CV
Cycling
Recumbents
Unicycling
Juggling
Other Links
I posted this to uk.rec.cycling on 15/06/03:
Today was the day of Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride, which I've ridden the last 2 years and have been looking forward to this year. This year was special because it's the first time I've done it with my family.
We chose to do the shortest of the 4 rides available, the 9 mile "Family Fiesta". I knew it was about 10 miles to the start and 10 miles home again at the end, which would make it the longest ride Catherine had ever done, and quite far enough for me to tow Jenny's trailer. (At the end of the ride the computers showed that we'd ridden a total of about 26.5 miles).
A month ago we were a little worried that Catherine might not have done enough training (having ridden very little last year while looking after a young baby, or the year before while pregnant). But we rode 20 miles last weekend and 16 miles the weekend before with no problems, so weren't too worried about the prospect of nearly 30 miles today. We also took Lucy (10), Michelle (13) and Jess (14) from next door but one. A month ago none of us would have believed they could do the distance, but they had no problems at all. They've been out with us a few times before, so I'd already made their bikes roadworthy and didn't have to worry about mechanical failures or rubbing brakes. The only extra thing to do for this ride was to fit bottle cages that I had offered to lend them from some of my spare machines.
We had decided that we had to leave home by 09:30 to make the 11:00 start. We (rather impressively I thought) managed to get away at 09:35. While loading up the trailer I saw my next door neighbour head off on his PDQ and wondered if he was heading for the same event - I bumped into him later at the finish.
After a pleasant ride along the cyclepath, we got slightly lost in the centre of Bristol and reached the start at 10:55. After stopping for a wee, we left slightly late, but that was hardly a problem. As ever, the first mile or so of the ride was like the start of the London Marathon, far too congested to ride at any speed. My computer registered 1.9, the first time I've seen it record anything below 2mph. But once we got onto the section of road closed to motor traffic, I was able to get to a nice leisurely 16mph to ride up the Portway.
The Family Fiesta is a very simple route - up the Portway, then turn round and ride back down again. I only met one other recumbent rider, a chap riding a Dolphin. Which reminds me, he offered me a ride and I had planned to take him up on it later, but I never did. B*gg*r.
When I met Catherine at the top she told me that she'd seen a unicyclist. I hadn't, but on the way back down I saw a girl riding up the hill on a 20" wheel. No-one I recognised, although I did recognise her Dad as someone I used to play unicycle hockey with many years ago.
The end of the ride seemed badly planned. First, there were 3 possible ways to go at the bottom of the Portway and it was down to luck whether you saw a marshal to point the way (we lost Michelle and Jess at this point - they ended up back at the start). The correct way led cyclists past a sign saying "Cyclists must walk". At the end of the walking section was a footbridge across the river. A very narrow footbridge which had to be stepped up onto, stepped off at the end and had 4 bollards along the middle. The only way to negotiate it was to detach the trailer, take the bikes and baby across, then go back and carry the trailer. And there were a lot of trailers on that ride. I also saw a chap in a wheelchair with a hand-cranked front wheel attachment being carried across. A great end to a ride whose official charity was Motivation, a charity which assists disabled people with mobility.
Anyway, from there it was just a few hundred yards to the Brunel Way Picnic Park, where all the stalls had been set up and where we were due to meet a couple of friends who had been doing the 18 mile Failand Heights ride. Catherine, Lucy and I arrived about 12:15. We found a patch of shade and I stayed with the bikes and the munchkin while Catherine and Lucy went in search of Jess and Michelle (with a complete lack of success, because, as mentioned earlier, they'd managed to find their way back to the start of the ride). Eventually I managed to raise Jess on her mobile and tell her where we were - they joined us about an hour later, shortly before Richard and Jamie finished the Failand Heights ride.
(Note to anyone not used to taking kids out - despite my own child being too young to ask for a balloon, I still managed to end up riding home with 7 helium balloons tied to the trailer).
After 3 hours picnicking and visiting the stalls, we headed home. This was the bit we were most worried about, as the old railway bed is gently uphill most of the way and this was the time when people were likely to be tired. But, with short breaks every couple of miles and a longer break at Mangotsfield Station, there were no problems at all. Jenny had a good kip, Catherine is tired and most definitely does not want to go cycling next weekend, but enjoyed herself, and the girls are all impatiently awaiting next year's ride.
I set the video for today's local news broadcasts, the latest one mentioned that this had been the biggest ever BBBR with 6000 riders showing up.
Thanks to the organisers for another great ride, we'll see you again next year.
Danny
CV
Cycling
Recumbents
Unicycling
Juggling
Other Links
Note on browser compatibility - I hope that this site will be easily accessible in all browsers. If you experience any problems viewing this site, please let me know what the problem is, what browser you're using and, if possible, where I can obtain a copy for testing.