Annemarie & Nigel’sWedding

Edited independently in our three areas and published quarterly.Please contact your section or the access the club website for information on any events

DA SECRETARYPeter Loakes, Church Cottage, West Stafford, DT2 8AB (01305) 263272BOURNEMOUTH & DISTRICT SECTIONDavid Chesworth, 52 Newstead Road, Bournemouth BH6 3HL (01202) 432852SALISBURY SECTIONAlan Clarke, “Hill House”, Kelsey Road, Salisbury SP1 1JR (01722) 322188WEST DORSET SECTIONMike Durham, 74 Westhill, Wyke Regis, Weymouth DT4 9NE (01305) 770140

Main Calendar Dates For 2007

THE WESSEX NEWSLETTER

Sunday 24th Mar Cycle Jumble, Weymouth Ken Reed 01305 772654Sunday 25th Mar 50 in 4 Shawn Shaw 01202 685014

Sunday 1st Apr Dorset Coastlet 100km Peter Loakes 01305 263272Sunday 1st Apr Dorset Coast 200km (PBP) Peter Loakes 01305 263272

Sunday 15th Apr Devon and Dorset Downs 300km (PBP) Peter Loakes 01305 263272

Sunday 22nd Apr 100 in 8 Shawn Shaw 01202 685014

Saturday 28th Apr Cycle Jumble Sale Jim Hatton 01202 280889

Sunday 29th Apr New Forest 50/Day Out 100km John Ward 01590 671855Sunday 29th Apr New Forest Excursion 200km John Ward 01590 671855Sunday 29th Apr New Forest 300km (PBP) John Ward 01590 671855

W/E 8th -9th Sep St Lo Concentration in Normandy Norman Payne 01202 695179

Sunday 9th Sep New Forest 50 and Coast 100km John Ward 01590 671855Sunday 9th Sep New Forest On & Off Shore 200km John Ward 01590 671855

Sunday 16th Sep Dorset Dirt 50km offroad Ken Reed 01305 772654

Sunday 23rd Sep Dorset Delight 200km Peter Loakes 01305 263272

Sunday 7th Oct Gridiron 100km Terry Walsh 01202 247888

ALL WESSEX ACTIVITIES CAN BE FOUND ON:

www.wessexctc.org

1 Cycle Ink #144

New cycling strip specifically for the Bournemouth Section is beingdesigned and it assumes a real possibility of coming to fruition. RalphHuckle is handling the negotiations and reporting to the committee. Hegives you an advance announcement on page five. The main points aredecided. Blue and yellow with the symbol of the Wyvern (a symbol forWessex) on back, large and central,and on the front, it is a small badge.Here is the second draft of the backview, but details are not finalised.Watch this space as they say.

The section intends to raise ourprofile a bit and the committeeagreed recently to produce a simple“flyer” promoting the sectionwhich will be distributed to all thelocal cycle shops. With a similaraim, the website has undergone amajor re-design too and I hope thatit looks fresher and has a more professional appearance. The galleryfeature now allows for an on-screen slide show and any frames can bedownloaded at full resolution. You might like to be able to do this if youare in any of them! The season of major events is almost on us now andwe aim to post photographs wherever possible.

We wish you a happy new season ahead. Keith Matthews - Editor

Spring 2007

Cycle Ink #144 2

If it is of interest to your members we have copies of the SWregion National Byway map to give away. It takes in Winches-ter , Salisbury , Shaftesbury, a waymarked route of some 154miles. Anyone passing can call in and ask for one, for thosenot in our area send an SAE and we’ll send them out.

Cycle Centre ManagerSandy Balls Estate Ltd

3 Cycle Ink #144

What’s On ?

Informal Wayfarers Rides to BurleyThis ride happens every Saturday and is completely informal. There is no leaderand no back up, but generally an experienced cyclist somewhere around. Theroute is designed for beginners but joined in by all abilities.

Start 08:45 at Pioneer Supermarket, Christchurch every Saturday

Or just make your own way to the NewForest Tea Rooms, Burley for 10:00

Blackmore Vale Section RidesCycle Rides arranged by Richard & Margaret Nicholl. All rides meet at theCafe at 10:00am for coffee, departing at 10:30am. Please note that some

rides are on a Saturday and some on a Sunday. Details (01963) 32840

Sat 10th MAR MEET: EAST STOUR, Udder Farm Shop LUNCH: Child Okeford, Post Office Tea RoomsSun 25th MAR MEET: STOURHEAD, National Trust Cafe LUNCH: Crockerton, Furniture StoreSat 7th APR MEET: MILBORNE PORT, Wheathill Lane Garden Centre LUNCH: Yetminster, Crafty Times Art GallerySun 22nd APR MEET: SHALFORD, Crestmoor Garden nr Wincanton Racecourse LUNCH: Cranmore, Steam RailwaySat 5th MAY MEET: STOURHEAD, National Trust Cafe LUNCH: Brokerswood, Woodland ParkSun 20th MAY MEET: SHERBORNE, Castle Garden Centre LUNCH: RampishamSat 2nd JUN MEET: STURMINSTER NEWTON, Poets Corner Cafe LUNCH: Bere RegisSun 17th JUN MEET: SHAFTESBURY, John Peel Cafe LUNCH: KnowltonSat 30th JUN MEET: CROCKERTON, Furniture Store LUNCH: Salisbury Plain

Cycle Ink #144 4

Mike WalskCHRISTCHURCH BICYCLE CLUBI am a lapsed member of the above having joined to ensure sufficient numbers when itwas reformed. I also bought the kit. I gave this kit to friends whom I first met on theTransAmerica ride. Subsequent to the ride across America I and my eldest son havestayed with them in their home just below Perth, Western Australia and they have stayedwith me and another TransAmerica rider in Leicester. On their way home to Australiathey stopped in Las Vegas and the hotel was hosting a MASSIVE bike expo. This expowas only open to the trade.

