual 100mi/100km club ride, with the intent to follow the route of Mid Devon CC's Dartmoor Classic, so not one for the novice rider. Indeed, I for one would not have used it for my first 100, some 4 years ago!

Andy and I drove over in the Yeti and met up with a crowd of Pedallers at 8:00 am in Chudleigh. At the depart we had a great cross-section of pedallers, old and new, boys and girls and even a couple of Sid Valley cycle club guests. Despite the gruelling climbs ahead, it had that feeling of going to be a real social affair; quite different from the Classic Sportives I've ridden in the past.

Signing in

At the outset, Clive, the professional ride leader he is, got us to sign in with emergency contact details, little knowing then that sadly he'd not be seeing the ride out himself! More on that later.

The plan was going well'ish as we rode to Princetown to refuel at a popular cycling favourite, the Fox tor cafe http://www.foxtorcafe.com/cafe/. Here, we arrived in waves and sought shelter from the mid day sun, mingling with other lycra clad riders from Mid Devon and Plymouth cycle clubs. Mark also got us chatting to the director(s) of Primal, the Devon cycling apparel company, who adorned in smart looking kit jumped into a polished sales patter .. who'd be a kit master (all applications c/o TdF)! I mention the ride having gone well'ish as there had been two close shaves: a sudden stop to avoid cattle may have given my a rear tyre a flat spot (check out the video at 9:40 am) and a little later my chain bounced off the big ring and wrapped itself around every sprocket it could find! Luckily, I could continue but I've not yet done a full damage check nor ascertained what could have actually caused it.

The AVP Peloton passes near Haytor

It was at Princetown that Clive, who'd been poorly the previous day, had to call an end to his ride and get a cab back to Chudleigh. I had thought of posting an APB on our club's FB page but being at the furthest point from base camp, close to a 90 minute drive, it would have been a miracle to have found a Pedaller out and about near by. So, in the absence of a support car, and still another 2 hours cycling to be done, a local taxi was the only option. Clive later reported that it was the best value £50 taxi ride he'd had!

From Princetown, a handful of Pedallers continued on their extended 100 mile route while the larger peloton, myself included, chilled a little more in the cafe before taking the return loop back to Chudleigh, with the obligatory stop for ice cream refreshments at one of the many tempting vans strategically positioned along the route!

Ice cream stop on the return to Chudleigh

In addition to a number of stills, I pulled together a short video of the day's ride. This one has a Krafwerk'esk backing track which I recently commissioned from my musically talented brother-in-law, aka SunDog, which includes sampling from my Tarmac's SRAM eTap chainset and FFWD free hub .. I hope you like it.

100km (60 miles) over 1800m (6000ft) of climb, in temps exceeding 25 degrees, made for quite an epic ride and one which was definitely a great social ride, as billed. My new year's resolution is holding firm.

AVP Red Arrows Evening Ride

9 Pedallers taxied out of the Kings Arms last night for the 6.30 Thursday evening road ride.

Our destination was Lyme Regis to watch the 9 Red Arrow peloton make smoke trails in the sky. Last year the ‘South West Nemesis’ grounded the flyers but last night, despite some ominous looking clouds, they provided us with a full display, with even a rogue seagull giving them a lead out!

After the display, a diamond 9 of Pedallers, Clive, Rex, Steve, Bobble, Ed, Mark, Dawn, Barry and I navigated through the departing crowds out of Lyme and on to Uplyme. Here Mark & Dawn peeled off while the peloton rode on to Chez Barry for coffee and cake in a repeat last week’s mid ride stop for refreshments .. I think Steve volunteered to put on next week’s feed station!

Checking out Barry's new bike .. what a size!

Leaving Barry to clear up, the remaining 6 sprinted the return route back to Seaton in a vane attempt to burn off the cake calories to make way for the beer & chips which awaited us back at the Kings Arms!

AVP Blagdon Hill Descent

I took several 'reels' of film on today's AVP Sunday ride but with a forward facing camera the views were really of little interest to anyone but those studying the gluteus maximus!

We did have one very pleasing descent down Blagdon Hill, however, during which I kept the camera rolling. I think this is the best few minutes not left on the cutting room floor. So using Garmin's VIRB editing software, I've been able to integrate some marginally interesting telemetry to the GoPro video. Add a bit of music and this is what you get ...

And the full ride route ...

2016 AVP Treasure Hunt

Last year I devised and ran a cycling treasure hunt .. I thought it may be a one off, I had time on my hands, I was on sabbatical. So when it was suggested I run another, I must admit I accepted with some trepidation. Matters became even more fraught when my proposed co-orginiser dropped out. Anyway, with the help of Mrs TdF, the route and clues were drawn up and with assistance of my old RideLondon buddy, we recce'd the course. What we ended up with and with the luck of the weather, was a very credible event.

