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 2007Sunday 24th Mar Cycle Jumble, Weymouth Ken Reed 01305 772654

Sunday 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

THE WESSEX NEWSLETTER

1 Cycle Ink #143

Keith Matthews - Editor

Winter 2006At the recent AGM we voted in a new Chairman, so lets welcome Terry Walsh to thejob and give him all our support. There are a number of changes on the committeetoo including David Chesworth as secretary. Here then is your new line up:

Chairman: Terry Walsh Secretary: David Chesworth Treasurer: Mike WalshNewsletter: Keith Matthews Runs List: Eric WatsonCommittee: Bob Courtney; Joan Courtney; Stephen Gray; Alan Dodson Rob Garnett; Jean Trill; Ralph Huckle; John Ward

Ray Payne was awarded the “Freewheeling Cup” and Janet Matthews the “SartainTrophy in recognition of her work for the club.

2006 AGM Bob Reports!

2 Cycle Ink #143

Christchurch Bicycle ClubChristchurch Carol ServiceHigh Cross United Reform Church, Amethyst Rd, Somerford

Wednesday 13th December 2006 at 7.30pmFollowed with Tea/Coffee and Mince pies

All CTC members and Everyone WelcomeContact Jim Hatton 01425 280889

CTC Bournemouth SectionCycle Jumble

Village Hall, Burley.10:00 to 14:00 Saturday 28th April 2007

All CTC members and Everyone WelcomeContact Jim Hatton 01425 280889

3 Cycle Ink #143

What’s On ?

Informal Wayfarers Rides to BurleyThis ride happens every Saturday and is completely informal. There is no

leader and no back up, but generally an experienced cyclist somewherearound. The route 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 the Cafeat 10:00am for coffee and cake, departing at 10:30am. Please note that somerides are on a Saturday and some on a Sunday. Details (01963) 32840

Sun 3rd DEC MEET: WINCANTON, Morrisons Supermarket LUNCH: Yeovilton, RNAS, Museum CaféSat 16th DEC MEET: MERE, Angel Corner Tea Room LUNCH: ShaftesburySun 31th DEC MEET: WINCANTON, Morrisons Supermarket LUNCH: SherborneSat 13th JAN MEET: EAST STOUR, Udder Farm Shop LUNCH: Sturminster NewtonSun 28th JAN MEET: GILLINGHAM, Waitrose Supermarket LUNCH: Compton Abbas AirfieldSat 10th FEB MEET: CASTLE CARY, Old Bakehouse, High Street LUNCH: Shepton Mallet, Fish & ChipsSun 25th FEB MEET: MILBORNE PORT, Wheathill Lane Garden Centre LUNCH: Yeovil, Morrisons SupermarketSat 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 Railway

4 Cycle Ink #143

Brian CharlesGRUMPY OLD CYCLISTSI love cycling, but because of

my unashamedly Dickensianoutlook these days I tend tolook at the game through the

eyes of a Grumpy Old Man. I thoughtthat it might be a bit of fun to examine

various aspects of cycling with mixedemotions.

During my first year of cycling a fewdecades ago, I could recognise the realcyclists easily by the fact that they had gottoe-clips and dropped handlebars, butnowadays things are not so clear-cut. Themodern cyclists attach themselves to theirpedals with no visible means of supportand even if they have done a bit ofpedalling in their time, some have beenseen riding in a “sit up and beg” positionwith straight bars. On reflection, I thinkthat I am getting to the stage when Iunderstand why.

The near demise of toe-clips makes itselfapparent when most groups start off aftercoffee or lunch. There’s nothing to beheard but the annoying chorus of clickingand clacking of engaging cleats! I will notpander to fashion, though I’ve got to admitthat they are a lot safer than the shoe platesand clips of yesteryear, and after all, usingcleats makes it look like they know whatthey are doing.

Are you one of those confidentdescenders? They go down steep, twisting,gravely hills like a bat out of hell andalways get away with it! Well I mean,saddle-soiling aside, none of us are afraidof dying, its just that we don’t want to bethere when it happens.