In his words:-Trish (his wife) suggested that I be cheeky and just walk in, Trade had to pay $25 but Iassume they had to demonstrate they where trade. So, dressed in a Christchurch Clubshirt and an Occupational Safety Conference badge pinned to my breast (remarkablysimilar to the bike Expo badge) I walked in as bold as brass and no one asked me foranything. So much for the security concerns of public gatherings in the USA. I waslike a kid in a candy shop, no idea what to look at first, I wandered around I can'tdescribe the amount and variety of stuff there, trust me my eyes where feasting on thisgathering from all corners of the globe free samples and information tucked under myarms, I noticed a bunch of guys standing in a line, I joined the line I thought there mustbe something worth while at the end of the short wait!! Eddy Merckxs was signingposters of himself circa 1970. A smile, pleased to meet you, and a hand shake laterand my grin is from ear to ear. The signed poster is now framed and hanging on thewall in our house -all due to your shirt, could not have got in there without it. Guess Ishould have dashed upstairs grabbed me camera and had a photo with Eddy and me inyour club shirt but maybe that would of been pushing my luck

I have just received this photo with Trish modelling one of the tops withher new bike; incidentally their dog’s name is Barney.

5 Cycle Ink #144

Talking of Christchurch Bicycle Club Clothing, we are planning our own forthe Bournemouth Section!

Customised Clothing forBournemouth Section of Wessex C.T.C.

We are currently negotiating on customised clothing for theSection. Details of the kit and the placing of orders will beposted on www.wessexctc.org and also distributed to active

riders shortly * The design will incorporate the Wyvern.

* To define “shortly”, I have yet to receive the revised design fromthecompany, however, I did manage to speak to them last night and they havepromised it for this week. Then I have to get it finally approved by thecommittee members which will take further time. I am also mindful of thefact that the Potterers including me will be leaving for Majorca on 17thMarch for two weeks. Perhaps it would be better to say that details will beposted in April!

Coming Soon . . . Ralph Huckle

Ralph Huckle

CHRISTCHURCH BICYCLE CLUBTalking of the Christchurch Bicycle Club again, some members mayhave noticed that their website is temporarily down. While this is beingsorted out, we are hosting their runs list on our pages at:

www.bournemouthctc.org/cbc1.htm

Repeating our new venture of dealing long articles, we present this touroffering by Penny & Damian Buckley only on the website. Liberallyillustrated with colour photographs it is well worth a read.

CYCLING IN THE ARDECHE & CEVENNES

Cycle Ink #144 6

This photograph was taken last summer in Canada with some newBournemouth Jubilee fans.

I was on CycleCanada’s Tour du Canada and I will try andprovide a few notes on the ride for the next Newsletter.

TOUR DU CANADA Mike Walsk

JUNE CURRY - The Cookie Lady Mike Walsk

Every cyclist who has ridden the Transamerica Trail knows about June Curry, aka TheCookie Lady. From her home in tiny Afton near the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway,she has been feeding and providing lodging to cross-country cyclists since 1976.

The Cookie Lady's hospitality is the cyclist's reward for completing what some describeas the worst climb on the entire transcontinental route. The road up to Afton cuts backon itself in a series of wicked hairpins, one of them so tight that a sign warns cars to slowto 5 mph. At each, a cyclist has to choose between following the road's full curve forthirty or forty gruelling feet, or cutting across the two lanes to ride straight up the hilland substitute seven or eight feet of even more impossibly pitched climb. It's not a

7 Cycle Ink #144

particularly long ride up but it'schallenging -- when I arrived in Afton, Ineeded a cookie! (The experience ofeastbounders is very different. For them,the Cookie Lady marks the end of theirclimbing, and indeed presages the end oftheir entire journey. Eastbounders coastdown to June's house from the BlueRidge Parkway, then down that nasty hillto the Virginia coastal plain, where theyhave three or four more days of rollingriding before arriving at Yorktown.)

The Cookie Lady lives in a modest, charming brick house on Afton's main (only) road.Two doors down she keeps another house, a remarkable building which she calls the"Bike Museum". There, the kitchen is fully stocked with food, drink, basic first aidmateriel and other provisions for hungry, thirsty or tired cyclists. Four large rooms arefilled with books, photos, journals, scrapbooks, maps, and memorabilia left or sent backby the thousands of cyclists who have enjoyed June's generosity. The walls are literallycovered with postcards. Each room has at least one couch (with a supply of blankets andpillows near at hand), and cyclists are welcome to spend the night.

She welcomes all warmly, opens the Bike Museum and tells one make oneself at home.The cupboards are full of such items as soup, ramen noodles, peanut butter sandwiches,cold cuts, sodas, and of course cookies. It is so interesting perusing the stacks of readingmaterial, admiring the extensive collection of objets de bike on display, and laterchatting with June about people she'd met over the years.

The above is an extract from a fellow TransAm rider.

This is Shirley from Leicesterwho rode the TransAm withme in 2003 in one of the roomswhere we stayed the night.Only down side was theshowers, a three sidedcorrugated iron space fed bywater straight of the mountain.It did not take long.

Cycle Ink #144 8

MY BICYCLE

9 Cycle Ink #144

D.A.T.C.The DATC stands for the “District Associations Tourist Competition”.

The results for 2006 were issued in January this year. The Wessex DAcame 31st with 279 points which were gained for us from the efforts ofMike Pain, Stephen Gould, Margaret Phillpots, Julia Baker-Beall and JeffHorseman.

These riders come from the full width of the DA catchment area,Stalbridge, Milton Abbas, Bournemouth, Redlynch and Wimborne. Anyrider completing an eligible event gains points for their DA automaticallyand you do not have to register.

There is also The Mille Miglia Challenge within the DATC. Full detailsof these competitions can be found on:

www.ctc-competitions.org.uk

John & Sheila Ward wait forthe riders at the finish of theNew Forest 1000km last year

Cycle Ink #144 10

The British Pedal Car Grand Prix first took place in Ringwood in 1987, and has steadilygrown in popularity since. The race now attracts thousands of spectators, and has evenbeen filmed by both BBC Television and Satellite TV!