The 2nd Annual Axe Valley Pedaller's Treasure Hunt was held on Sunday 8th May 2016, the hottest day so far of the year. 22 cyclists, extending across the generations, pedalled over to the start at Millers Farm Shop, Kilmington when the owner's son, James had kindly permitted us to setup Treasure Hunt HQ.

9 teams formed up while maps and questions were issued. After the ride briefing, all riders departed at 10:10. The clock on this ride was to be a key factor as in addition to the usual, who can find the most treasure (or answer the most questions) there was also to be a King of the Mountains (KOM) award for the most questions answered in the quickest time. Then, in case of a draw, we had a caption competition as a tiebreaker which was also turned into an award of its own.

The route took our Pedallers over a 12.5 mile route, starting in Axminster before heading out into the beautiful countryside of Smallridge, Membury and returning along the Yarty Valley.

As with all Treasure Hunts and quizzes there are always questions which cause controversy in the post event debriefing .. were there 5 crosses or 7? were there 34 or 72 boards on the mill? and which railway bridge did you mean? .. and this was no exception! However, when one team gets all 26 questions correct the question master has to feel vindicated; fiendish clues provide for a worthy winner.

In this year's event, we actually had 2 potential winners. 2015 champions, Becca and Roger were firm favourites. In last year's event, they gathered in 100% of the treasure and on Sunday, joined by Graham, they proved their metal again in being the only team to secure another clean sweep! The 2nd team who coulda shoulda won, was that of Andy and Wes. They incredibly finished an hour ahead of our champions and missed out on the overall award by only 3/45 points, and even then, these 3 dropped points were only marginally short of what was required on the answer sheet! Without doubt, however, Andy and Wes came away uncontested with the KOM award, with an average of 2 mins per correct question versus the winners at 3 mins. This was truly a competition for all!

Then there was the caption competition which based on a Pedallers' laughometer, team Andy/Wes and Mark/Dawn had the greatest appreciation in that order and so the award went to Mark & Dawn

We'll be back next year with a new route, new questions and seeing whether Andy & Wes can finally topple Becca & Roger's crown! See you in 2017.

Firmly Back in the Saddle

Yes, Thursday has come around quick and it is lucky that I did break the curse of the reluctant cyclist last week, as with the clocks going back on Sunday even my afternoon tea breaks are now taken in the dark. Building the motivation to cycle out in what one can only consider to be the middle of the night is taking some effort!

Feeling like that French tyre manufacturer's advertising fella, I waddled in goat feet to the road wheeling my trusty Roubaix, rear wheel still complete with its mighty dent which has the effect of blurring the transition between smooth and bumpy road surfaces. Arriving at the Kings Arms, I team up with 8 other Pedallers. It is always interesting to see who is going to be out, as rarely are there the same faces. Tonight we are joined by Glenn, Airfix and Andy but have lost Steve, Peter and Derek. The faces also determine the style of ride. If Clive had arrived, he would have joined up with Glenn for a sprint ride and I would have to make the decision to join them or stay with the slower ride. Had my old friend Andy turned up, he too would have joined the speedsters and the decision would have been made, the slow ride would be the only way I would live to see another day!

As it was, these 9 riders who had found this dry gap in the weather were happy to stick together and temper the speed for another day. The route we took was hatched by Barry following last week's ride, over an apres cycling beer. The first 11 miles took us up a steady climb, through Colyton, Shute, across the A35 and along the full length of Stockland straight turning west just before meeting the A30. The second half of the route should have been all down hill, had, Glenn, Airfix, Gillian & I not been deep in conversation so as to totally miss the Golf Club turning (Note: this is the third time I've done this!). As it was, the four of us, with Tigger & Relay forced to follow in our wake (although wondering where on earth we were going), descended almost to the bottom of Northcote Hill before realising Honiton was not our intended destination! All six of us then had the unplanned additional hike back up Northcote Hill to rejoin Barry & Andy who fortunately had bumped into Kelly, out on a later solo ride, and so was delayed talking else we'd probably not have seen them again that night!

Our return to Seaton was a mirror of last week’s ride, with a quick blast across Farway Common and back along the A3052. This did wonders in bringing up our overall average speed from 12 - 14 mph, a much more respectable figure. It was a great route, although may be a little testing on the long straights - I'm going to have get some turbo training in - and the views were apparently stunning, so we're going to have to repeat it again in the summer when we can see them! I wonder where next week will take us ..

And the stats: 29 miles covered in 2hr 3 min an average of 14 mph 1,737 ft of ascent, and the route ..

