Retrobike Roadseries 2014: Cheddar (Aftermath)

[bobbinogs]

Thought I would create one for the piccies:

The Ugly Mugs #1


The Ugly Mugs #2 (spot the difference)


Legs akimbo in the mist:


Daj cruising at a jaunty 25mph up a big hill


Grumpycommuter not looking grumpy


Daj and Unclemonty with a sign that caused much mirth amongst the infantile


Some nice looking sheep in the field you say??


Here comes the intrepid leader Bugloss with Pyrotim on his trail (having crossed into the lighter side of road riding at last)


James somewhat overdressed for the conditions (layers, James, layers)


Some lumps of Cheddar left at the side of the road


They went that way


More Cheddar lovelies (oops, I mean lovileness)


Always time for tiffin


...and then onto the levels (please note the lack of hills)


...but is the RB mountain goat finally spotted?


Nah, here he is


Grand day out, I suspect we can write a few words on this cracking adventure...


Photobucket slideshow with lots more piccies here!

 

[grumpycommuter]

Back, bathed and b******d. Words to follow tomorrow...

 

[bugloss]

The words "Are you sure this is the route mate ?" are still ringing in my ears. So let me confess, that, No I wasn't sure this was the route at all.

Anyway, judging by the mixture of cheesy grins and expressions of horror and dismay displayed by the willing participants of the inaugural Mendip Mauler at varying points of the day, I think we had quite a pleasant day.

It started a little on the chilly side with the usual Mendip low cloud and a stiff breeze, but it turned out to be very spring like indeed with short sleeves and the appearance of Dave's all over winter tan, sunnies on!

Upon arrival at our point of departure I find Uncle Monty looking slightly weary and a little hungry after traveling through the night from the genteel surroundings of Sussex, only for him to find that he's ended up parked at an abandoned pub in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fog. I wondered if he was having second thoughts at that time ??

After the usual who are you greetings a giant dark form loomed out of the mist and it seemed to be headed straight for us. Who on earth could be piloting this mobile leviathan ?

It stopped! My heart sank, it must be the Pikies come for the horse fair. The door opened and out piled a smiling Daj and Grumpycommuter, but not Robin, who promptly shut the door looked at the derelict pubs boarded up windows and refused to budge from his heated steel enclosure.

That made five, pretty good I thought. A few more cars appeared containing Flouroforks and a concerned looking Pyro Tim along with the news that couple of chaps were on their way from Bristol.

Nine hardy souls were brave enough to step into the unknown guided by a charlatan who had convinced them over the internet that it was a clever thing to do.

After the customary and frantic roadside mechanics and a brief from Robin about road riding savvy we were off and so were the Bristol Boys, who seemed to be heading straight back to Bristol as fast as they could.
Was it something I said?..........Bye then Bristol Boys.

We took a left and went on our way through the Somerset countryside................(See above ☝︎)


Dave styling the steeps of Cheddar.


Robins Special Cheddar Cheese grin. He seemed to have fun after eventually emerging from The Leviathan.

 

[Uncle Monty]

What a superb day out.
Firstly thanks to Adam for organising the ride and Robin for guiding us round. Thanks also for navigating me out of Priddy and back to the A303 via such a nice route afterwards. I have not spent much time around this area before and it is well worth a visit.

After a misty start we had fantastic weather, jackets off and sunglasses on by midday. Some terrific scenery and good roads to ride on. As always a nice friendly bunch of people to ride with. The pace, difficulty and length of the ride were perfect for me. I don't consider myself a very fit or strong rider, but all of the climbs were managable with the right gears and could be made more of a challenge if you wanted simply by climbing faster, everybody regrouping at the top before carrying on. The descent of Cheddar Gorge and the climb back up would have made the trip worth it on their own. The burnt out remains of PyroTims fag stuck to his lip at the bottom of the hill was comedy gold. Did anybody else spot the BOOBS painted on the road on the climb back up? As has been mentioned, there was also ample opportunity for smutty guffawing at signposts which is always enjoyable. We paused very briefly by Snatch cottage - which was nice.... Great lunch stop at the Edelweiss all added to a perfect spring day out cycling, which after all is what it is all about. Only one puncture amongst the group all day- the terror that was the Gorge descent blow out will I hope be embellished and the tale repeated often!
I am looking forward to the next one and hope this ride will become a permanent fixture on the Retro Road Nationals See you all again soon.