The British Pedal CarGrand Prix is heldbiennially as the finaleto Ringwood FestivalWeek, and there arepedal car activities onboth the Saturday andSunday. The judging ofthe Concours D'Elegance is always heldon the Saturday so thatmembers of the publiccan come along and geta sneak preview of thecompeting cars.

BRITISH PEDAL CAR GRAND PRIX Cliff Poulton

11 Cycle Ink #144

The race itself runs on the Sunday and is a two hour endurance race around the closedoff streets of Ringwood town centre. The pedal cars assemble in the Furlong Centre from10.00am, and are displayed there for the morning, prior to the parade laps from 1.30,with the race starting at 2.00pm. Spectators are able to walk around the whole course towatch the race from various different vantage points.

The whole emphasis of theevent is to have FUN! The pedalcars vary greatly in design withsome very light andaerodynamic competitive cars,whilst others are built to amusethe crowds. Each car has a teamof up to four pedallers who canchange over as many times asthey like, which makes pit laneviewing very interesting for thespectators!

As well as local competitors, therace also attracts entrants fromacross the country. In 2004teams travelled from Bristol,Rugby and Chippenham to takepart. Some are members of theBritish Federation of Pedal CarRacing, and hope to come andgive our local teams somethingto think about!

The event also raisessponsorship money that is thendonated to various charitiesnominated by RingwoodFestival Committee. The emphasis being to ensure that two or three local charities arebeneficiaries of the money raised, and usually a cross section of charities are chosen sothat the money benefits both the young and not so young alike.

For 2007, there is a pedal car race in New Milton – the New Milton Pedal Car GrandPrix was first held in 2005, and aims to provide another local pedal car race to run onalternate years to the British Pedal Car Grand prix in Ringwood. More detailsabout pedal car racing can be found by looking at the Pedal Car Page on theRoyce UK Ltd web site - www.royce-uk.co.uk or by contacting Cliff Poltonon 01425 620062.

Cycle Ink #144 12

My AccidentI've always been fortunate on mybike, however on Tuesdaymorning the 30th Jan the bike andI departed company. I wascarrying the works laptop in mypannier which was placed on theleft hand side of the pannier rackand hence the bag was a little bitheavier than usual. So, just as Iwas heading down to the bottomof our estate, for the left handcorner that I take every morning,the day took a most unexpectedturn. Well not so much as a turnas a thumping great crash to theground - I now suspect that therewas diesel on the road. Would nothave been so bad if I had justskittered along the road but whenI went down, the front of my leftknee took the full impact of theblow. Just like being winded I justcould not move for the shocking pain in my leg. A kind man driving past stopped tocheck I was okay and was keen to phone for an ambulance as I lay there trying to workout how bad the injury was. All seemed to be in place so he was able to pull me to myfeet and assured that I was relatively okay he went on his way – people really are kind.

Trying to walk with the bike was too painful so it was time to practice for the"Olympics" 2012 one legged cycle race" as this was the most convenient way to gethome. Gill was still in the kitchen as I came hopping through the door with this painful,guilty/embarrassed, feeling sorry for myself look on my face. Whilst I took to the sofaGill went off to retrieve some ice from the freezer and wrapped it round my knee andthen set about finding some pain killers. As the computer was needed for presentationsthat morning I had to contact work and have them make alternative arrangements - thecomputer was fine and came in handy to get some work done later in the day.

The following morning the knee was still swollen and painful so I packed myself off toA&E. Impressive service indeed! Arrival 10:10h and out by 11.30h – and it looked busy.The x-ray (all digitalised and accessible from a range of computers on site) had shownthat the knee and all associated bones were still in tact – I nearly jumped (well more likehopped really) for joy. The nurse and consultant prodded and probed and decided that

FROM THE PRESIDENT Jimmy Walker

13 Cycle Ink #144

as I could lift the leg (only by an inch) that all tendons were still attached. Although notruling out internal surface damage they were satisfied that with painkillers, crutches andphysiotherapy that I should make a recovery.

Now nearly five weeks on I am back on the bike and the knee is recovering well, thoughno Sunday rides yet.

Connect2For those of you who have kept an eye on the Sustrans "Connect2" campaign

http://www.sustransconnect2.org.ukyou may have noticed that the Wessex DA have has had two projects selected forinclusion in the last round. This is great so make sure that you get on the web site to showyour support for both the Weymouth to Portland Olympic connection

http://www.sustransconnect2.org.uk/projects/search_results.phpand connecting Salisbury, Alderbury and Wilton (C-SAW) route

http://www.sustransconnect2.org.uk/projects/project_detail.php?id=89

DA Bits and PiecesIt now seems that approximately 50 Wessex cyclists are going over to the Saint LoConcentration on Sept 8th / 9th. Many thanks to Norman Payne for being the contact forthe DA. I am sure it will be another cycling extravaganza and one not to miss.The DA committee have organised two intersection meets in the summer with the firstbeing on June 24th at Gold Hill Shaftesbury and the other on Aug 12th at Semley. I lookforward to meeting up with many of you over the year. Our best wishes go toChristopher Chaplin who is now back home - we all hope that you are comfortable andresting.

The best of cycling to you all

Jimmy

Cycle Ink #144 14

Annemarie Manley and Nigel Winter announced their wedding recentlyand we were alldelighted forthem both. Therewas a flurry ofdiscussion aroundthe DA and theBournemouthSection as we de-cided how tomark the occa-sion.

Annemarie hasworked so hardfor both DA andsection that we felt something special was warranted. Members of thecommittee assembled one Saturday afternoon in February over tea and

cakes to sur-prise the happycouple andpresent themwith a framedoriginal Patter-son sketch.

The scene de-picts Ebringtonin Gloucester-shire.

Annemarie & Nigel’s Wedding Keith Matthews

15 Cycle Ink #144

ADVERTISEMENT

Cycle Ink #144 16

Editor:

The committee meeting date is the deadline for Newsletter contributions. Editorialpolicy is to print all contributions, with minimal editing for the purposes of layoutonly. Contribute by email, disk, CD-ROM, typed or handwritten. Photographs arenow welcome in any form. We can scan them and they will be returned safely.

http://www.wessexctc.org

“CycleInk” is the Newsletter of the Bournemouth & District Section, Wessex District Association of theCyclists’ Touring Club. Published four times a year for members. Views expressed are not necessarily

those of the club.

CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JXhttp://www.ctc.org.uk

Contributions and Photographs

Dates of next Meetings

CYCLING IN THE

ARDECHE & CEVENNES

JOURNAL OF

ANOTHER GREAT ADVENTURE

Penny & Damian Buckley May 2006

Day 1 Thursday, 4 May Bournemouth Oréans via Calais Here we are again on the threshold of Great Adventure II. In fact, today is a bit of a ‘faux commencement’ since, to the casual observer it is starting as any other of our French holidays have done for the past 15-20 years. We load the bikes in the car, set off for a Channel port and spend the first night in a Campanile. On this occasion, we are in Orléans. Being here immediately brings back happy memories of our Loire trip. I would love to visit the Pont de l’Europe, the wonderfully graceful bridge built to mark the millennium. I miss the frisson of excitement of travelling by plane with boxed bikes but I am confident there will be frisson a-plenty once we are on our way. This trip will take us 100m higher than our highest point last year at Gerbier de Jonc and we can look forward to several serious LSAs*. For now it is great to back in France. * Lung-Searing Ascents

Day 2 Friday, 5 May Orléans Céret It is great to wake in France. We chat to another Englishman at breakfast who is cycling the Pyrenees and then cycling round Spain. We marvel at his plans, which make ours seem rather modest. I am scheduled to drive the first stage but the engine makes that dispiritingly dead sound when I try to start the car. We just can’t believe that we shall have to call Green Flag for the third year running - there is all a terrible sense of déjà vu about it. Fortunately, with the help of some jump leads we can get started. Even more fortunately the Peugeot dealer is not far and we can get a new battery. Thus, two hours later than scheduled, we set off. We pass through some rain but by Clermont Ferrand the sun is shining, temperature’s rising and my spirits. I am a fine weather cyclist, which probably marks me out as a softie; my spirits soar and plummet with the temperature. Our route takes us over the new Millau viaduct, one of Norman Foster’s recent ‘oeuvres’ - it is quite stunning, magnificent, breathtaking and many other superlatives. I would like to stop, and feel sure there must be a viewing platform because stopping on the bridge is forbidden, but it escapes us. The French have missed a trick here; perhaps it is in the pipeline. Soon we are into the vineyards of Côtes de Roussillon. Beautifully tended, all the vines seem small, as though only two or three year old plants. I wonder if some twenty-first century phylloxera has wiped out the entire crop necessitating wholesale replanting. Then we realise that, this year, we are in France very early and this is just the normal amount of top growth for the time of year. The weather is warm and sunny and we are pleased to note all the signs of warmer climes: umbrella pines, cypresses, flatter, pantiled roofs, prickly pear cactus etc. We turn into the Glydon’s house 930 miles after leaving Bournemouth. Mas de Soula has views to die for - Monts des Albères and the Canigou. We enjoy a happy evening trying not to make it too bibulous - tomorrow we set off.

Day 3 Saturday, 6 May Céret Avignon 40 kms A wonderful day, we are dressed for action. I take a picture of the Canigou, noting is still has snow on it! After photos with Fanny and Chris we are off for Perpignan station. This is the start; a 20 mile ride along a route nationale. It is uncomfortable with cars and lorries whizzing past. We are grateful for a broadish cycle track, a bit lumpy and bumpy but it does serve to separate us from the traffic. Damian gets a bee in his bonnet or rather a hover fly in his helmet and I wonder if my paramedic skills are going to be called for this early in the trip, happily they are not.

As we struggle to get bikes down the steps at Avignon station, we are helped by kind people who are interested in what we are doing. They have been on a pilgrimage to St Gilles, which, they assure us, ranks alongside Rome, Jerusalem and Compostela. They are slightly amazed that we are cycling to Mont Aigoual; this in turn slightly worries us but we put it to the back of our mind. The journey to Avignon is three hours and I see my first flamingoes on the inland ponds and also some of the white horses of the Camargue. We find our hotel and hurry to get out into the city. We cannot leave without seeing The Bridge and there will be no time tomorrow. I find the bridge a bit of a disappointment. It is, in fact, only half a bridge -

going only to the middle of the river. Perhaps the chapel of St Benezet in the middle is worth the detour but we don’t give it a chance to prove itself. The sky has also become overcast so the photo ops are much reduced.

The Bridge at Avignon

Leaving the Glydon’s

house

Damian and Molière

Day 4 Sunday, 7 May Avignon St Martin d’Ardèche 80 kms We wake to better than expected weather and spirits rise. Portion control is the name of the game at breakfast and we decide Hotel d’Angleterre fulfills all the basic requirements of a hotel and no more. We set off for St Martin d’Ardèche feeling great. Our routine is to buy lunch provisions early on and we arrive at Pujaut The village is en fête and M le Boulanger is setting out his bread stall. Amongst his wares is the longest baguette in the world, 2m at least. We chat and he invites us to see the oven in which he baked the loaf. Mindful that this will take time and we have 75 kms to conquer today, it seems churlish to refuse and we follow him. The oven is hugely deep but not tall and he tells us it is 80 years old. We chat, thank him and wish Pujaut a bonne fête. We are reminded again that episodes such as this are what make these expeditions such fun. Our route takes us through the vinyards of the Côtes du Rhone and Tavel Rosé - acre on acre of immaculately tended vines. It seems amazing that anything grows in the soil; it looks dull and lifeless and gives a new definition to stony. The only other crop we see is asparagus and the gang of workers doing the back-breaking work of picking it.