Motivation Needed

After returning to work, following my 3 month sabbatical, I am certainly feeling less than motivated to get out on the bike. The temperature has dropped, the nights start before I down tools and the layers of kit now required feels heavy and restrictive. Having missed a series of Thursday night rides because of business commitments, I could very well decide to just take the winter off and hibernate until Spring!

I coincidentally bumped into Jolly, my club cycling buddy who guided me through my first chain and cassette change earlier in the year. He was leaving the Broom Wagon as I arrived for my long very black caffeine fix. He too had missed a number of rides and we empathised over the arrival of winter. A pact was made, however, that if both agreed to go, we'd attend this week's evening ride.

The day, Thursday 22 October arrived and reluctantly I suited up and rolled down to the Kings Arms where I joined 8 Pedallers in the dark under a silvery moon: Barry, Derek, Gillian, Handbag, Peter, Relay, Steve, and Tigger.  No Jolly! But the good news was that ‘routemaster' Tigger was back. We'd been lacking a ride leader of late and even I, one who has the route sense of a lemming has had the dubious honour of stepping in. So this was great news for me. The route Tigger crafted took us over the new Stop Line Way Cycle Path, too dark unfortunately to see the river bridge, such that I did not even notice we’d crossed it! There was then the ubiquitous climb which today took the road up from Colyford, through Shute Vale, briefly across the A35, and then the down hill return to Seaton via Wilmington, Offwell and Farway Common.

Handbag & Gillian peeled off after Colyton to join the 7:30 ride, leaving the the remaining seven to continue the climb. Some of the back roads to the A35 hardly deserve to be named as such, with central grass patches and broken tarmac. It is becoming a real challenge these days to find traffic free routes with quality surfaces. The Roubaix, however, nimbly traversed the moonscape, with its gel suspension and newly shod winter tyres; its dented and squared off rear rim, however, does now need some attention; I’m sure I was feeling bumps where there were none!

After the slow and steady climb, we then had the joy of that gradual descent over the swift and smooth surface that spans the 10 miles from Honiton golf club to Seaton. Barry, Peter, Steve and I (now christened Tacho, something about being the single true source of ride telemetry!) took up point, performing a pro style chain gang that even a hooting car could not upset. An array of wildlife was also out and about. A luminescent barn owl crossed between us as we made our way to the common and a pack of baying hounds was released as we paused too long at the Northcote Hill junction of the A35, although fortunately the owner’s perimeter fence was sufficient to keep them tethered.

So, after a little early trepidation, a very enjoyable ride was had and to top it all were back at the King’s Arms for the strike of 9:00 to join the MTB and 7:30 riders in a round of drinks, chips and chat, the perfect way to end a day in the office and may be my motivation restored!

Oh yes, and the stats .. 23 miles covered in 1hr 46 min an average of 13.3 mph 1,644 ft of ascent, and the route ..

South Coast Nemesis 2015

This halfway point in my 3 month sabbatical from full time project management has been odd one, mainly because of the unusual weather we've experienced this week. Being British, we naturally have a constant interest in the changing weather so why should this week be so different? For me, the reason this week is simple, in that it has frustrated and pleased in equal measure.

At the start of the week I was itching to get out on the bike, but my destiny lay with a paint brush and my front door, which meant that leaving the house was not an option until the door was dry. These first two days of painting went well as the sun shined brightly. With the bike prepared for its first outing since the 100 miler, for at least a Wednesday wibble, what did our British weather deliver .. yes, continuous rain. It was not content to just upset Wednesday's plan, but both Thursday evening's APV ride and the Friday Flyer's morning spin were both certified washouts! The next planned outing was a Friday evening ride over to Sidmouth to see the celebrated return of the Red Arrows after a 10 year absence. All through the day, I had been following Red10 on Twitter to see whether, as with the Lyme Regis and other displays, they would again be grounded. Red10 spoke of the South Coast Nemesis 2015 as being the rain and low cloud which this year had prevented so many coastal displays from taking place.

Arrows over Sidmouth 

Having had no negative confirmation from Red10 and not to be put off by the worsening conditions, I saddled up the Roubaix and joined up with 3 other Pedallers overlooking a misty Sidmouth, our heads touching the clouds. Unbelievably almost dead on 6:30 pm we heard the distinctive roar of the 9 Rolls Royce Adour engines coming in from sea.  They had to, however, be right on top of us before we got sight of them as conditions required them to fly low over the sea which was obscured from our vantage point by trees! On a clear day, they would have risen high above the tree line and fly down the valley which was now also unfortunately hidden under a layer of mist and cloud! While the ride home was a damp one, it was great to be out on the bike again with my fellow Axe Valley Pedallers (AVP).

