"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

CAL / On Yer Bike ride - 20 September 2024 - Bristol, Somerset & North Somerset

After the joy of finishing the Sri Chinmoy 47 Mile Race on 27 August, I arrived back in the UK feeling great, only to go down with a really savage flu virus just days later. That means the depleted state I was in after the 47, or perhaps after the zero-sleep night I had 2 days later through travelling for the New World of Peace concert in Philadelphia, had knocked my immune system out. Either that or it could just be that there are lots of these bugs in circulation right now? The fact that so many of my work colleagues were also struck down with Flu or Covid in September suggests it could be the latter. Maybe both! Anyway, the point of mentioning this illness is that it actually ruled me out of the On Yer Bike / Change A Life ride on September 11th. Being conscious of the fact that I'd raised over a hundred pounds in sponsorship to do the ride (in aid of Young Bristol) and equally conscious that I had sadly neglected my cycling in favour of running over recent months, I got permission from my employer to take a day off once I was better to ride the route and get the 72 miles finished as a solo mission. I'm used to riding Audax Perms and DIYs so the lack of a bunch to ride with was actually no big deal.

On the morning I'd chosen for the ride, Friday 20th September, I rode at an easy pace down the Concorde Way to the office in Bedminster Down and met Ines from the Employee Relations team outside the Pavilions. She gave me a rider number to attach to my handlebars and I was on my way at around 8am, planning to ride the 72 miles of the OYB route, a 4 mile detour to visit my daughter at Priddy, plus the commute of 8 miles each way. After 3 weeks of almost zero exercise, this was going to be a big day!

The first section took me out through Winford, into the Chew Valley, through Chew Magna and down past the lake to the foot of the Mendips. It was raining and I was in my full bad-weather gear, goretex jacket, infinium tights, windstopper shoe covers, merino hat under the helmet - the works! It was overkill really but being too cold and wet can either stop you or make the ride a miserable experience, so I didn't really care how it looked so long as I got round. After Harptree I was warmed up and settled into the ride, not bothered about the rain, enjoying the varied roads that were gradually leading me up to the plateau of the Mendips. Autumn's change of colours still hadn't started in any real sense, so I was riding through tunnels of green under the grey skies, lush tree cover keeping the worst of the rain off me. At Chewton Mendip I crossed the main road and rode a loop around Emborough on narrow lanes, still having hardly seen any traffic on the brilliantly devised route. It was serene, hilly, a real escape into the Somerset countryside. After Emborough I had dramatic views over the Vale of Avalon, the Tor outlined against thick, moody clouds on the horizon as I descended fast through the Horringtons. Soon I had another amazing view, this time of the flat-topped gothic towers of Wells Cathedral as I rode into the mediaeval city ready for my first stop.

Here I ignored the route on my Wahoo and took a left down a restricted road through the Cathedral Close, indulging my love of riding through gates and archways in the process.

Staying off-route for a while I hung a left into the tiny city itself for a stop at Parsons Bakery - the coffee was great, the vegan sausage roll was much-needed sustenance and the chance to rest for a few minutes was welcome too. With this being the first challenge after a bout of illness I was consciously holding back and not caring about speed - in fact I had persuaded myself to indulge in more stops than normal and not watch the clock when I was resting, eating and drinking. Quite a change of mindset for me, as I am always racing against some kind of target when I do events. This one was pure enjoyment though, with only the distance itself as a target and no cut-off to worry about. Before I left a sign caught my eye - Bakewell Donuts - I hadn't heard of those before so I told myself I needed to keep my calorie intake up and bought one. OMG, what a great culinary invention. If you're riding through Wells any time, don't miss out on these.

