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Sociable leisure rides for enthusiastic cyclists

Ride Reports

20SundayOCTOBER

Castle Combe Sightseer

 75 km  753 m  03:42  x12  x10
Ride Category
An excellent turn out with guest Simon Turner making us up to a round dozen.

We set off in cloudy but dry conditions and it stayed pretty much like that all morning. The route was well received and had plenty to entertain, passing through some of the most picturesque countryside, villages and towns and incorporating two towpath sections and two long and (dimly) lit tunnels. As if that were not enough, we also saw a flock of rhea/emu, a herd of pigmy goats, a llama farm, crossed a couple of canal aqueducts and passed several national trust properties.

A phantom puncture provided a good excuse to stop for a coffee and cake in central Bath, which was buzzing with tourists but traffic free on our route. A few minutes after resuming the ride the puncture reappeared but was swiftly dealt with. Meanwhile Nick's new bike drew the attention of the local police and was added to the national register. Hunger pangs and the smell of burgers drew us in to The Crossed Guns pub by the Avoncliff aqueduct where the food was excellent. We sat outside and enjoyed scoff ranging from dirty chips to Sunday roast beef dinner. Luckily it was flat for the first couple of miles after that and the sun was out to warm us up for the final bumpy section back to Castle Combe via Lacock National Trust village.