By afternoon we’re feeling the effects of the climbs. The book describes today as ‘easy’ and in comparison to that which is to come: that may be so but we regret that we have not done more training. I even begin to wonder if we shall be abandoning this expedition. We arrive in St Martin d’Ardèche, a delightful town; apparently totally reliant on tourism with many places to hire canoes/kayaks. This reminds us of happy holidays canoeing down the Dordogne and the Dronne but there will be no time for canoeing this time. We change quickly and go for supper. Damian chooses fried Camembert cheese with a strawberry coulis on bed of rocket for a starter! I am amazed since he is nothing if not conventional in his food choices. When in France, however, his palate metamorphoses into something altogether more avant--garde. The whole meal is delicious.

M le Boulanger and his baguette

at Pujaut

Day 5 Monday, 8 May St Martin d’Ardèche Les Vans 73.5 kms We wake to hissing rain but cannot afford the luxury of waiting to see if it improves as we have a long ride today through the Gorges de l’Ardèche; it will be an LSA of that there is no doubt. Happily, by the time we are on the road it has stopped raining but is dull and overcast; photo ops will be very limited, a real shame since the scenery, we know, is dramatic. We travelled the road years ago on our way to our holiday in the South of France. When I wasn’t terrified by the sheer drops I was overcome by the size and staggering ruggedness of the scenery - this is Big Country. On the plus side, there is no wind against which to battle and not many tourists too busy looking at the view to notice toiling cyclists. We then realise it’s a public holiday and all self-respecting Frenchmen are safely tucked up at home with plenty of coffee and Le Figaro. The road is 36kms of unremitting climb and hairpin bends. We stop to take pictures at the first viewpoint but press on quickly uncertain how long the rain will hold off. Having left St Martin d’Ardèche at 9.40 am we arrive at Pont d’Arc, the MOST amazing natural bridge over the river, at about midday. However, having got to this point we then have to come down and I note the descent is 12%: this is seriously steep and would defeat us utterly if we were coming up, as it is it merely terrifies me going down. We’re into Vallon Pont d’Arc for lunch and sit on the central square steps for our picnic lunch. This immediately marks us out as foreigners, no Frenchman, even for a picnic, would eat so informally. It starts to rain heavily again, so we run for the nearest café. The coffee is excellent but we dare not get too comfortable; we have 30 kms to Les Vans. There is nothing for it but to don many layers of waterproof clothing in a sort of reverse strip tease finishing up with our ‘moonboots’: we get the distinct feeling we are providing the cabaret for M le Patron and his guests. The route now becomes easier and at Les Vans we fall into Hotel Le Carmel, tired and bedraggled. The owner is English and recognises that the tired cyclist needs a bath more than a shower and upgrades us. As the name implies it was formerly a Carmelite convent and I try to imagine the nuns, who only left in 1972, living here. They would not

recognise our bathroom, which is very 21st century, a far cry form the bowl and ewer they probably had to use. We have a delicious supper - crême brulée to die for - in the converted cloister. Tomorrow will be the real test of stamina; a climb of 650m in 15 kms!

Pont d’Arc

Hotel le Carmel, Les Vans

Day 6 Tues, 9 Mayr Les Vans Villefort 27 kms Hotel le Carmel has achieved full marks in all respects. We enjoy a wonderful buffet breakfast with the best marmalade we’ve ever tasted in France; light years from the runny orange jam which the French try to pass off as marmalade. Happily, the weather has improved enormously and we are away with a clear blue sky, bound for Villefort. Before we have even left the town limit sign we are climbing and there follows 3 hours of unremitting, lung-searing, bottom gear, ankle-working ascent. Most of the time we are only just making 6kph maximum with many stops to recover; and this is fun???? We eventually achieve Col du Mas de l’Ayre at 846m but seriously question what we are doing. It is becoming an endurance test, although the views of the Cévennes are wonderful and we do have plenty of time to enjoy them from the saddle. However, we know that this is only half the maximum height to be achieved this trip - can we possibly make it. The payback of the climb is the quick and easy descent into Villefort but we are suddenly buffeted by a strong wind. Could this be the Tramontaine mentioned on the forecast? We arrive in Villefort and feel it is time to seriously reappraise the future of the expedition: given the difficulty of this morning how can we manage Mt Lozère at 1400m or Mont Aigoual at nearly 1600m. On the personal achievement scale we score well, but is it fun? Briefly, we seriously consider catching the train from Villefort to Nîmes but this seems to be a ‘wimp out’ too far. After much studying of the contours and comparison of elevations, we decide to give Lozère and Aigoual the heave-ho, and head due south for Alès tomorrow. We try to analyse the situation and decide that the Loire trip had a clearly defined aim: There was a certain romance to following a river, source to sea, with the major challenge at the beginning after which it was, literally, downhill all the way. I feel very despondent, I hate to start something and not see it through, but acknowledge that this is the sensible approach. The new plan is a route closely following the railway, which looks reasonably flat, and we book the room in Alès. Hotel Balme, Villefort is a typical example of a French Logis whose glory days are but a distant memory. From the clutch of accolades in

the hall, we gather mine host is a chef of some note but he is rather brusque and we decide to skip his gourmet extravaganza.

Huge moth which had been assaulted

by a sparrow

Highest point of the day

Day 7 Wednesday, 10 May Villefort Nîmes 108 kms The weather is not promising but we are soon en route for Alès; mostly gentle downhill, a great way to travel. The Cévennes scenery is stunning. While taking a photo of the granite ‘chain’ I notice what looks like an extraordinarily long creature crawling sinuously along the road. It seems to be made of many sections and looks like a very long caterpillar. It is, in fact, 44 caterpillars travelling nose to tail. I have never seen such a display of follow my leader and blind faith in the front ‘man’. I fear that they will never get to the other side and it will be a case of ‘caterpillarcide’ on the grand scale*.

The lunch stop is Château de Portes the front of which looks like the prow of a ship. The wild spring flowers in the meadows are beautiful, with a variety and profusion we don’t see in England.

We make good progress and are in Alès by mid afternoon. It seems a waste to spend a night here so decide to make a run for Nîmes some 40 kms further south and where we had, anyway, planned to spend a rest day. We book the hotel in Nîmes and cancel Alès. We must fly like the wind and will still not arrive before 7.00 pm at the earliest. We are now cycling through the vineyards of the Pays d’Oc appellation - this is my sort of cycling! We fall into the Hotel Empire at 7.15 pm, absolutely knackered. It’s been a hard day, but fun, and the trip begins to feel more like a holiday and less like SAS selection trials. We feel we have recaptured some of the spirit of the Loire trip.

