A good turnout on what was a rather nippy morning - with 2/3 of the bikes being shiny titanium (welcome to the club, Dave!).

We got to Sweets cafe in good time (hardly any queue) but food took an age to arrive, with a few no-shows too... and a door that no cyclists could manage to close, so John got the draught perpetually. When we left, the place was heaving with riders and bikes.

Some rain briefly drizzled on us as we started the Cheddar ascent, but it came as quickly as it went, and we cracked on upwards. Fortunately, the weather kept the crowds at bay too, and it was quite a serene climb.

Tea and cake was taken at Chew Lake before we tackled the last few short, sharp climbs. The predicted puncture of Dave's new tyres didn't happen, but John managed to get one instead. The last few km into Shepton Mallet are all delightfully downhill - a fitting end to a ride that had rather a lot of uphill!