Riding through Wells after the stop I was soon able to get back on the line of the route, heading for the Somerset Levels and riding a gorgeous series of lanes and quiet roads through Wookey then past miniature cousins of Glastonury Tor at Yarley and Panborough to the sleepy town of Wedmore. In fact, Wedmore was not as sleepy as I remembered and it seemed to have been a little gentrified since I was last there, with some up market shops and arcades. It still had its Somerset charm though. Ahead I was starting to get a clear sight of the Mendip slopes around Cheddar and Shipham, with some patches of blue sky beginning to open up. In Cheddar I stopped below the climb at Lion Rock and had a great veggie breakfast of bubble and squeak with egg and beans. I texted Jemima to tell her I was ahead of schedule and would be there within the hour, but again I put my feet up and invested in a bit of rest as well as a shedload of calories, ready for the hilliest sections of the ride ahead. On the next table some local guys - a little older than me and clearly retired or semi-retired, were putting the world to rights and laying into the new government over the recent scandal about perks and freebies. They were doubting whether the myriad problems of the country - housing, cost of living, NHS - could be solved in any way and by anyone. You could feel the frustration, but you could also feel the weight of negativity they were building up. The news is so relentlessly negative, who can blame people for feeling this way? I can't help thinking that more positivity about our country would help though - the ride was giving me plenty of reminders that the UK is sublimely peaceful compared to so many countries, has evaded the clutches of the far right, has incredible (though currently struggling) public services and immense freedoms when it comes to speech, belief and faith. I consider myself very fortunate to be here - but the problems, as those guys were saying, are undeniable.

It was time to get away from politics and back on my bike! So, having ditched the goretex in favour of my boardman windproof jersey ready for the climb, I got on the road and tackled the gorge. I had my phone on my handlebars so managed to grab this selfie as I rode the narrows, just coming out of the steepest section of the climb. My legs, despite so little conditioning, made short work of the slow and steady climb. Goats were out on the tiny ledges of the gorge and the rock pinnacles were stunningly dramatic on the skyline when I looked up from the road ahead to drink in the views.

Once at the top of the gorge I steered off route on to a closed road, which I hoped was only closed to cars not bikes. In fact, as Jemima hadn't mentioned it, I assumed it was open to residents anyway. A long drag up Plummers Lane and I was soon unlatching the gate at Hilltop Barn to head in and see my daughter in her converted horsebox - I sat in the doorway so I didn't have to wrestle my shoes and rain-covers off, enjoying a cup of earl grey and the warmth of the woodburner. Once that break was over, I rode fast back down to the junction above the gorge and then over the ups and downs around Charterhouse as the skies cleared for a while and gave me exquisite views over the hills to the Bristol Channel and Wales beyond.

The descent from the Mendip heights was swift and potholey but soon I was through Shipham, over the A38 and navigating my way down the nastiest challenge of the day - Shipham Lane. It was a downhill on a broken surface with standing water, grit, immense potholes and ruts. I slowed down and wove through the obstacle course, then I was on more lanes and streets through a quiet, Friday-afternoon Sandford and equally quiet Churchill. Plenty of sun was filtering through now, but there were angry clouds here and there so I didn't get complacent. My last rest stop of the day came at the bakery in Congresbury where I got an Americano (not sure it was the genuine article but it did the job) and a massive muffin to see me through the final section. I remembered doing the last few miles of this challenge in 2023 and it being the hardest section. This time I was well rested though and doing it at my own pace rather than at the speed of a bunch, so I was able to take it steadily, up and over the numerous little hills around Nempnett and Butcombe, looking down over Chew Valley and Blagdon Lake. I rode slowly to soak up the views - then got caught in a sharp, heavy shower and had to get back into goretex. Once that had passed, the clear air seemed to let even more of the beauty of the landscape seep out into the atmosphere and I was stopping here and there to take photos.

At one point I found myself riding on a narrow lane over a steep-sided, whale-back ridge with wide, lush verges (the kind the horsedrawn travellers love) and forested flanks. It was one of those perfect roads you wish would carry on forever. Soon I was back on roads I knew almost too well though, the climb before Winford then the climb after Winford, sunlight glinting off the barrow reservoirs and then a swift downhill all the way to Limekiln Roundabout and the Pavilions. The ride over for another year. Not a bad day's work.

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