September is only three months away: our second training ride

Kate, Robyn, Scott, Barnaby, Rob Titcombe and I converged on the village of Yetminster south of Yeovil and Sherborne for a second ride out this last Saturday morning. We were joined by my son Huwie. The weather wasn’t so great this time and we set off in thick drizzle. We didn’t look quite so slick in our Lycra as before. Waterproofs don’t quite cut the mustard in the cycling fashion stakes.

Barnaby had planned the route on Strava, an all seeing all dancing app. Barnaby and Strava took us to parts of Dorset and Somerset that were well off the beaten track. We headed north and did a big loop taking in Trent, Keinton Mandeville, Castle Cary, Charlton Horthorne, Sherborne and back to Yetminster, just under 50 miles in all.

Things did not always go to plan. A couple of times I glanced back to see fellow cyclists overshooting a junction but there were no punctures or broken chains this time. As with our last ride, the camaraderie built up with the miles and as our muscles took the strain. Jokes became blacker and more sarcastic.

By far the best part of our ride was nothing to do with the cycling but a chance discovery in Castle Cary. We arrived in the market square and took shelter from the rain in the lovely covered market place which looks quite French. We looked around for a coffee shop and then noticed that right next to us there was a mobile kitchen for the market that was taking place that morning. They served the most delicious bacon butties, cakes and scones as well as tea and coffee. We spent rather a long time relaxing over food and drink.

Our bright yellow RNLI/PD training shirts attracted attention and we were photographed for the town’s Facebook page. After some false starts, Scott mastered the art of a group selfie and he took a wonderful (!) picture of himself and us other PD-ers. No, we are not lying on the floor!

Thanks to all my fellow cyclists that day. Here’s to the next ride out.