*We later learned that these processional

caterpillars contain a highly toxic

poison in their fur. - There was never any

danger of us touching them

A clever demonstration of the stonemason’s skill

Château de Portes

Day 8 Thursday, 11 May Rest day at Nîmes We enjoy the luxury of not having to pack panniers and get on the road immediately after breakfast. It is an absolutely brilliant day, azure blue sky to set the photos off perfectly. Nîmes is an old roman city and the site of the best-preserved coliseum in the world. We spend several hours here; I feel a bit like a Christmas tree with glasses, camera and the audio guide strung round my neck. The audio guide was an inspiration on somebody’s part It makes the visit interesting and so much easier than listening to French. We love our sightseeing day and thoroughly enjoy the respite from the saddle. By supper I feel I could do justice to a bucket of moules. Surprisingly, because Nîmes is not that far from the sea, they are rather elusive and when we do find a restaurant they are a big disappointment.

Day 9 Friday, 12 May Nîmes St Martin de Londres 69 kms We are starting the second leg of our trip today - Nîmes to Perpignan. As always, I find getting out of a big city somewhat daunting, but it goes pretty well and we leave the bustle behind. We do not have a detailed IGN map for today’s ride and are working from an enlarged page of the Michelin atlas - not perfect but good enough. First stop is at Caveirac for standard lunch rations, baguette, 2 tomatoes, some ham, some cheese. pretty much the same most days. It is not a big village: something like Burton but has a most wonderful boucherie/charcuterie/delicatessen and I buy some mini peppers stuffed with goat’s cheese and some with anchovies - they are scrummy! The weather has turned cool again and I have plenty of time to reflect on our journey. Each day I hope to recapture the spirit of our Loire trip and mostly I don’t feel we do. The book called this trip ‘Remote Cévennes’ and they’re right. The countryside is rugged and very sparsely populated, whereas we derive much of the pleasure cycling through villages, stopping for coffee and talking to the people. While most of the land is vineyards; where not, it is barren limestone causse. The weather is changeable and the crew, all one of it, is feeling mutinous. We arrive at St Martin de Londres and find our chambre d’hôte - “De ci de la”, literally from here and there. When I found it on the web, I felt sure it was going to be slightly ‘off the wall’. I was right, our room is a fully coordinated, shocking pink and silver confection. The whole ensemble is best described as ‘eclectic’, even the musical box plays the Pink Panther.

The arena

24,000 seating capacity -and one of the few

remaining locations for bullfights in France

B&B at De ci … de la

We take a walk round the town and come upon a sculptor at work. It turns out this is just his hobby but he is very enthusiastic, skilled and happy to show and tell us about various commissions he has undertaken. He is interesting and tells us about the cross of the Languedoc. It seems rude to interrupt him but we are hungry and eventually get away to a pizza. The circus is also in town. Big Top would be overstating the case but the animals look reasonably happy and well cared for. The French do not seem to be so sensitive about circuses, one can often see posters in towns large and small.

Day 10 Saturday, 13 May St Martin de Londres Clermont l’Hérault 48kms De ci … de la fully justifies all my expectations, nothing is normal/ordinary. Monsieur has travelled widely in Morocco and southern Africa bringing back trophies and objets d’art to decorate this quiet little corner of France. He also has a weird and wonderful collection of ephemera so that the whole place had a slightly Daliesque feel about it but it makes an interesting change from the sometimes rather stodgy Logis de France hotels. After an indifferent breakfast, we set off up another mountain on another LSA. The St Martin-de-Londres Saturday cyclists are out in force and race past us with much joshing about our heavy loads. Again the weather is changeable, which means sometimes raining, sometimes dull. This expedition can be summed up as toiling up, up, up, followed by flying down, down, down; bowling merrily along seems to be in short supply; the crew is revolting again. We arrive at Clermont l’Hérault and check into the Hotel Terminus, it is, as its name implies, as exciting as any Station Hotel in England. While having a cup of tea we look at the weather for the next few days. Tomorrow will be sunny followed by two days of ‘orages’ (storms). This is very bad news and with very, very heavy hearts we decide to abandon the trip. Were we to continue, we would be in the hilly, remote Haut Languedoc region - more climbs, more descents, this is not fun and we feel it would be foolhardy to continue. We must contact Fanny and Chris and sort out a train back to Perpignan. Deep despondency has settled on the captain and crew.

A rare stretch of flat cycling near Buzignargues

Barrage below Causse de la Selle

Day 11 Sunday, 14 May Clermont l’Hérault Murat sur Vèbre 54kms Hotel le Terminus has earned ‘Worst Hotel of the Holiday Award’ The room is basic, breakfast mean and staff indifferent. However, while eating breakfast we catch sight of the forecast in the paper, our part of France is covered in sunshine symbols! We look at each other and decide to press on - feeling better already. We have to cancel emergency texts to Fanny and Chris and set out on what will be a long day, starting and finishing with a Lung Searer. At the end of the day we shall be at 1000m. We are still amongst vineyards but the soil is red, red like Somerset. Quite suddenly it changes dramatically to a much more hostile landscape with no crops - I wonder if this is how Mexico might look. As we pass through gullies I half expect some Red Indians (is this PC?) to ambush us. It’s OK on this lovely day but I would not like to have a puncture and diminishing water supplies. We reach St Gervais-sur-Mare, a village on the pilgrimage route to Compostela, at tea time. There are several pilgrims, couples and organised groups, easily spotted by their sticks and cockleshells. From St Gervais we have 21kms of which 7km will be ridiculously steep. It is also a wonderfully hot day but not good news for cycling. Damian decides that we must find someone to take us and the bikes up this climb. I think this is the ultimate ‘mission impossible’; it is, after all, 4.00pm on a Sunday afternoon in this sleepy little village. I start to prepare myself mentally and physically for this assault knowing it will probably take us three hours perhaps longer. I am, quite frankly, gobsmacked when Damian returns and says he has found someone who, for Є20, will take us and the bikes to Croix de Mounis (809m), the highest point, from which we still have 7kms into Murat ;we are never so grateful for this help. The countryside has flattened out into alpine meadow landscape. Murat is tiny but Hotel Durand is great - comfortable room, spacious shower and even a hot air blower so we can wash out our kit. We have the most superb confit de canard for supper and are amazed that such a tiny village and modest hotel can provide such an excellent meal at such a reasonable price. We discuss the thorny problem of whether to own up to the 21kms of ‘assisted’ cycling in the journal however we feel we have recaptured the spirit of the Loire trip.