It makes me smile to find that manyfashionably dressed and equipped cyclistsdisregard ones who ride scruffy bikes orwho walk over cattle grids. If they wouldlike to take time to talk to these folk theywould be surprised to learn that some ofthem tour frequently in the more magicalareas of our country and have amassed anencyclopaedic knowledge of these areas.

What about these cyclists who use mirrorson their bikes for turning right? Can’tthey re-learn the basic skills of cycling andlook round over their shoulders? Its muchmore reliable. Having said that, I recallonce, someone I was riding with lookingover his shoulder on a bend in the road andending up in the ditch! And while they’reat it why don’t they lift their droopysignalling arm that is rarely seen. If thesefolk would emulate a road race winner byraising their hand above their head, thenthey would draw attention to themselvesand be seen.

I question the ethics of Audax rides andChallenges. The real heroes of theseevents are the ones who have not been ona bike for years, or are new to cycling. Ihope that the real bike riders can gainpleasure from cycling without the need tobe stimulated by these rides. Why don’tthey do the honourable thing and openlycompete against others or against theclock? Although I suppose randonnées doget cyclists from all over the placetogether, to do some quality miles andthey don’t have to think too much aboutwhere to go for a ride. Perhaps they justneed to rekindle interest in the area aroundwhere they live, or research rides furtherafield.

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And what about women cyclists? Youmay not believe this but in days of myyouth, I turned up once on a club night andthere, in the corner, sat a couple ofwallflowers in full cycling gear and theywere knitting! They’re all the same.

Why is it that some cyclists in the southseem to have an obsession with touring inFrance, simply because it is easy to get to?

What a bore! Are they afraid of cycling inthis country, north of the Thames? Is it thelanguage barrier that deters them morethan the one across the channel? Some ofthe natives oop north actually sound their‘t’s and others seem to forget to followtheir ‘a’s with an ‘r’ (as in fa-a-a-r-r-st orgra-a-r-rs). Southerners are in danger insome places of being greeted with remarks

like “aye up youth, ow bist thee”. Some ofthem remain blissfully ignorant of thecountry in which they choose to live, somany have not tasted the delights ofWatendlath, Finchinfield or Holy Island.The reason is because they are too busyponcing about in foreign parts. Mind you,to experience a Nocturne Criterium on awarm August evening in the heart ofFrance is worth compromising for.

I get fed up with being ridiculed when Iwear my cape. Have others lost theability to control them in a gale or dothey like riding with wet knees? Mindyou the waterproof jacket can be left onall day in winter.

Do you really need the cosy atmosphereof a pub at lunchtime in the winter? Ifyou have been denied the pleasure ofsitting outside eating your bread andcheese on a bracing viewpoint in

December then you’venever lived.

I hate the modern bikeframe. It is throwntogether using clumsyfat tubes looking morelike electrical conduitwelded together bymachine than properlyartistically hand-madeframes with brazed on

lugs like those made by Hetchins or Batesand the like.

Have you got a double-sided map of theNew Forest or the Purbecks? Then why isit that whatever area you want to look at isalways on the other side? You’ve got nooption but to unfold the whole stupidthing, battle with it in the gale that always

A typical Grumpy Old Cyclistby Ken McGregor

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blows on top of Creech or Telegraph Hill,and then refold it so that you can read theother side. In my day, large scale mapswere no so readily available. I once did atwenty-seven mile off-road crossing ofLairg Ghru in the Cairngorms using a roadatlas of Great Britain. Those were thedays. GPS? Humbug!

And what about the “Lycra Louts”? Alltrade vests and no mudguards. Are theyout training for a “24”? More likely theyare off to the local café for a coffee. It begsthe question – do you put a label onyourself when you ride a bike that’s got aclose-clearance frame that doesn’t acceptmudguards? It could be just peer cultureor are they emulating the heroes of ourglorious sport? Surely for general clubrides in areas north of central France,mudguards are more than useful. Withoutthem there is always the temptation tobecome a fair weather cyclist! Is it perhapsthat they find riding a pretend racing bikeis so much easier to pedal than a morecivilised machine in their advancing years.