Test riding the Fat Bike!

The next key event of the week was Sunday's Great Outdoors Festival to be held on Seaton seafront. The AVP were to have the gazebo and flags out and the attractions of 2 spinning bikes donated by the local Axminster gym and an American Fat Bike loaned by Soanes Cycles. The weather during Saturday night through to Sunday morning was that of torrential rain, but the Met Office reported a break in the clouds from around 2pm through till late evening. It took great courage of the organisers to press ahead as we set up our displays under grey clouds and falling rain. Amazingly, just as forecast, the rain ceased and clouds cleared bathing us in a summer sun we had almost given up hope on seeing for another year! The festival was a absolute success, with much interest shown from from all ages in both the spinning and fat bikes and the cycle club in general.

AVP at the Great Outdoors Festival 2015

Although I did not get another ride out, meaning that this week was my worst for miles covered since the winter, the South Coast Nemesis 2015 did not get the better of us in the end, the Red Arrows visit was strangely entertaining and the weekend saw one of the club's most successful events. I'm now looking forward to seeing what next week brings, and if it means that I have to stay in out of the rain all week, at least I have the Vuelta to watch!

AVP 100 Miler - Portland 2015

The last 2 and only AVP 100 milers that I've ridden have been very gentle. The first, my first ever 100 mile ride in September 2013, took 8hr 30mi, the second, a year later, was 8hr 10mi, excluding stops. Both, however, saw us returning in the dark, the stops being frequent and an extended break taken for lunch! This year, the club has controversially introduced a shorter 100km ride to run simultaneously. Controversial as I have always viewed the club's 100 miler as that unique opportunity for all members to be able to achieve this key cycling milestone with the safety net of riding with experienced club riders. Splitting the ride could create a two tiered annual ride, preventing many the opportunity to do their first 100 miler as I did, because they see it as something for the experience riders only. There is a risk that the gap between experienced and junior riders may even widen. On the flip side, not everyone wants to do 100 miles, indeed I personally prefer the 100 km distance, and not all 100 mile riders want to take all day, indeed I am one of these too!

So, on Sunday at 07:30 30 riders met to do their chosen distances, against by better judgement, I had signed up for the 100 miler. The 100 mile route changed last week, Quiff having completed a rece and found the climbing a little ambitious .. oddly I found that route challenging, yes, but surprisingly quick. It was actually my quickest 100 miles to date at 6hr 59mi. The route, therefore, chosen for the AVP 2015 100 miler was to be the Portland Century. A similar route to the one I completed with a few friends back on a wet and windy March weekend earlier this year. That one was a bit of an epic, one friend bonked and it took us a painful 7hr 55mi to complete.

The weather for our ride was perfect. Warm but not hot, bright but not too sunny and just light winds. I decided against bringing lights, I was feeling confident that the 11 riders who lined up for the 100 miler were not going to hang around. One thing I have also learned over these past few years is that you can not carry too much food, as running out or not taking on enough fuel is not a place you want to be with only your legs to get you home. With hindsight, my food stocks would probably have got me to Portland and back twice!

My food stocks would probably have got me to Portland & back twice!

We started well, but as we climbed out of Lyme Regis we lost our first rider who had to retire with a broken rear derailleur. There are some things which just can not be repaired in the field and this was one. 10 cyclists rode on until we hit the 15 mile marker just after Shave Cross when we were hit with our 2nd mechanical. One of new members had suffered a rear puncture, the fixing of which was met with much hilarity as the chain had been so well oiled that it had coated the entire wheel and rear of the bike, and subsequently Quiff who had drawn the short straw to roll his sleeves up, in a film of crude akin to that which followed the Exxon Valdez disaster of the late 1980s!

We made it to Portland in time for lunch at the small cycling cafe, Cyclocceno, which, as was my last experience, was rather overwhelmed by our arrival - I think on reflection, it pays to forewarn such establishments, particularly when 11 hungry cyclists are planning on descending and wanting a quick turnaround. The benefit of using Cyclocceno, however, is that it is also a cycle shop and this enabled our 3rd mechanical, a faulty rear tyre, to be replaced. Scanning the shelves of cycling goodies, as one has to do, it is surprising just how well stocked Cyclocceno are with the vital essentials of tubes, tyres, tools and energy bars and of course whole bikes. I could see this being my local if it were not 50 miles from home.

Time for lunch at the small cycling cafe, Cyclocceno

After an extended lunch break, the Cyclocceno had run out of bread for our sandwiches and so had to send out for more supplies, we headed on to achieve the objective of our ride, to reach the Portland Bill Lighthouse. What a difference calmer weather makes to this exposed headland. When I was last here, it was an achievement just to keep the bike on the ground. Today, the cycling was a pure delight, as too were the views and the silent light house .. no need for the fog horn today!

