The Highway Code Rule 2 for Pedestrians

This weekend I left the bike at home and walked with my wife along the new Exe trail Cycle path and Walkway. As both a cyclist and walker, I always find such shared cycle paths a nightmare as those on foot seem to have a total disregard for their fellow wheeled users, ambling in groups across the whole path and pedallers forget the simple rules they adopt on the highway of keeping to the left. In short, it tends to be total anarchy!

Lets follow the Highway Code

I must obviously have studied the Highway Code in my formative years as I have always known that when walking on the road, you walk on the right-hand side. Admittedly the number of folk I see day in and day out totally oblivious of this fact is shocking, but shouldn't this simple rule be adopted wherever we have mixed modes of transport coming together?

If there is no pavement, keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you can see oncoming traffic. You should take extra care and be prepared to walk in single file, especially on narrow roads or in poor light keep close to the side of the road. 

Wouldn't it be so simple for the owning authorities to put up notices requesting adherence of this for the safety and enjoyment of all using these trails? It may subliminally also educate or remind those walking on the road of that all important Highway Code Rule 2 for Pedestrians!

The more we're encouraged to cycle and walk the more we need to educate people on how to do this safely. As for motor vehicle drivers .. well that's another story!

Thursday Evening Road Ride - The Stockland Clockwise

As we're a bit limited on southerly routes around here, we flipped the compass and headed north tonight. I selected a ride from the new AVP library we're looking to build .. we have so many rides lined up to upload, Andy and I just need to get some time together to make it happen. So tonight, from the 'AVP ride jukebox' did the Stockland Clockwise .... a 23 mile gentle climbing route suitable for all. Weather was looking fine so we had a healthy number of 8 Pedallers: Rex, Geoff, Richard, Bobble, Handbag, Grinch, the Gaffer and I met at the Kings Arms for the 6:30 depart.

The clockwise route took us to Colyford, along Cowhayne, through Seaton Junction to Shute Barton. Here Handbag, returning to pickup the 7:30 riders, handed over to Airfix who, out on his new shiny Trek, had formed the early breakaway and was now sucked back into the peloton.

Checking out Airfix's new Trek .. Captions anyone?!

We then puffed our way up the last climb of the ride to Stockland mast, Bobble as per norm leaving the rest of us in his dust. The descent into Stockland was considerably quicker than the last Sunday club ride when I had folk traversing it in the opposite direction . While looking quite smooth when climbing, is surprising how bumpy the road is on a 40 mph descent!

This left a picturesque spin along the Yarty before crossing the A35 in to Kilmington and on to Musbury where, as if performing a synchronised Red Arrows manoeuvre, we crossed paths with the 7:30 Peloton at the Golden Hind!

Just shy of 24 miles and 1,600 ft climb, completed in less than 2 hrs bringing us home for a very early 8:30 finish.

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 ...

Dartmoor Classic Medio: Rider 4512

Two years ago, the 67 mile Dartmoor Classic was the first real sportive I had entered and I earned a Bronze medal with a finish time of 5h:09m missing silver by just 3 minutes. I gave last year's event a miss as I was in France at the time climbing Mont Ventoux but I was determined this year to return to the event with the objective of securing at least that silver medal.

While I rode under my good friend, Andy's tutorship on my first Dartmoor Classic, I was planning to go solo this year and just do my own thing. I had worked out the average pace I'd need to set to reach my goal so felt I could draft along with others as needed. Then, while driving the clear empty Devon roads that one finds at 6 am on a Sunday morning, who should I pass but Andy!

I knew I'd never keep pace with him and his 2 riding pals, he's moved to a new level since 2014 but I tucked in behind their 'Sky Train' for a very frantic 10 miles or so .. just as Froomies' amazing domestiques although here any association I may have with Froome ends. This gave me a terrific lead out towards my goal for that silver medal that was until a late pre ride addition of a pump bracket to my bottle cage led to a disappointing mechanical when the whole fitting came adrift and I had to pull over else lose the lot in the gutter. Here I left the 'Sky Train' to fade away into the distance. A fellow AVP rider checked on me as I fought against time to get back on the road but there was little he could do to help. I never saw another pedaller after that, well not until the finish at least. The moral to this tale, is never make last minute pre event changes!

Despite now being a sole rider, there are so many entrants on this event that you are never really alone and I was able to jump between groups of riders; sheltering for a few miles behind one until another train passed and I could draft in behind. Towards the end I did team up with another rider who was travelling at my speed and we took turns up front in true pro cycling style.