But of course the working classes are theworst offenders. They throw theirexpendable income into the hands of thelocal bike shop owner and hope that a newmachine will be so reliable that they candispense with that unfashionablesaddlebag full of heavy tools. They eveneliminate that unsightly bulge in theirback pocket by just carrying an all-in-onetool and a credit card. I suppose some willsay that I am exaggerating. Well yes, I’veknown some carry an Allen key and a daftlittle pump which is absolutely useless forbeating off a marauding dog.

Talking about dogs, you should know thatthe only thing that you can do with a dogthat chases everyone on a bike is to

confiscate his bike.

Why is it that train-assisted cycling is sodifficult? They should be pleased to haveyou on board, as they were in yesteryear.In those days you could put your bike inthe guards van and snooze the journeyaway lying on a pile of mailbags.

These people who are new to cyclingshould employ a little more decorumwhen riding with the rest of us. They thinkthat they need a bit of exercise, so they getan old crate off the dump, buy some newtyres and become cyclists – just like that!They come out with the club and afterabout 50 miles on a severe climb, theycruise up alongside you, chatting awayand proceed to half-wheel you to the top!

What do you think about these mountainbikes? They have turned off-road cyclingfrom an art into a fairground ride. A goodroad bike skilfully ridden is much betterfor mixed touring. The mountain bike’sfat tyres create too much rolling resistancewhen you come down off the hill and findyourself with a lot of miles on the road todo. They are useful for nothing other thandelivering papers on!

I hope that you will forgive me if you seeyourself in any of the above trivia.However, I hope that you will agree that itis all good character building stuff to seeourselves as others see us. So, justremember – “Mustn’t Grumble”

7 Cycle Ink #143

As semi-retired, fair-weather cyclists, the prospect of doing 100 km in a day was asignificant challenge. However, if we could do 30 miles on the Saturday morningChristchurch-Burley-Christchurch run, surely we could do 60 in a whole Sunday.True we have cycled serious distances in France, but usually with quite low dailymileages. A perusal of the route-card convinced us of the need to highlight the roadson the maps that we’d glued together. We realised that the distance was the

equivalent of Bournemouth to Basingstoke (Gulp!) so our strategy was to be first away atthe start and hope that we got round before all the checkpoints closed.

At the car park on the day, we were amazed to see hundreds of cars in the field before us,so hurried over to the check-in, through throngs of super-fit, slim, young people andsuper-expensive, super-light machines. Our cards were stamped and we quickly got onour way by ourselves, whilst the afore-mentioned types did their warming-up andchatting-up. Within 10 minutes, our peace was shattered by the first of the whirringwheelers, moving at about the speed of light!! After that, it was a bit like being in theslow lane of the motorway - an almost continuous succession of faster-moving trafficgoing past our right-hand sides.

Eventually, after a steep climb, respite - Checkpoint One at last! But we were behind 4million others trying to get a cuppa! What a lot of pongy people in a small space! I hopethe staff got medals for their ordeal! We didn’t realise what a lot of energy we had usedup and should have eaten our lunches at that point, because 5 miles later we got thehunger knock and had to stop on a windswept plain to take in some sustenance. So, afterone third of the distance, we had spent almost an hour not cycling.

Except for turning right just 200 yards before Checkpoint Two and retracing our track,this stage was fairly uneventful, giving us a chance to enjoy seeing some delightful partsof the Forest we’d never visited before. No wait for our tea here, since we were wellbehind the fast boys and girls: in fact there was the distinct impression that we would bewashing up and locking up the hall if we delayed our departure. By now we had spentabout 2 hours out of the saddle, so it was time to move on.