9 of the 10 .. Curtis is behind the camera

As in every 100 miler I've done, the adulation of reaching your outward destination is soon crushed by the thought that there's now another 50 miles to do to return home. I think this is why the original route rece was so much easier as we had no specific outward destination to reach, it was just a circuit. This just shows how in cycling, or any sport I suppose, psychology has as much as an affect on performance as the need for good fitness. It's all down to that inner chip again.

The return journey is one you just have to grit your teeth and grind out the miles. There's little of the chat that punctuated the outward ride, the peloton becomes stretched as tired legs scream "She Cannae Take Much More, Captain!" [Trekkie fan comment] .. and the stops and regroups become less common as the leaders of the pack want to - understandably - press on. I seem to have my nurturing head on and stick with our lantern rouge member, or at least this is what I'm telling myself. It seems a harder ride than the last century I did, just a few weeks before. Our final stop is to be in the town of Bridport, just 20 miles from home. The contingent from the Sid Valley CC who it's been great to have in our numbers, make the call that they will push on. The way I'm feeling I'm thinking the same. If I stop, I'm not sure I'll get going again. In the end, the draw of the cafe stop wins the day we make a final stop at Costa Coffee .. well, as they say, "any port in a storm".

We make a final stop at Costa Coffee

I had thought, leaving Bridport, that all our climbing was done for the day. Alas, no, the sting in this ride's tail was the infamous Mutton Street Climb. An 8% average, killer of a hill after 90 miles and one which requires the inner chimp to be restrained and beaten into submission to complete (no animals were really harmed in competing this climb), which I did quicker than before but slower than most. My excuse is that Tarmac is not designed to climb and it let me know by groaning all the way back to Seaton. Quiff talked on this homeward stretch about may be doing a few laps of a local airfield later the following week, I agreed that this was much more to the liking of the race tuned Tarmac, so watch this space.

We finished the ride in 7hr 40mi, slower than I'd hoped, but 15 minutes quicker than my last attempt at Portland and an hour faster than the original 100 milers ... I think I'm, controversially, liking the new format!

Sabbatical Day 28/65 - Last Thursday's AVP 6:30 Ride

I know, I'm a little behind the curve in telling all about last week's evening AVP ride, but I seem to have less time to myself on this sabbatical than when I'm working, or may be I'm just less organised!

It was great to be joined by 2 new members, Pete & Steve, both of whom peddled well with what was tonight a quick group. This brings me to a thought which has been building these six days since the ride. When I joined the club some 2 years ago, I could only just ride a bike, returning to the saddle as I had after a 30 year hiatus. With the support of my fellow pedallers, I then did my first 100 miles, cycled the Dartmoor Classic and Ride London events and this year climbed Mont Ventoux! We need to ensure as a club that we continue to nurture new riders as our ethos has always been. Some clubs I have ridden with and heard about seem to have the objective of dropping riders on a run, not the AVP. I have seen, like myself, many of my fellow riders of 2 years ago increase in speed and stamina such that we are reaching a point where we could support two 6:30 rides, club and sprint rides or may be in the words of one club commentator, a Zone 2 and Zone 4 ride. So perhaps, should our numbers be great enough on a Thursday we could look to do this. Where we do not have such a critical mass of riders, we should always remember the peloton moves as fast as the slowest rider .. this makes me think of Froome's support to his team in this year's TdF group time trial. And consider this, the fastest riders to the top of a hill or the end of a sprint should may be return to the start and do it again.

Off the soap box and back to the ride. It was a glorious sunny evening, hard to recall after the last few days of soggy greyness. Around 10 pedallers met at the Kings Arms and agreed a route to take in Sidmouth so as to experience a bit of the Folk Festival which had been in full swing since the weekend. The rest of circuit was left fluid which made for an interesting lumpy adventure as Quiff selected a melange of favoured hill climbs, some of which seemed to be placed in the landscape for no other reason than to test climbing ability, as they moved one no further forward replacing level ground with an incline akin to an Escher drawing. That said, the views from the ridge on East Hill, after the White Cross climb, looking towards Dartmoor were sublime and we rested there for a few minutes watching the sunset. We returned in a chaingang along Farway and the main A3052 back to Seaton, 30+miles and over 2500 ft of climb completed. Note: lights are now needed, one member who will remain nameless, may have cut things a bit fine this evening. Another highly enjoyable ride and a route I will revisit, particularly the ridge on East Hill, thanks for sharing this Quiff.