I made sure my feed station stop was kept as short as possible and bar a bit of cramp towards the end which slowed me a little I made good progress, clawing back some of the valuable time lost on the drinks bottle cage. I finally crossed the line in a time of 4h:42m, half an hour quicker than my first attempt to secure my silver medal. Frustratingly, I was just 5 minutes off the gold medal time of 4h:37m .. if only I'd not had that mechanical .. some people are never satisfied!  Bring on 2018!

Seaton Cycle Fest and Criterium

Since returning from France it's been as though I've not had a moment to take breath let alone sit down and recount another cycling tale in my blog. We sailed into Pool close to midnight on the Saturday for me then on Sunday afternoon to have to join the AVP troops for the inaugural Seaton Cycle Fest & Criterium. It was then back to work, always a frantic experience after a couple of weeks out. The following weekend my parents were in town and I was back on the bike for the Dartmoor Classic. The weekend following that, was my wonderful wife's birthday. On top of this, I've picked up management of the club's web site and the TdF has kicked off! So that brings you up to date with where I've been and hopefully goes some way to explaining the lack of chat.

So, let's play catch up first with the Seaton Cycle Fest & British Cycling Criterium. It was a very damp Sunday 19th June, when in association with 1st Chard Wheelers and Seaton Town Development Team/Town Council, we had our first ever Cycle Fest and Criterium here in the sleepy seaside town of Seaton on the south coast of Devon. This has been almost a year in the planning so it was such a shame that the weather did not play ball.

In spite of the shocking weather, there were over 200 cyclists across the age groups taking part in the racing, the final event being the mens' race circuit along the seafront and up Castle Hill. A couple of reps would have been enough for me, but this race circuit of around 1.5 miles was repeated for an hour!

Our own Axe Valley Pedaller, Clive Heard joined the starting line up and kept with the pack for a very credible 10 laps before calling it a day. The race was finally won by NTFO pro racer George Fowler; so it was a strong lineup!

10 Pedallers turned out to support marshal the event, while others raised the gazebo and promoted the club from the tented area in Thury Harcourt Place.

I sincerely hope we've earned the right to hold this event again next year .. I'll keep you posted.

Back in France

This week sees me back in France with the velo. Not the Roubaix, as on the 2015 Mont Ventoux adventure, not the Crosstrail last seen on the AVP French Foray, but surprisingly the Venge! It had been the Tarmac's turn, but having damaged its front carbon FFWD wheel on my Cheddar ride with Jason and having just ridden the Velothon, I decided to let him take a rest.

I've been musing this week about language, as one would when in another country speaking an unfamiliar tongue. Not necessarily the vocabulary or sentence structure but why would anyone want to give a gender to an inanimate object. French has masculine and feminine nouns, German even adds a third gender, neuter. Why? It then occurred to me, with much amusement, how my velos (I'm in France so I'm being local with my use of the cycling noun) have a gender. The brutish gunmetal Crosstrail is definitely masculine, as too is the silver sleek Tarmac race machine. The Roubaix with added cushioning is more a more delicate looking multitasking workhorse, definitely feminine and the Venge, well she's a saucy little ginger minx, who is skittish and just wants to have fun! So, it was the Venge who accompanied this MAMIL to the South of France.

The Venge, unpacked & rebuilt ready for het first French outing

She was carried in luxury within the Yeti, her 60mm FFWD front wheel removed and cushioned in its own deluxe wheel carrier. After the 1,000 km drive down from Normandie she was unpacked, rebuilt and stowed safely awaiting her first outing. This came on the Sunday afternoon, as the heat of the day was dissipating and having spent a day lazing by the pool, I was in need of expending some calories and enjoying a rush of endorphins.

A few snaps from our Les Baux ride

Prior to leaving the UK, I had reviewed a number of potential routes I could take straight from the Gite, and selected an undemanding 10 miler to get acclimatised to the area, or so I thought. The route was to take me north towards St-Remy along the D5, before reaching the town centre turning west along a minor road . After a couple of miles of typical French straight, smooth asphalt, I joined the D27 south on the road to Les Baux-de-Provence, a magnificent mediaeval castle high in the Alpilles Mountains. It was this latter designation which did not escape me as we started to climb. The Venge is not an all out climber, indeed even last year I brought the Roubaix with her 50:34 compact chain set and 11:30 cassette for Mont Ventoux, feeling the Tarmac's semi pro 52:36 / 11:28 would be a little too testing. The Venge is similarly blessed but was now being asked to climb what I can only describe as a mini Ventoux. Luckily Les Baux sits on top of a 5km climb, far shorter than the 20km Ventoux and so we managed it with breath to spare, albeit the views at the top were still as breathtaking!