Again, the last leg was across “foreign” countryside until we arrived at Beaulieu wherewe were heartened by the sight of familiar landmarks and actually overtook a familydoing the ride. We hesitate to mention that the only reason that we were going faster wasthat the parents were either carrying or towing an offspring!

Back to Boldre at last! No throng surrounding the desk this time! After the officialstamped our cards, we could now join the elite who can wear the Gridironmedal. And we were only six hours behind the fastest participant! Lookingback, it was a fun experience: very many thanks to all those who made itpossible! Can you fix one for next year please?

FIRST TIME GRIDIRON Damian Buckley

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As the new chairman of theBournemouth Section I would like tothank Keith for all the years that he has

done this job and the many other jobs likesecretary and organiser. He organised thenationally recognised Dorset Coast for 25years and the Gridiron for several yearsand even though I ran it this year I had a

lot of help from Keith and he is still doingthe Newsletter. We owe him a lot. ThanksKeith. I also know that behind every

successful man is a goodwoman. Thanks Janet.

I would also like to say a fewwords about myself for thoseof you who don’t know me.My club cycling started in1950 when I joined the EastBournemouth Road Club, aBLRC club. I rode and racedwith them, and later the PineCity Road Club until 1957. Iwas never any good, just a 3rdcategory rider. Then I movedaway from Bournemouth, andClub cycling stopped. I didn’tget back into cycling until1989 when I joined theBournemouth Arrow. A 32year lay off from clubcycling! For 7 years Iorganised “The Tour ofCranborne Chase” for theArrow, a 96 mile road race,and I still run their evening“10”.

I fell out with the Arrow overhelmets and left them for awhile. My first ride with theCTC was Sunday 10th May1992 -The Dorset Downs -130 miles. A great day. After

that I rode with the Inters.

Sat 14th June 1997 I started the SaturdayMorning rides for beginners. The numberswere very poor at first, lots of times no one

Terry WalshCHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS

9 Cycle Ink #143

at all, but I always turned up just in case. Ittook well over a year before it wasproperly established. These days the ridehas a life of it’s own, it doesn’t need aleader. People from any club and no clubjoin in, 50 or 60 riders every Saturday. It isno longer a CTC ride.

If our club is to grow or even continue wemust continually recruit. SaturdayMorning is obviously one place and, if wecan sort out the insurance question, Iintend to advertise it and promote ourother rides. We can also advertiseourselves more systematically in the shopsand lots of local people who rode theGridiron etc. might be tempted to join ourregular rides if we advertise them. Sufficeto say I would like to put recruiting at the

top of my list of things to do. We used tohave the Generals then the Coasters.There’s lots of room for more.

You will see from this that I am very newto the CTC. Just 14 years not 40 or 50 or60 years like some of you, so there is a lotof history that I don’t know, it’s not justmy bad memory. I hope I can help the clubto continue to prosper. It is doing well atthe moment with rider numbers up. ThePotterers having to split is a very goodsign. I hope to do my bit to keep theupward trend going and if you have anyideas give me a ring.

01202 247 888terrywessex@yahoo.co.uk

Terry

The roadworks have now been completed at Avon Causeway and the bridge is open.Coming from Hurn a lot of the poor road surface has been improved, albeit bypatching, and the ride is much better. There is a pinch point a little way before thebridge to slow traffic and the bridge is wider. Road markings are much clearer and theroad around the bridge and the pinch point is new. The speed limit on that road is40mph.

There is no special provision for cyclists at all and no advantage has been taken by theauthorities to make cycling safer whether by a reduced speed limit or by other means.Traffic is still exceeding the existing speed limit and care and attention continues tobe very much required.

The good news obviously is that runs can start once more from Hurn Stores.

