Ride Reports
Saturday 14th August 2021
B2 Rde - Windermere - Cervelo Jackson
HILLS, hills and yet more hills . . . some were less elevated than others but they kept coming. Some were almost pleasurable - roller-coasters through trees along sun-dappled lanes at times and between green fields bounded by dry stone walls at others. But pain was heaped upon pain when we occasionally had to slog our way to the summits.
And we were betrayed . . . twice. As sweat poured from our brows we saw with relief houses named Hilltop only to discover, as the road continued to snake upwards, that it was a lie, a malicious falsehood designed to crush the spirit of even the fittest of the GCC B2s.
There were other hardships to be endured apart from the relentless climbing: our planned cafe stop at Brantwood, home of John Ruskin, writer, philosopher, art critic and, given his wide-ranging talents, doubtless a top cyclist, was thwarted by a COVID-stricken employee scuppering the full cafe offering.
But a cheerful retainer in the ticket office, who turned out to be Garstang born, poured us a decent coffee and supplied Seabrooks crisps, albeit in two differently sized bags priced identically which caused consternation among some members of the peloton.
At this point it was decided, in the words of our leader CJ, to “keep our eyes peeled for cake”.
Now, all would have been well as we headed down the Coniston lakeside road but for the Roots. Not the cafe we all love but the tree roots which, acting as speed bumps along the road, almost threw your reporter out of the side door not once, but twice.
Equilibrium restored, we headed on but unfortunately it was not long before we parted company with EP (Electric Paul) who had raced ahead not, we are sure, in re-VOLT over the cafe disappointment but simply to put AMP-le time in for a breather.
He clearly had lots of “spark” but missed out on the village of Spark Bridge as he shot off to the left, the rest of the gang breathlessly heading for the the Royal Oak for a well-earned lunch.
If only I could say it was all downhill from then on. Sadly, we had hills, hills and yet more hills . . . but what’s a few “undulations” on a ride that proved to be one of the best in ages with spectacular views and laughs shared in great company.
Thanks go to CJ for planning such a varied route
As John Ruskin once said: “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort”.
And we were betrayed . . . twice. As sweat poured from our brows we saw with relief houses named Hilltop only to discover, as the road continued to snake upwards, that it was a lie, a malicious falsehood designed to crush the spirit of even the fittest of the GCC B2s.
There were other hardships to be endured apart from the relentless climbing: our planned cafe stop at Brantwood, home of John Ruskin, writer, philosopher, art critic and, given his wide-ranging talents, doubtless a top cyclist, was thwarted by a COVID-stricken employee scuppering the full cafe offering.
But a cheerful retainer in the ticket office, who turned out to be Garstang born, poured us a decent coffee and supplied Seabrooks crisps, albeit in two differently sized bags priced identically which caused consternation among some members of the peloton.
At this point it was decided, in the words of our leader CJ, to “keep our eyes peeled for cake”.
Now, all would have been well as we headed down the Coniston lakeside road but for the Roots. Not the cafe we all love but the tree roots which, acting as speed bumps along the road, almost threw your reporter out of the side door not once, but twice.
Equilibrium restored, we headed on but unfortunately it was not long before we parted company with EP (Electric Paul) who had raced ahead not, we are sure, in re-VOLT over the cafe disappointment but simply to put AMP-le time in for a breather.
He clearly had lots of “spark” but missed out on the village of Spark Bridge as he shot off to the left, the rest of the gang breathlessly heading for the the Royal Oak for a well-earned lunch.
If only I could say it was all downhill from then on. Sadly, we had hills, hills and yet more hills . . . but what’s a few “undulations” on a ride that proved to be one of the best in ages with spectacular views and laughs shared in great company.
Thanks go to CJ for planning such a varied route
As John Ruskin once said: “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort”.
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