Cheers- Chris.

 

[grumpycommuter]

The boobs on the climb out of the gorge were fantastic, just like being in the tour That said it was a relief to see James pedalling back up the hill and in one piece after 'the blowout'.

The highlights -

Balanced route with an excellent mix of climbs and lumps, nothing to make you vomit but enough to get your teeth into.
Glorious weather and most of the ride sheltered from the wind!
Goats and llamas.
Naked men in the back of a van.
The ascent out of the gorge was just flabbergasting.
Pyro Tim's youthful exuberance - enjoy fatherhood Tim.

Many, many thanks to our very own Hamlet for taking the time to organise, travel over and bring beer and snacks, and to Robin for the usual shepherding role.

Final thanks go to Dave's Tom-Tom for sending us from Robin's house, into a tiny alleyway behind,with about 3" (76.2mm for you metric chaps) either side of the van. And then into an even narrower road lined with expensive looking cars. It took longer to get out of those two roads than it did to climb out of the gorge.

 

[daj]

Sorry for delay!!

What can I say the first round of the Retrobike National series was a belter, All credit to Adam (Bugloss) for putting together a really decent day , The route was spot on with lots of challenging climbing and plenty of stunning scenery to be enjoyed on the social flats.

We were absolutely blessed with the weather again after bit of a dodgy start , I even broke out in the afternoon with short sleeve jersey and shorts !! :shock:

A great crowd of people with plenty of new faces and most importantly smiley faces , Spread the word folks the road series is a great introduction to group social riding on Retrobikes!!

The Bristol boys incident was VERY funny , Basically while descending another rider not from our group came around from the back and took off the front with the bristol boys jumping on his wheel thinking he was one of us and disappeared never to be seen again to lunchtime!! :facepalm:

Big thank you to Carl too for bringing the team bus and collecting me and Robin on route , The road trip was a good hoot at my expense mostly as usual

A real touch was in the sunshine at the end Adam laying on a nice picnic of beers/softdrinks and crisps ...was fantastic !!

I think Robin`s photos do most of the talking so I will leave it there but for a National series début Adam has put Cheddar firmly on the map!

Brewery ride next , See you all then

 

[Pyro Tim]

Really enjoyed the ride. Seeing the boobs scrawled on the road in two places did make me smile, and make the climb easier oddly. Stunning scenery, loved my first go on a road bike, just spent an hour trawling ebay looking for one.

Was great to find out James was alive, and hadn't come a cropper on the decent. Didn't know he was missing until we got to the bottom. We then decided he probably just didn't fancy the climb, and we'd find him if we climbed back up. We found him, and all was good.

I'm already loosely planning a return trip to do it again. I also hope to return to another RB group ride, on my own bike. It may not be retro though. I have no history of road bikes, and unfortunately no nostalgia for them, unlike MTBs, so just want one with brakes that work

 

[daj]

Makes me laugh every time!! 2/3rds of the 3 amigos!!

 

[bugloss]

Well, that's encouraging that nobody had any gripes.

Thanks for turning up everyone and making a great day of it and you never know there may be an informal version, with a few adjustments, later in the year when Cheddar goes back to normal.

 

[fluroforks]

Thanks for caring fellas , that wasn't the best spot to be getting a flat but at least I wasn't thrown off. Imagine meeting those rocks at the speeds we were going at!

It was great to see everyone having a laugh from the outset even though not all of us had met before. The Bristol boys seemed to enjoy themselves, neither of them are willing to give up their modern bikes but at least they kept them moving in the same direction as the other cyclists, just a shame it wasn't the cyclists on our ride. I think I speak for all of us when I say we were all a little bit concerned as we watched their carbon seat stays disappearing over the horizon but as with so many missing children, they came back when they got hungry.

That was a cracking introduction to retrobike riding and highly recommended to anyone who hasn't joined in yet. Thanks to everyone for making it a very enjoyable day and making us newcomers feel so welcome. Thanks also to Adam for putting it together and even supplying the bevvies too, hope I can return the gesture sometime soon.