AVON CAUSEWAY David Chesworth

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Decisions, decisions!Where should we gofor our summerholidays? Last yearwe undertook our

mega tour across France so this year Ifancied something a little lessadventurous, particularly if we were goingto have an exotic honeymoon next year.Something that involved littleorganisation would also be appealing. Itwas already approaching June so wedidn’t have a great amount of time todecide if we were to head off on the

second week of July – the small windowwhen no one else in my team had bookedtime off. I also fancied some hot sun andstruggle to contemplate a holiday withoutat least a bit of sea – even though it is onmy doorstep every other day of the year.But neither Nigel or myself are greatbeach bums – at least not for more thanhalf a day. Choices were whittled down toa week on a Greek Island (bikeless) or a

hop over to Brittany with the tandem.

The UK weather was warming up so wewere perhaps lulling ourselves into a falseillusion that north west France would behot, dry and sunny. We also convincedourselves that we would be bored stiff on aGreek Island, especially if we were unableto hire decent bikes, not to mention thelack of variety on restaurant menus. Sodecision made we booked the Condor toSt Malo – travel plans are also so mucheasier when you just have to pedal just 6miles to Poole on a Saturday lunch time to

start your holiday!

Arriving on aSaturday night inJuly I thought it wiseto book the firstnight’s hotel. Therest we would find aswe went since wedidn’t know wherewe were going! Thisproved a struggle as Iwas informed StMalo was hosting aboat race theweekend of our

arrival so I ended up plumping for a ratherover-priced option out of town. A niceplace but not worth the price but at least itwas in a rural setting on the right side oftown to start our tour off well the next day.I was also able to have a swim before apretty good breakfast. Next time I willexplore the B&B option which seem to bequite popular and reliable in France now,as we found out at the end of our stay.

The Other Side of Brittany Annemarie Manley

Mont St Michel

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Co-incidentally we were in Brittany at thesame time as the Tour de France andsome friends from the mid Devon CCwere following Le Tour. So with thewonders of mobile phone technology Iphoned Graham to see where they were.They were staying some 30km down theroad in Combourg and invited us to jointhem. 30km seems like a relaxing distancefor the first day so after a leisurelybreakfast we studied the map and ambledoff to Combourg – on our only cloudymorning. There may even have been acouple of spots of rain but it was hard totell – might just have been a car’s

windscreen washer or a bird flyingoverhead! The Hotel du Lac had a roomfree so we checked in. Apparently one ofthe Devon cyclists was in his room a bitunder the weather but the rest were out totea having received an invite from a tourspectator the day before. Typical France!

We left our bags in our room which wasnot yet ready, had a beer then took to theroad again to check out Titeniac. This is astage town on the Paris-Brest-Paris andboth having done that epic event there wasa certain curiosity to see the place inleisure time. Even though it was on my

1995 PBP rather than 1999, myrecollections of Tinteniac were that on theway out it was extremely hot and busy so Ijust grabbed a coke and snoozed under atree. On the way back I had a chancemeeting with Trish Clark and KathyMoorhouse (who were supporting Jasonand Frank but also carrying my spareclothes and Liquorice Allsorts) whichgave me a real boost. The only otherfeature of the place I could recollect wasan avenue of trees. We scouted around awhile to find the control used on the eventand found what we thought might havebeen the place but weren’t entirely

convinced. Places look sodifferent when you are notsemi comatose and therearen’t thousands of othercyclists milling around.

Back in Combourg weenjoyed an evening mealwith the mid Devon CC andthen we all retired to the barnext door which wasshowing the World CupFinal between France andItaly. There was a great

atmosphere in the bar even though Francewere slowly falling behind – Nigel and Ileft before the bitter end but we didn’t hearany untoward behaviour like we mighthave experienced if England had just lost.The next day dawned warm and bright andwe had a fine breakfast before headingsouth. Josselin seemed quite a step on themap but we thought that would be ouraim. There was a big town, Ploërmel a fewkm short of Josselin which might do if wecouldn’t go any further. We had a fantasticday – finding a lot of quiet lanes whereotherwise we would have been on mainroads, crossing the PBP route and