2015 AVP Treasure Hunt

Today 9 (AVP) Pedallers and 2 (AVR) Runners met for AVP August Monthly Ride, 'The 2015 Treasure Hunt'. Having been on Sabbatical these past 20 days, I've had a little bit of time available to work on route and questions, and this post outlines how the day went.

We formed into 4 teams:

• Team 1 - BarBunny, Quiff, Bean and Jean 
• Team 2 - Dave, Barry and Buster
• Team 3 - Becca and Roger 
• Team 4 - Jon and Ethan

Maps, clues and instructions were given and Teams 1 - 3 headed off on their different paths in search of treasure. Team 4 missed the grand depart by up to 30 minutes but cunningly made contact with Team 1 and secured from them the required instructions.

BarBunny was suffering with a back injury but braved 4 of the towns before Bean, being carried by Quiff, needed food and Jean took one for the team, going it alone to secure the treasure from the last town, Beer, with just seconds to spare. Jon and Ethan while starting last, raced their way around the map finishing ahead of all, youth on their side! Dave, Barry and Buster stormed around following their master plan efficiently splitting their resources, while Becca and Roger picked off each clue with profound wisdom and surgical precision.

Of the 34 pieces of treasure (points for answers) available to each team, the haul of the hunters amounted to:

• Team 1 - 29 pieces, all locations visited, all treasure found in 2 locations 
• Team 2 - 21 pieces, all locations visited, all treasure found in 1 location
• Team 3 - 33 pieces, all locations visited, all treasure found in 4 locations 
• Team 4 - 22 pieces, all locations visited, all treasure found in 0 locations

There were 4 'awards':

• Team 3 - Yellow Jersey - for the team collecting the highest value of treasure, Becca and Roger were the overall winners .. indeed the one missing piece of treasure Roger actually had but did not submit .. so really they achieved an amazing 100%.
• Team 2 - Green Jersey - for the team visiting the most locations and collecting treasure to a value of at least 3 from each 
• Team 1 - KoM Jersey - for the team collecting all the treasure available from the most locations
• Team 4 - Lanterne rouge!

If anyone is down this way and would like to do this treasure hunt, here are the questions. Just drop your answer sheet back to me and I'll be happy to score it.

The weather was kind and I think all enjoyed the challenge and a bit of gentle pedalling. I am hoping we can now make this an annual event.

AVP Thursday Climbs & Punishment Social Ride!

Thursday saw me make a return to the AVP fold with a social 25ish mile saunter through the Devon lanes under a brilliant blue sky. Having just returned from my Mont Ventoux adventure, I was expecting to eat up the hills without trouble and I certainly had my fill tonight.

Riding in the AVP peloton

After 2 years of cycling the local roads, there are very few which I've not covered with the AVP; only my poor memory continues to make for an interesting cycle! Thursday's ride, however, saw Tigger leading us down paths we'd not travelled before on a highly enjoyable if not lumpy ride. With over 2k ft of climb, many of the hills in excess of a 10% gradient, I was glad to be riding my Ventoux busting Roubaix, its gearing so very well suited to these hilly and bumpy lanes.

AVP'ers and our pink member under the viaduct arches

I was not out riding my new Tarmac, not due to the hills, but because I think its bottom bracket bearings have gone! After less than only 600 miles, I am not best pleased to be following in the footsteps of my previous two bikes, in having to return to the Bike Shed for a warranty repair. I'll keep you posted on what they find, indeed I may be wrong and it may be something less major. If a strip down and new bearings are required, I'm tempted to get the FSA components swapped out for a compact Shimano chainset. Specialized have recently been using FSA (Full Speed Ahead) components in place of Shimano on some of their high end bikes, I have no idea why, may be cost. Back in March this year, Mark Cavendish caused a crash in Terrino following his chain slipping off the big cog, something my Tarmac was doing for many of my early rides. May be he too lost confidence in FSA as he was then spotted in May riding with a Shimano chainset!

AVP Moonscape Evening Ride

After a week off the bike, following my Dad's 80th birthday celebration, I met up last night with around a dozen Pedallers for a sunny 24 mile evening ride out around our Devon lanes.

It started routinely with Tigger and Jolly hatching out a route which had us heading out of Seaton into the setting sun towards Beer. With my Roubaix being prepared for an upcoming France adventure, I risked a ride out on my full carbon Tarmac, built for smooth asphalt and speed. All was going well until, along the TT favoured strip across Farway Common, we dropped down a steep drop to the little village of Woodbridge. The hill itself was a joy to descend, although I may have screamed like a girl at one point after meeting an elderly lady behind the wheel of a luckily small car, ascending at a narrow section at the bottom of the hill. Having little or no time to warn her that I was not alone, I was glad to see at the next regrouping point, everyone else seemed to get passed OK.

