Sorry it’s take a couple of weeks to write this up – I hope I can remember all the details (it could be a bit hazy now – it was definitely a bit hazy then!)
On Friday evening we loaded bikes in and on 2 vehicles so we could make an early start on Saturday morning. It’s always a good plan to give some thought to how best to fill tow-bar racks to maximum capacity as it always seems to be more challenging when it’s time to come home again!
We left Willingham for Somerset at 7.30am, five in Paul’s van and four in Robin’s car.
After a stop for refreshments near Warwick we arrived at Yew Tree Farm B&B in Theale at 12.15. We were fortunate as we were the only guests during the weekend so we were able to unload our bikes, check-in and then head off to Roger Wilkins’ Lands End Farm for some cider tasting and purchases of cider, conserves and cheese. We decided to head there in the van to start with so we wouldn’t be weighed down by our purchases!
We headed back to the B&B and changed into cycling gear and then went straight back (I think that should read UP! – Brown’s Lane was 13%) to Roger’s, for some more free cider and a BBQ. Suitably recharged we cycled on to the New Inn pub in Wedmore and finally to The George Hotel to try some of the local beer.
We headed back to the B&B around 7pm in time for a substantial three course meal and bed. There were three bedrooms and seven beds between us, so it was… err… snug and friendly 
We were unable to get breakfast earlier than 7.30am so we got up early and made sure that the vehicles were loaded, maps distributed and the first group of riders were ready. Breakfast took a while and only Ken chose the full English (the rest of us were wondering how he was going to carry it all and settled for porridge instead!).
The first wave of riders (David, Graham, Paul, Robin & Ross) set off at 8.30 and headed towards Wells. The first 25 miles were by far the toughest of all of the segments but the groups made good time to the first changeover at Hinton Charterhouse, completing 1,518 ft climbing in 1hr 51 mins. I was navigating in the way marking car for the first 50 miles and was happy to avoid a couple of the steepest climbs of the day. We also had a couple of minor adjustments to the vehicle route to contend with as the route headed along cycle-paths where it made sense (more of that later!)
The group, joined by Ken headed on, via another 25 miles and 924 ft of climbing to Dauntsey, where they changed over to the third group – Debbie, Kev and myself. We made really good time (well it was all on the flat by comparison to the first couple of stages ) as we headed into the Cotswolds, past RAF Fairford and on to Broughton Poggs. Ken re-joined the merry band and we headed on past RAF Brize Norton and Witney (where we had an unscheduled re-route due to some major road works). We skirted around Oxford and found a rather interesting bit of cycle path between Yarnton and Kidlington (see picture!). It wasn’t exactly what we had in mind for road bikes! The most challenging part of the ride however, was alongside of the A34. It actually forms part of NCR51 from Gosford to Wendlebury but it was atrocious. Most of it would have been a difficult to negotiate on foot let alone on a bike. This section cost us quite a bit of time and we finally arrived to handover to the Stage 5 cyclists at 5pm.
With just over 50 miles under my belt, I was driving the van with Ken navigating as we headed off to intercept the group when they arrived in Bletchley. The route they were following stayed pretty close to NCR51 and had a challenging ‘trail’ section for the last 1.5 miles between Horwood and the changeover.
David, Ken, Kev, Graham and I set off from Bletchley at 7pm heading for the final changeover point just beyond Bedford. This is an old stomping ground of mine so I was able to navigate the group through Bletchley and across Milton Keynes on the Redway before re-joining the road at Wavendon where we headed to Cranfield and Kempston before picking up a new(ish) cycle path at Bedford which follows the route of the old railway line to Cambridge.
It was nearly 9pm by the time we arrived at Willington. We still had 30 miles to run and we were starting to lose the light so with a heavy heart, we decided to call it a day and completed the route on 4 wheels.
Well, Willington is almost Willingham isn’t it?!
David, Graham, Ken, Kev, Nigel, Paul, Robin & Ross all completed around 75 and Debbie around 50 of the 156 miles we covered.
Thanks especially to Robin for his efficient scheduling and ride captaincy, Ken for the idea, the location, the drive to actually get us to do it, the large home-made pasties (one each!!), the cakes, the large water bottle… and to CycleStreets, Ride With GPS and Memory Map for all of the mapping tools!
Finally, thanks to everyone for a great weekend and fantastic company!
Here’s the final route:
and finally, a flyby: https://www.relive.cc/view/1647261637
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