A Typical Picnic

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travelling through the Paimpont forest.The town of the same name was quitecharming and we stopped to admire theAbbey. Ploërmel proved to be big andbusy but we still had enough energy to goon to Josselin. And we were so pleased wedid. We found a lovely route along by theNantes Brest canal into Josselin andarrived right by the stunning Chateau. Weclimbed up into the town and I left Nigelat a bar whilst I hunted out a hotel – whichwas back down by the Chateau! Josselin isfull of medieval buildings and we enjoyedexploring the town after a very good meal.One thing of some note today was ourpicnic lunch stop. Sitting on a bench by alarge pond I noticed there was a bed in themiddle with what looked like a dead manlaying on it. Fromwhat I could gatherfrom the sign inFrench this was thelocal contribution tothe art festival! Thiswas our longest dayof the tour at 103km.After more photos ofJosselin and adecision made not tobuy a very pretty butpossibly quite fragileegg holder for Nigel’smum (I’m sure itwouldn’t havetravelled well on the back of the tandem)we headed for the south coast of Brittany.It was a hot day but the morning was spenton a very pleasant high road, which madeup for the rather hot and hectic descentinto Vannes. Quite an attractive lookingtown but a bit busy for our liking. Wefound some shade in the park where weate our picnic then ventured down to theharbour which was lovely. We then tried

to find our way out along the coast on thequietest road we could find. This proveddifficult and after a detour via a very prettyinlet (cul de sac) we managed to getheading west on quite a big but not toounpleasant road, to arrive in Auray. Thiswas probably our worst moment for adodgy bit of road because we could see noway to get where we wanted to be withouthaving to do a bit of dual carriageway. Wesurvived and of course saw the road weshould have taken. The tourist office wasin the town on top of the hill – on the way Iup spotted what looked like a very prettybit of old town by the water. This was StGoustan, a little fishing village next toAuray and we did check into a lovely hotelthere, after I persuaded Nigel that yes he

did want to go back down the hill out ofthe busy town. After a lovely meal on thewater’s edge we had a good stroll aroundthis charming old part of town and up tothe new town via something like GoldHill, which the following morning we justabout managed on the tandem.

With temperatures up yet another notchtoday I asked for a short day with an

Chateau de Rohan

13 Cycle Ink #143

afternoon on the beach. We were headingfor Carnac to see “the stones”. We found aquiet route down to the coast and LaTrinité where the roads became busier butriding by the sea makes up for it. Carnacproved to be pretty busy but an attractivesort of holiday place. Lots of peoplecycling and walking around but theseafront hotels were either full, veryexpensive or both. However, we found atraditional French hotel up in the townwhich suited us for the night and theywere willing to put the tandem in therestaurant later on. After doing a ride-byall the “Stones” we could find (they alllooked much the same to me but I supposeit was quite an impressive site) we poppedback down toCarnac Plage for aswim. Lovely. Wedecided not toventure down thepeninsula toQuiberon however –either today ortomorrow –deciding it would betoo busy for ourliking and wouldprobably be alet-down when wegot there.

So Thursday saw us heading north awayfrom the busy southern coast. It is abeautiful looking bit of coastline but theroads were just a bit too busy for us towant to linger longer. We didn’t reallyknow where we were heading but foundsome lovely lanes and small towns withsuitable cafés for us to enjoy some simplecycling and French living. It got very hotand decidedly hilly as the day went on,especially since we took the scenic route

via Les Roches du Diable. Nigel doesprotest when I select these “scenic” routesbut he loves it really. At 4.30 p.m. wefound ourselves on top of a big hillsheltering from the heat in an old coveredmarket place in the town of Le Faouët.The hotel was closed but we checked intoone about 10km along the road in Priziac,a small village complete with lake.Directing us on the wrong road out oftown I wasn’t very popular when 10kmturned into 17km but eventually wechecked in after a long hot day in thesaddle.Today was Bastille day and a Friday.Would we find a hotel very easily wewondered? Good excuse for another short

day we thought and probably a sizeabletown would be a better bet. Pontivylooked about right and so, after our worstcoffee of the trip (but it was in a pretty andlively town) we arrived in Pontivy at lunchtime. Pontivy was back on the NantesBrest canal and although a big place waspretty deserted when we got there. Itwasn’t long before we found a suitablehotel, Le Rohan, with a conference roomfor the tandem and we went to look for