Day 12 Monday, 15 May Murat sur Vèbre Mazamet 68kms We vote Hotel Durand ‘Best of Holiday’ We have a long ride today but it should not be too arduous being mostly downhill. Murat is also on the pilgrimage way and we leave the hotel with a Dutch couple+dog. They will not go all the way to Compostela in one ‘hit’ but will walk selected sections. Sadly, the weather has changed, gone is the lovely hot sun of yesterday and we’re back into 100% wet weather gear and wondering, once again, why we are doing this when we could be at home. Despite the weather the countryside is astonishingly, breathtakingly magnificent. We’re still in the Haute Longuedoc. I never realised there was so much untamed nature in France; it is a world away from the gentle, well cultivated flood plains of the Loire. The weather improves and we’re bowling along - this is the cycling for me! We pass another couple of touring cyclists who, we learn are en route for Compostela. He seems to be heavily burdened with front and back panniers, rucksack and sleeping mats while she has got away with a relatively light load though we suspect her bike, which rather incongruously has a wire basket on the front, is rather heavy. They too have a little cockleshell fixed to a pannier. We wish them ‘bonne continuation’ and feel they need it. We have a 24km downhill roll into Mazamet, arriving at the Tourist Information office whilst a journalist is taking some publicity photos and she asks if we would mind having our photo taken. We’re more than happy to oblige and are reminded of our brief moment of fame when we were interviewed for Baltimore lunch time television!

Lunch stop at Lac Raviège

Day 13 Tuesday, 16 May Mazamet Carcassonne 51kms The Boulevard proves to be an adequate hotel but our breakfast routine is thrown into complete disarray. Normal procedure is to snaffle 3 individual pats of butter for our lunch. Hotel Boulevard serves its butter in a dish - very genteel but means we have a butterless lunch. Tuesday is market day in Mazamet. I love the bustle of French markets and in 11 days on the road this is the first market we have come upon. I love the catholic (small ‘c’) variety of stalls where the vegetable stall rubs shoulders with the bed stall, the chair caner, the butcher, ironmonger, clothes stalls, honey , wine, live rabbits, chickens, etc., etc. The fruit and vegetables are so wonderfully colourful and bursting with goodness, I feel I could easily become a ‘veggie’ in France. However, even I have to admit that one French market is much the same as another and we have a long journey starting with 10kms of XLSA.

We break the Lung Searer to visit the tiny medieval village of Hautpoul which literally clings to the hillside. I marvel at the talent the French have for creating a pretty, shady little terrace in the tiniest of spaces - a vine trained over a frame, some geraniums, heaven! We cannot delay too long, we are not even half way up this hill and we can only manage 6 kph, it’s extremely hot and lorries are tanking past us. The pay back will be 40 kms downhill into Carcassonne but it’s a steep descent so brakes on the whole way, our hands are locked like

claws at the end. When I dare to look anywhere else but the road ahead, the views are of more rugged cliffs and deep gorges. The book tells us the approach to Carcassonne is of ‘crusade proportions’ which sounds a bit scary. We find the station and ask a couple who kindly lead us in their car to our hotel. Hotel l’Octroi is only 300m from the walled cité of Carcassonne and we have a view of some of the 52 towers from our bedroom window..

View from our bedroom

Market day in Mazamet

Laundry arrangements in Hautpoul. This lavanderie had recently been used NB the soap bubbles!

Day 14 Wednesday, 17 Mayr Damian’s Birthday and Rest Day at Carcassone We allow ourselves the luxury of an extra half hour in bed, it is, after all Damian’s birthday and last year we spent my birthday in Tours. We’re into the city early to walk the 3km perimeter. It’s a World Heritage site but in fact the ramparts and towers were rebuilt in the 19th century. I find it somewhat sterile and wonder if this is a heresy! It has all the worst features of a popular tourist destination - shops selling expensive souvenirs and cafés selling expensive coffee and icecream. I imagine in July and August the place would be heaving. However, the heat is building up and the clear blue sky makes for great photos but a rest day also means laundrette day and while waiting we plan tomorrow’s ride. It will be a long one with the regular feature of the LSA. We think it prudent to sort out a bed which proves a wise move as our destination town, Rennes les Bains, is hosting the Tour de l’Aude Féminin, a cycle race of the Aude département for women - obvious really. All beds in Rennes are taken and we eventually have to settle on a Logis somewhat off route but beggars and choosers come to mind. It will be 70kms up and down (of course!) and we must be up at 6.45 am to allow a 3 hour lunch break if the heat of the day is similar to today. Having made the admin arrangements we go out for supper. Despite being somewhat touristy the cobbled streets are delightful and we find a great restaurant and have warm goats cheese salad and confit de canard which has become my favourite. Mme la Patronne makes a big fuss of Damian and he receive birthday texts and calls during supper which still seems a miracle of modern communication.