Pedallers regrouping in Woodbridge .. spot the Tarmac leaning against the wall

From here, the asphalt was replaced with a moonscape of shingle, boulders and craters. Nothing close to a road surface befitting the use of carbon rims and slick tyres was to be seen until we surfaced again at Seaton Junction! From here we slipstreamed our way back to Seaton, some departing along the way, others ending at the Kings Arms for well deserved refreshments.

It was a good ride, particularly the surfaced sections where the Tarmac performed beautifully.

AVP Sunday Morning 40 Miler

Handbag, Richard Q, David, and I met up this morning at 10:00 am for what is becoming a regular Sunday slot in the diary for an AVP steady speed club ride. In spite of the forecast for rain and all coming prepared for continued wintery weather, we were pleasantly surprised to ride out under a clear sky and in temperatures which soon saw us unzipping garments and stowing away winter gloves.

No way through the ford today ... even if it was suitable for cyclists!

My original planned route was to follow a well ridden 3 hour 40 mile circuit out to Sidmouth, Tipton St John and Honiton, returning up Northcote Hill and on through Stockland, Kilmington back to Seaton. However, we were happy to keep things dynamic and took in Beer and Branscombe ahead of Sidmouth and a stop for refreshments at a new coffee shop (to me) at Escot, north of Ottery.

I am sure there is a caption to be added here

From here we headed towards Honiton on the old A30 as planned, but turned off to take in the idilic village of Gittisham and a climb up Parsonage Lane in place of Northcote Hill, which I think was much more acceptable! To ensure we completed the targeted 40 miles, we doubled back across Farway Common to return home via Offwell, where on the descent to Colyton, Richard & David pealed off to Axminster while Handbag and I made it back to Seaton before the heavens opened.

Handbag returning across the River Coly into Colyton

A great ride with loads of interesting sights and good chat

Puncture and a Lost Flock

What an eventful Thursday night ride. After a sunny saunter out of Seaton to Beer, up past the quarry and down into Branscombe, 13 Pedallers .. the Near Naked Man, Barry, Grinch, Bobble, Jolly, Geoff, Handbag, Relay, Derek, Rach, Sarah, Dawn and yours truly - in no particular order .. then took the long climb up to the Donkey Sanctuary where we regrouped to decide on our return route. Actually, Handbag left us before the drop down into Branscombe to join up with the later 7:30 ride, but that would have meant re-sequencing the last sentence and I just hate going back over the same road!

The decision finally made was to cycle via Honiton Golf Club and down hill past 'Pedaller's Bench' through Southleigh and on into Colyton. In a drawn out chaingang be pedalled at speed along the main drag, red lights a flashing as the daylight gave way to dusk. Turning off and bumping our way over a typical austerity tarmac surfaced link road we regrouped at the top of Beech Tree Lane preparing to head over to Farway Common. Just one problem, we were one short; two actually, Grinch had not returned as back marker and reports came in that Geoff, on his third ride with the pedallers had suffered a puncture on the main road.

Derek, gallantly stayed with Rach, Sarah and Dawn while the remainder, determined not to leave a man behind, retraced our steps the mile or so back to the site of the puncture. Here, perhaps all had a hand, one way or another, in advising, supporting, cajoling or actually replacing the tube .. I will say no more but I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere. By the time we returned to the junction where we'd left Derek and the ladies, they were gone! I had also done that thing I loathe .. yep, riding back over the same piece of road. Having no way to contact the lost flock and darkness descending, we decided to take the shortest route back to Seaton and hoped to meet up back at the Kings Arms.

Back at the pub, the lost flock finally arrived 15 minutes later. They had apparently just moved slowly on to the next junction thinking we'd catch up! Big lesson learned here, we either make sure we exchange mobile numbers or at least follow the agreed route!

AVP Sunday Magical Mystery Ride

22 Pedallers rolled up at Costa Coffee (Sorry G, the Broom Wagon not yet open), for our ‘Magical Mystery' monthly Sunday ride. Dubbed the Mystery ride as we had failed to agree on a ride leader ahead of the ride so it was going to be a bit of mystery as to where we'd end up!

Handbag was adopted as ride leader and the route selected took us out through Musbury, Shute, Dalwood (a road to Stockland I've not ridden before and a highly recommended alternative to the main road climb) and up Stockland Hill to the Royal Oak Farm tea shop, Cotleigh, for coffee and cake served on the lawn under a warm sun.

We returned to Seaton via Northleigh Hill Road, Edgar’s Seat and Colyton, and a couple of us then on to the Broom Wagon for a final coffee and to catch up on Wiggo’s [unsuccessful] attempt to win the Paris Roubaix.

