Day 1 Keynsham to Frome

We were all very aware of what was about to hit us in respect of record temperatures so on arrival at “Claridge’s” ,  Keith and Jan’s  B&B – our parking location at  approx. 10.00 am in baking,  28 deg sun, we made  for the shade to load the bikes and apply our final layer of sun cream.

Ten of us set off for the trip, our group shot taken by one of the staff at the B&B shows nine of us, Graham, Brian, SueP, Peter, Vanessa, Rod, Keith, Janice and Mick ready for the off.  ‘Where’s Ray’ we all asked… in the bathroom to apply cream where the sun doesn’t shine.

Outside Claridge's B&B, KeynshamWith forecast temperatures of 36 degrees, 40% of the of the group decided to take an alternative route avoiding the centre of Bath while the 60% joined the tourists on Pulteney Bridge, really enjoying cycling through this beautiful city. Pulteney Bridge, Bath

The original planned coffee stop was closed but the Bath group spied a village shop which provided coffee, ice creams and replenished our water bottles, a very welcome pit-stop.  The Two Tunnels greenway offered a very welcome temporary respite from the heat, especially the second one which is approximately a mile long.  Bike lights were required as the tunnels themselves had minimal lighting – a fun experience!

 We had arranged to meet up again at the Riders Rest Tea room in Wellow, which contrary to web info was closed [also closed the last time we rode by this way], so made our way to the local pub, also closed!  , wondering if Somerset was closed on Mondays!. On arriving at Radstock we thought it must be large enough to have somewhere open, a local resident pointed us to the Co-Op which was opposite a “Subway “that was an ideal stop. The Bath group soon arrived and we lunched and cooled off in a relaxing environment.

By this time the temperature had climbed to 32 deg , though a thin veil of cloud made  our onward journey easier as there was not so much shade on this leg to Frome .

We did a few loops of Frome car park (the limit of our Frome centre exploration) as we were all keen to get to the hotel and shower and relax. This Premier Inn didn’t have air conditioning so some rooms were 30 deg all night. We had a few drinks and an enjoyable group meal at the attached Beefeater and as no one was keen enough to venture out again retired relatively early to consider the next day’s ride.

Distance logged - 31.5 miles with 360 mtrs of ascent – average temp 33.6° – Max temp 39.5

Day 2 Frome to Wells

I don’t think many of us got a good night’s sleep due to the heat and noise of the fans that had been supplied.

It was 29 deg in the shade as we set out. The climb / heat combination wasn’t as bad as we had anticipated as there was a good deal of tree shade.

We set off at 8am to try and avoid the hottest part of the day, which was forecast to be the hottest UK day ever?  and to get some of the big climbs under our belt before it got too hot.  We were quickly rewarded with a wonderful cycle route through the grounds of Longleat – we even saw a lion! (statue).Longleat

Our lunch stop was “ At the Chapel “ – A  Tardis like interesting old building on multiple levels built on a steep slope that we had to walk the bikes down to get to the car park . A very welcome stop with a nice covered terrace. It had an artisan bakery with a huge real log fire oven blazing away behind the counter and a selection of breads, cakes and delicious large sausage rolls.

Fortunately the car park was at a level that we could cross a  narrow  stone bridge to get back on the route , unfortunately not everyone  spotted the  stone bridge route , so a little time was spent   getting everyone  back on route .

It was getting hotter, measuring 34 deg , however  we were having reasonable shaded sections  and thinking that most of the climbing was behind us … Wrong !  they were coming thick and fast (?) .

We were having very regular water stops and while we were hot were all coping with the heat.

We were now in very rural Somerset and a bit like an Oasis, a farm building had an ice cream sign on a barn door. Not sure who was happier to see who as I think we were the only people the young farmer that was manning the shop had seen that day, who after serving us joined us outside to chat about cheese, tractors and their cheese chiller room that we could use to fill our water bottles, cool down and use the facilities.  “Batch Farm”( the  shop ) had a large selection of their  prize winning cheeses on display – far too big for our panniers , but as we learnt,  have a significant mail order business.

We paused at the top of another hill to look at the Glastonbury Tor. By this time Rod’s battery planning, that hadn’t included a lot of climbing near to the end of the route, became “watt-less “.  With a heavy bike to start with before the kitchen sink had been loaded – the battery had been struggling to cope the short steep hills.

Help to the rescue - Mick took his panniers, Graham his water and Peter the battery to relieve some weight.  Still a lot of hills to climb and the heat still beating down, one of the tarmac roads had melted and became sticky which was interesting to cycle on – ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ (and women) comes to mind! 

However, we arrived intact at Wells at 2.45 and checked into the Premier Inn that did have air con.  We regrouped for an exploration of Wells and the local Weatherspoon’s.   A beautiful town and after some cultural visits to the Cathedral to see the ‘Quarter Jack clock’ we met up for a meal and a few pints to finish cooling off.