Day 15 Thursday, 18 May Carcassonne Sougraigne 69kms We wake up to indifferent weather. How can it be beautiful one day and dull the next in this part of France? Hotel l’Octroi is excellent and Madame most helpful. We’re away by 8.45 am, a personal best but essential as today will be long and tiring. We’re soon climbing hard but also have some long, flat(ish) stretches. I find myself bowling effortlessly at 16.8 mph, a real novelty since this has been a trip of two speeds, very slow and very fast. I even find time to think and decide that if we ever cycle in France again, we shall stick to river courses. By mid morning the weather is looking threatening again and we arrive at our lunch stop, the village lavanderie, just in time. A plaque on the wall proudly proclaims it was refurbished in 1970 and I find it amazing that such facilities were still necessary. After lunch the predicted ‘orages’ arrive and there is nothing for it but to don full wet weather gear; we still have 30 kms to do. To pass the kilometres we play games but wonder what on earth I am doing and feel so sad that the spirit of the Loire trip is slipping away again. Perhaps it was a one off. We remove and put on waterproofs several times to combat the swirling misty rain; it feels just like Wales.

Canal du Midi runs through Carcassonne

One Taurean to another. Red marble bull at Missègre

Exhausted!!

The guests at Logis Ecluse au Soleil (The Suntrap) are all English-speaking and we enjoy a happy, interesting evening with a couple who live in Chevy Chase. They are mildly surprised when we say we know it until we explain the Baltimore Connection. There is a couple from California and a young man reconnoitring a walk for a holiday company. While we enjoy practicing our french with french people, it is a pleasure not to have to cudgel our brains at the end of the long day. We are nearing the end of Great Adventure II. Tomorrow we shall cycle 40 kms leaving 60 kms to get back to Fanny and Chris. Once again the weather for tomorrow is promising - this is becoming a familiar chant!

Day 16 Friday, 19 May Sougraigne Cucugnan 45 kms We wake to a slightly better day and fortify ourselves with a marvellous, abundant breakfast. Ecluse au Soleil has earned one of the coveted Buckley Best awards! To rejoin our route, we must first return to Rennes les Bains. Rennes’ glory days as a spa town are long gone but today it is en fête and dressed overall for the Tour de l’Aude. The race will not start till early afternoon but roads are closed and there is a general buzz around the town. We will share the route for some distance but there any similarity will end. While toiling up yet another hill I realise that May is the best time for seeing the wild flowers and bicycle travel a great way to really notice them. Apart from all the usual varieties we find in England, we have seen several different species of orchids. We stop in Bugarach for coffee, a remote village of some 200 souls yet able to support a café and restaurant. By lunch time the villages along the Tour route are faintly stirring and we decide to watch the cyclists as they race through ??. Cycling is almost a religion in France There is much fanfare with many gendarme motorcycle outriders to clear the roads followed by the support vehicles and sundry hangers on, first aid, press etc. Somewhere in the middle are the cyclists, on this occasion

Departure from Sougraine

The hot baths at Rennes les Bains

An intimate bath à deux

about a 100 like a swarm of bees in their fluorescent lycra, they swirl round the corner in front of us and are gone.

Our last night on the road is at Cucugnan. This is Corbières country and it is great to be riding through the vineyards on a sunny afternoon. In nearly 500 miles of cycling, we have been through many of the great appellations sadly, dégustations are a no-no for me on a bicycle. It is also Cathar country and we pass two massive châteaux, Péyrepertuse and Quéribus. The sun is out again and we briefly consider cycling up to Quéribus which I would very much like to see. The châteaux in this region are quite different from those of the Loire, being 13th - 14th century and built for defending territory rather than pleasure pursuits. However, the hill will be an XXLSA and I just don’t think my legs will work. We may visit as we pass tomorrow or return on Monday in the car on our way home. I am conscious this would be cheating but I have ridden up enough steep hills to last me a life time. Perhaps our next trip should be ‘Windmills of Holland’

Day 17 Saturday, 20 May Cucugnan Céret 63kms Once again we allow ourselves a half later start. Breakfast is meagre, portion control is king so that wringing extra butter, jam and hot water from M le Patron is like drawing teeth. In other respect Hotel la Table du Curé de Cucugnan is good. Out of the village, straight into an XLSA and were soon passing the road to Quéribus. We think about offloading the panniers, locking them together and hiding them in a bush but the detour would take at least two hours out of the day and we have agreed to be with Fanny and Chris between 4.00 and 5.00 pm. We press on: it will have to be the car option, purists can call this cheating but I feel I have earned my spurs this trip. Once past Grau du Maury we’re flying down again as fast as we dare. The road is all bends when to travel at too much speed would just pitch us over the edge. Back again into the Maury vineyards, it seems novel to be using our legs to propel us at 33 kph when most of the time gravity has been taking us at that speed. We’re now quite close to the spanish border and the Catalan influence is noticeable. We stop for coffee in Estagel and I feel there is less attention to detail. We make our lunch stop at Col de la Bataille and are relieved to escape the boiling heat and blinding sun. As we set off I feel we are close to journey’s end. At Thuir we shall have only 21 kms - an hour and a half at most. There is however, the final Lung Searer above Fanny and Chris’ house and this becomes the longest Lung Searer of them all - my knees are SHREDDED! However all bad things come to an end and we’re flying down at high speed in the drive at Mas Soula, Chris is there to meet us and record the moment adding that we’re 18 minutes late after 493 miles! They have the champagne on ice and we spend a happy evening and the promise of a LONG lie in.

Tour de l’Aude Féminin through Soulage

Days 18, 19 and 20 21,22,23 May We have a day to draw breath and have lunch together at Collioure, a Catalan fishing village much favoured by the Impressionist painters. We leave the Glydons on Monday and head back to Château de Quéribus. This is the really novel experience, being on four wheels where only a two days ago we were on two, quite honestly, we are astonished that we cycled down this road, it makes us feel rather wobbly just thinking about it; we’re also pleased we did not hide the panniers and visit on bikes. Quéribus is perched precariously but not so precariously as it has been buffeted by the four winds for 800 years. We spend a couple of hours before heading back for the motorway, Orléans, Calais and home. This trip was so different from last year and not quite the same success but despite all we feel it’s a great achievement. Weather played a huge part but there was too much hard slog. Looking back, we saw some wonderful, interesting places and met kind people and already I am forgetting the worst parts. However, I may also just have got long distance cycling in France out of my system.

Some of the beautiful flowers

we saw