Solo Thursday Evening Ride

Shock horror .. almost a first .. I did a ride last night but not with the Pedallers. The last time I remember doing that was when Andy and I managed to get out early to avoid forecasted heavy showers only to pass the Pedallers coming the other way ascending Quarry Lane! - were we less bothered by rain back then?

Last night was down to a culmination of reasons .. I picked up a stubborn chest cold following my Portland epic and running on what feels like 50% lung capacity is like puffing up a hill in a car without an exhaust pipe; our last few rides have been quick and being constantly spat out the back has my inner chimp in disarray, I need to work on getting my mojo back; and finally, the glorious weather has encouraged me to get in an early evening ride these last few weeks and that feeling of getting home in the light and still having an evening to enjoy is hard to beat. So, my thinking was, if I would be spluttering and riding out back alone anyway, I may as well get out and do an early solo circuit without the pressure of trying to keep up.

I thought it would be a repeat of my last ride and I’d meet Pedallers’ peloton perhaps on my homeward ‘sprint’ along the Axe Estuary straight, alas no, we must have missed by a matter of minutes, as I see all had a good 25+ mile ride out to Hawkchurch via Axmouth, Trinity Hill and back through Axminster, Kilmington and Musbury, and looking at the Strava logs, a bag full of PRs for all too.

I completed a gentle 20 mile circuit which I’ve become quite fond of recently, mainly because of the road quality, both smooth surface so as not to buckle my wheels and wide enough not to have to pull over for cars, and also because I can ride it without thinking of where it is I’m going. Those who know of my poor sense of direction, will know I have a memory of a gold fish when it comes to remembering routes .. nice castle … nice castle .. nice castle ..!

Anyway, having enjoyed beautiful sunshine for the first 15 miles what a surprise greeted me as I hit the Axe Estuary. Thick fog! My bare legs and Garmin also registered a 4 degree drop in temperature. I assume this was just localised sea mist and the Pedallers found themselves climbing into clearer sky as they got up to the heights of Trinity Hill.

Fingers crossed I’ll be back in the fold for next week’s ride, but before that we have the monthly Sunday club ride .. more on that later!




Epilogue:  On the stats front, it was actually quite a good ride: 16.9 mph average and a PB on my Seaton Down Hill climb, taking 14s off my May 2014 record, mainly because I had not realised I was still in the big cog!

AVP Easter Saturday Sidmouth Honiton Circuit

Following last week's 100 mile ride to Portland, while I may be feeing quietly confident about the Etape Loch Ness in 3 weeks, I know I can not be complacent and still need to put in the training miles. I was, therefore, out this morning riding with fellow AVPers, Kelly, Chris, Clive and Kevin on one of my favourite 40 mile circuits. This is the one which takes in Sidmouth seafront, the old A30 to Honiton, coffee & cake at the Boston Tea Party, the long climb up to Stockland and the idilic cycle back to the Broom Wagon via Kilmington.

Bikes on Sidmouth seafront

Normally, a ride with Clive would be a full on blast up hill and down dale leaving one spluttering for breath or spat out the back! But with Clive inspired to follow in my wheel tracks and do his own run out to Portland tomorrow, he was happy just to spin his legs and do a traditional JRB ride & coffee stop .. it was refreshing to see this more relaxed side of him, although if anyone showed signs of beating him to the top of a rise, he was still unable to resist taking it to a winning sprint!

3 Wise Men (?) at the Boston Tea Party Coffee Stop

After a couple of frustrating AVP rides, it was good to finally have a group ride where we all worked together ... and while feeling the effects of a slight chest cold, I was pleased with a sub 3.5 hour ride over 45 miles and 3k ft of climb .. we had fun too!

No Mechanicals, Crashes or Other Incidents

We had probably the best turnout of the year for our weekly Thursday ride, numbering into the high teens. Tonight it was the turn of Lyme Regis to be blessed with our cycling prowess and a traditional ride along the front was not to be missed. There was a faint glow from the sun, now way below the horizon, reflecting off of the sea and in no more than 2 weeks, we thought, it would still be high enough to illuminate the roads too.

Tigger navigated us out into Uplyme where a shimmy into Pound Lane took us off the main drag and back onto Harcombe Road for the usual climb upto the A35. It was then a chain gang blast along Trinity Hill, Bobble, Christopher and me in the breakaway group with Rex, making a later break, closing in fast behind. Bobble was, as usual, hard to catch on the hills as so took the polka dot jersey. Rex caught me in the closing few metres of Trinity Hill, but a last minute 'Cav sprint to the line' from yours truly secured me the green points jersey ... naturally, we all ended the evening in the yellow.

Another great ride out with the pedallers, no mechanicals, crashes or other incidents .. and chips and beer a plenty back at the Kings Arms.