A good selection of the club’s long-distance enthusiasts gathered in Yatton Keynell at 6.30am on Sunday to take part in the Round Wiltshire Ride. The route followed the Wiltshire Cycleway, a 160-mile loop along the county boundary, via Bradford-on-Avon, Rode, Mere, Salisbury, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Malmesbury, and a few more places in between.
The group divided after Stourhead, with the part-timers returning to Chippenham via the Wylye Valley to make it a 110-mile outing, while the full-timers continued towards Salisbury.
Delays in the cathedral city’s one-way system followed by an unsuccessful café stop (nice setting, slow service, lukewarm teacakes) meant some time was lost, so after the decent of Clyffe Pypard two more of the group headed straight for home with around 150 miles done by the time they’d finished.
This left a hardcore of just four Wheelers who completed the entire Wiltshire Cycleway route – Steve Wallis, Ben Lovegrove, Chris Davies and Sheni Jiwa – returning to the Bell Inn at Yatton Keynell between around 7 and 8pm to mark their achievement with reviving beverages.
Many thanks to everyone who took part. There seems to be a lot of interest in doing this ride again in 2016, maybe slightly earlier in the year, and definitely with a more efficient café stop for lunch.
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