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This was the fifth year running that I rode in Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride. For Catherine it was only the second year (we did the Family Fiesta 2 years ago).
I originally expected to ride the 9 mile Family Fiesta this year, but when I suggested the 13 mile Avon Gorge Loop (and told Catherine that the total distance would be about 29 miles including riding to and from the event) I was surprised when she said OK. A few years ago she'd collapse after a 10 mile ride - this year I think she might even have been persuaded to ride the 24 mile Sustrans Celebration ride, if not for the fact that the kids would get bored on what would ultimately be a 40 mile ride.
The forecast was hot and overcast, with a chance of thundery showers. The weather actually turned out to be very hot and sunny. Catherine started with 2 bottles of water, the kids started with a bottle each, and I left home carrying nearly 6 litres of water. It seemed like overkill, but we used it all and then some.
We planned to leave at 09:00 and did remarkably well, riding away from home at about 09:20. Richard (best man at my wedding and rider of the support vehicle when I did the ride by unicycle) rode with us from home, still undecided whether to ride the Avon Gorge Loop or the longer Sustrans Celebration ride (official start time 09:30).
The 8 mile ride to the start took about an hour, not helped by road building contractors having closed part of the Bristol-Bath cyclepath while they build a bridge over the top. Apparently they only closed it on Friday, surely they could have waited until Monday? We arrived at the start at about 10:25 for the 10:30 ride, but we'd planned to start late anyway to avoid the crush. We left about 15 minutes after the official start time, rode a few hundred yards and came to a standstill. The first half mile was very slow going.
The ride took us up the Portway and over the M5 bridge to Pill. At the
Pill end of the bridge we stopped for a snack and to top up suncream. I
was asked by a Sustrans photographer to pose for photos, after he had
photographed the kids in the trailer. This was where the Avon Gorge and
Sustrans rides diverged, and Richard decided to do the longer ride.
Along the next path, I was alarmed to see a small child ahead of me with
a very loose fitting helmet that kept flopping to one side of his head.
Each time this happened he would flick his head to try and get the
helmet back on top, wobbling dangerously as he did so. I pointed out to
his mother that the helmet was likely to cause a crash if he carried on
wearing it. To her credit, she agreed and stopped to remove it. I saw
them several times later on, he completed the ride bareheaded.
At the other end of Pill we encountered the first of several barriers that I had to dismount for. Fortunately the bike and trailer fitted underneath, with the flags removed from the trailer.
Not too long after that was another set of barriers that, with a little
pushing and shoving, I was able to manoeuvre the bike and trailer
through. A few yards further on was yet another set of barriers
that I didn't have a hope of getting through. I wouldn't even have
managed to get the bike and trailer through separately. It turned out
that there was an alternative route avoiding the barriers, but there
were no signs or marshals to direct cyclists down there and by this
point there was no way I could turn around. I unhitched and
lifted the bike over, as I was standing the bike up on the other side a
couple of other cyclists kindly lifted the trailer over (kids and all).
Before riding on I paused to take a few photos, including some of
someone else wondering how to proceed with his trailer.
Soon afterwards we reached the singletrack down the West side of the
river (the Ashton-Pill path). I did this ride by unicycle in 2002 and I
seem to remember swearing not to do the same ride again - singletrack is
hard work when there are hundreds of cyclists all riding it at the same
time, especially when people who have already finished the ride decide
to ride back home along the same path!
On this occasion, the path was blocked by a woman whose chain had unshipped. She had stopped at the narrowest point (20 yards further on she could have stopped just off the path to deal with it), and was holding it across the track trying to fix it. The result was hundreds of cyclists queued up in single file, in the midday midsummer sunshine (there was no shade) wondering what was going on.
The shade of Leigh Woods came as a great relief. The muddy hills didn't. At one point I lost traction completely (the trailer didn't help) and had to push for perhaps 50 yards.
The first person we saw upon arrival at Brunel Way Picnic Park was
Jamie, who I rode the Clevedon Challenge with last year and the Avon
Gorge Loop by unicycle in 2002. He had just finished the Sustrans ride.
We joined him in the shade of a tree, where we stayed for the next 4
hours.
A few minutes later we were joined by Mike (one of my university
housemates) and Elizabeth (his wife), who had just finished the Avon
Gorge Loop. They had started quite a while after us, having been
delayed catching the train from Bath to Bristol (something to do with a
cricket match in Bristol on the same day).
Richard eventually arrived, collapsed, and told us he'd run out of water
in Pill. His water must have lasted about 27 miles, then he'd ridden
the last 5 without. Mike and Elizabeth donated a spare 1.5 litre bottle of water.
Over the next couple of hours we had a look round the stalls, Jenny had
her face painted and I acquired a free bottle of water. By the time I
left with Richard and my family, the stalls had been packed away and
there was hardly anybody around. We were quite concerned about
Richard's ability to ride home, and in fact we only got as far as Temple
Quay before he had to stop. We had shade and, because Temple Quay is
something of a wind tunnel, a delicious cooling breeze. We found
Richard a cereal bar, I made up a bottle of SIS Go for him, and after
probably the best part of an hour he was back to his usual self.
We all topped up our bottles at the Lawrence Hill water fountain - we
would probably have had enough water to get home without it, but I
thought it best not to take the chance. We finally arrived home with my
computer reading 31.63 miles, Catherine's longest ride to date.
Richard's computer read 40 something, his longest ride to date. When he
left us, Richard decided to walk the last few hundred yards to his house.
Danny
CV
Cycling
Recumbents
Unicycling
Juggling
Other Links
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