2017 Cycling

Annual Tourclick for this month's league table

Grand Atlantic, Weston Super Mare

Fifteen Embers made their way to Weston Super Mare as base camp for this year's Embers' Tour. Once everyone was present we scouted the area for a quick lunch before our first bicycle ride.

Thirteen riders made a brief sortie in a southern loop on Route 33, returning via the sprawling WSM suburbs.

True to form we managed to get lost, or at least, made a few excursions in the wrong direction. A good start to the holiday.

Five The Beach, Clevedon

Keen for our first full day excursion, the Embers line up for a group photo.

Left to right: Dave Parry, Ben Crossley, Bob Nash, John Ashworth, Ian Bower, Richard Clark, Peter Wright, Grahame Billington, Helen & Mick Ayriss, Jan & John Muschialli, Maura & Simon Over.
Roll your mousewheel to cure your huccups.

We set off northeast to follow Route 33, hoping the bridge over the Yeo would be open.

Regrettably the bridge is still under construction so we had to follow the very busy A370 for a few miles before turning towards Clevedon. We reached the front in sunshine and sat outside Five The Beach cafe for lunch. At that point it poured down with rain but by the time we left it was sunny again.

On route back we avoided riding down the busy main road as much as possible but that involved two difficulties: Crossing the A370 twice and a very rough and muddy trail.

Cheddar Gorge

Grahame, John, Richard and Simon defied the doubtful weather and set off for Cheddar Gorge, returning victorious after 41 miles.

They paused only briefly for a break at Shipham. Did they have salmon paste sandwiches?

Meanwhile the wimp contingent travelled by bus pass to Bristol for the day.

They took the river taxi to the SS Great Britain, visited The Shed and Discovery museums, and, naturally, tried the local food and drink.

Beachcomber, Brean

With a hearty breakfast inside us, ten Embers carried out some essential maintenance before rejoining a now familiar cycle route 33 south towards Burnham on Sea.

We reached the Beachcomber at Brean for lunch outside in brilliant sunshine. Then we continued further south to make the most of the day.

At Burnham on Sea we took on more coffee and cake. Then we returned along quiet roads and tracks.

That concluded our 2017 Embers Tour which everyone considered a great success. We are now looking forward to a good year of cycle rides and another tour next year.

Now it's time to move on to April.