After waving Pollicott goodbye we were eager to embark on our weekend's adventure, and after what seemed only a short drive, but was in fact an hour and a half, we reached Avebury where we parked and got our bikes off the car, slapped on the sun cream and started on our way!! Free parking courtesy of the Avebury Club - permission given by a member we met in the local petrol station - what a lovely man.
The start of the Ridgeway was kind for the first few hundred yards, but the ruts soon set in and with Alex and Vicky complaining poor Sian must have wondered what she had let herself in for!!!!
JUST 5 miles in Vicky threw herself to the ground to claim the 1st fall of the ride and the culprit was a RUT, so maybe we were justified in our complaining! However we were soon up and off again, but only 3 miles on Vicky fell AGAIN, this time she managed to impale herself on the handlebars and the gear chain!! At this point we were very glad of our girl guide preparation and used our 1st aid kit!!
Another mile on Alex was our next casualty falling off into one of the only patches of stinging nettles in a huge field, once again the first aid kit came out and Vicky brandishing bite cream was quick to apply to Alex's already swelling arms!! Meanwhile Sian was busy photographing the event so we could put it onto facebook!! Alex produced some of her famous Sweeties!!
Just desserts - Sian got her wheel down a rut too and rolled elegantly into the undergrowth. Fantastic - she was stuck under her bike, unable to move, with Vicky and Alex wielding cameras and inwardly and outwardly chuckling, nay hooting. What a result!!
After our casualties we seemed to progress pretty well for a while, and we were all on the understanding that we had 20 miles to reach our B and B, so we felt confident that we were making good time. Then it got hotter and hotter and Alex was really suffering so Sian produced some jelly sweets and after a rest in the shade for a while the jellies had worked their magic and we were once more on our way.
Alex had a smart cycle computer fitted to her bike and after 20 miles on her computer there was still no sign of a B and B or Andy and Joe, our back up team for the first night. Andy rung to inform us that he had dropped our bags off at the B and B and he nearly got eaten by the dog AND the proprietor was very 'to the point'!!
AND NOW WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ...NAKED MAN INCIDENT....
Let's cut straight to the chase - on the final run of the day, just behind the White Horse (Uffington), we came across a fellow cyclist. "Don't mind me" said he "I'm just practising for next weekend". "Oh", says we "what are you doing next weekend then?" - genuine innocence reigned over the Pollicott Belles. "Naturist cycle ride in London" said he. "Oh" said we - looking down, then quickly up, then down again, then up again. We held 'polite conversation'. We cycled away, politely downhill, smiling inwardly. Then the first (how do I spell it?) 'phmmmmphhmppppkkkhhhgggfff....' from Vicky, followed by same from Alex, then me. By the bottom of the hill we were screaming with laughter. Andy knew we were on our way and he was still a mile away. My lasting memory will be from looking back - oh my god I should not have done that!!
The rest of the day was comparitively dull - however we still had Mrs Reid, her cockerel, her dog, her security light, her lampshade, her shower, her non-blind in the bathroom, the death ride in the car and the shock return of the naked cyclist midway through our dinner!!! not to mention her pointed announcement that I (Sian) looked like I needed a double bed - what??
We will tell you about breakfast tomorrow....
It has been almost three years since the Belles set a challenge. We haven't stopped, we simply need to re-set and re-focus and find time to get ourselves back in the zone.
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