 We split up to have a look around the very picturesque Wells cathedral, grounds and town.   Most of us returned to Wetherspoons to eat and apply physiotherapy.

Distance logged - 40 miles with 794 mtrs of ascent – average temp 31° – Max temp 36° (but that was from 8am to about 14:30)

Bishop's Palace, Wells

Day 3 Wells to Weston Super Mare

Mick had the first puncture of the ride - a slow overnighter that he found just before breakfast and was repaired with no delays but didn’t help his back.

It was overcast with a temp of starting at 19 and falling to 16 degrees- 18 less than Tuesdays peak. 

It was a 9.00am start with a loop around Wells through a busy market off towards Glastonbury - Sue was very tempted by the smell of bacon cooking .. but resisted and cycled on. 

We soon arrived at Glastonbury and carried on to our coffee stop.

But where was the Orchard Cafe?  Had the Vogons demolished it?

We thought that we would have to make do with a roadside counter at a pub, however  .. Peter went on and found a group of well-fed cyclists who pointed to an ideal stop a mile or so on that wasn’t marked on the cycle maps  

It was about half way, 20 miles around 11.00am, most had cake but the smell of bacon was too much for some ..really good egg and bacon butty, and  very reasonably priced. 

Onwards through the Somerset levels.  very much like East Anglia - dykes, fen lakes, pumping stations “rural aroma “, to Burnham on Sea to our next planned stop, the Bay cafe .. that was closed due to lack of staff ..however in plain view was a large Spoons hoarding ..so of course that worked very well  for lunch.

It was overcast and pretty gusty as we approached a turning to the beach path on our route. By unanimous decision we decided a long beach ride was not the best idea.

 A local resident suggested a quiet route which we took, though at a not very obvious turning point ended up going the wrong way on our original route until we met a steep sandy path heading out to sea. A quick backtrack and we were on course for Weston Super Mare. 

As we used a cliffside path, a very welcome stop at an out of town boatyard appeared with very friendly staff and good ice cream .. we savoured the moment.

We arrived around 4.00pm to a chaotic Premier Inn lift (non) system .. but all got settled ready for a meet up, walk along the front, where Peter spied some serious bikers and got well engaged.

They were about to set off on a 4000 km nonstop race across Europe, with minimal support and on very expensive looking bikes / equipment .. however, they were equally chatty and gave us some useful restaurant recommendations which worked well. 

A number of us regrouped at the local Spoons for puddings, drinks and some very philosophical discussions of the usefulness of pure research  .. great fun.

Another overnight puncture for Graham who changed the tube and off we went without being able to find the cause.

Distance logged – 41 miles with 222 mtrs of ascent – average temp 21° – Max temp 28°

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside

Day 4 Weston Super Mare to Keynsham

We set off at 9.00am, 20 deg , sunny , ideal cycling weather. Out to the Somerset Levels again and on through Clevedon to the Strawberry Rail Trail. At Yatton Station our coffee stop was just what you would expect from a well-run volunteer group running a café within a working station ..  though coffee cake isn’t coffee and a cake for £3. 25!

As we progressed to our first class lunch stop - The Black Horse at Clapton in Gordano .. Grahams sinking feeling returned, though with a few pumps made it to a very good pub just as it opened.

You can see the team effort to try to find / change the tube again.Fixing Graham's puncture

So onwards to the mouth of the Avon and the riverside path that went past the Horse-shoe curve, that sank a few boats, and under the Clifton suspension bridge to the city centre.Cycle path beside The Avon

From there we navigated the more artistic (graffiti adorned) areas through the suburbs back to rural cycle lanes heading to our final direct track (?) to our parking.

Given how dry it had been, to be presented with a Hippo mud bath to navigate was a bit of a surprise but as we soldered on, the track got steeper and resembled more of an Everest scree slope. We were all walking the loaded bikes over large boulders. The maps showed that we were tantalisingly close to our destination, Keith and Graham came to the rescue with more man power so we all were very relieved to reach the cars at approx. 4.00 pm.

Distance logged - 41.5 miles with 293 mtrs of ascent – average temp 23.5 – Max temp 30°

Some quick change of clothes, loading up, and back to Basingstoke for and uneventful return journey.

So, we survived the weather, had no significant problems and all seemed to have a good set of rides.

Everyone contributed to make it an enjoyable outing but particular thanks to Rod and Sue for planning and organising the tour

This ride must go down in memory as we were riding on the hottest UK day on record which had a sting in the tail ..  Note temperatures quoted in the text were taken from Rod’s bike display which doesn’t have the best accuracy record .. but seemed plausible on this occasion. The Day Headings were from Micks Garmin.