St Goustan

14 Cycle Ink #143

somewhere to eat our picnic. We found apicnic bench the canal – the only one notin the sun. A French family soon camealong and started unpacking their picnic inthe sun so we invited them to share ourtable and were soon being treated to theirpicnic too. The Rohan family seemed tofeature quite highly in these parts, eventhe Chateau was Chateau Rohan. So Nigelof course had to dress accordingly but thephotos weren’t quite good enough to sendto Rohan. During our afternoon stroll weestablished where the Bastille celebrationfireworks were going to be set off so wetook our front row seats early – on theedge of the canal. It was worth the wait –the fireworks werefantastic and no onepushed us into thecanal.

We left Pontivy at areasonable hour andheaded north on themain road to Mur deBretagne. I thinkthat translates asWall of Brittany andit certainly felt likewe were climbing awall to the top.From here weheaded off into the lanes towards the northcoast. We had toyed with the idea ofbagging a few more PBP stage towns butdecided that probably wasn’t very sensiblesince those towns probably had little elsegoing for them but when we stopped at asmall village shop to buy the picnic Ispotted a familiar looking bit of tarmacoutside La Mairie. We were actually onthe PBP route and I recognised this placeas where I had slept on hot tarmac in thewee hours some 11 years previously.

Nigel also recalled the recumbent tandem(alias The Bed) from Devon, also restinghere when he rode the event in 2003.Lunch was taken, eventually, in anothervery attractive and very hilly mediaevaltown called Moncontour (I guess the clueis in the name). I got very stroppy whenwe failed to find the park marked on thetown map but after going round in circleswe eventually realised it was up above ushidden behind one of the town walls. Wewere enjoying our much needed lunch somuch we didn’t bother to look at what wasgoing on below when other people rushedover to look over the wall. Hearing clapsand horns we assumed the commotion

was a wedding but later a couple ofEnglish cyclists came along for a chat andasked if we had seen the ladies Tour ofBrittany go by. Typical!

Where to go now? Jugon les Lacs has aslightly strange write-up in the RoughGuide but on balance it sounded like agood place to try. And it really was. Wehad a fast ride there along what seemedlike a high plateau from Moncontour andalthough the hotel was full or closed they

Busy Harbour at Les Vannes

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recommended a Chambres d’Hôtes whichproved excellent. We hadn’t before triedB&B in France and although this one wasrun by an English lady we would certainlytry B&B again. It does seem to bebecoming popular in France. There was agood choice of restaurants in the centre ofthe village and a lovely lake to walkaround. We liked Jugon so much and wewere hot and tired so booked to stayanother night. So Sunday was supposed tobe a rest day. I guess a day out on the bikewithout the panniers is as good as a rest.We had a fast ride up to the north coastand after picnicking at Cap Fréhel – one ofthe most northerly points of Brittany – wefound a beach where we had a superbswim in crystal clear sea. The ride back toJugon seemed even faster and we felt wehad earned a slap-up meal that night(again!).

Nearly home time but we wanted to visitMont St Michel and so headed that way.Today was hotter still and after a stop inDinan and lovely cycle path along theriver, which proved to be the wrongdirection, it was near the end of the dayand we weren’t yet close. Stopping in abar in Plein Fougères we were invited by ayoung couple to stay with them and visitLe Mont whilst they prepared supper. Itwas very tempting but as we didn’t quiteknow what to expect at Le Mont and mayregret having other commitments on ourlast night in France we declined as politelyas we could. We managed to find the cycleroute on the last leg to Le Mont avoidingmost of the traffic but the place was stillvery busy when we arrived. The approachis however very impressive. We took it inturns to go and explore this little city andcheck out hotels. I failed to find a hotelwilling to store the tandem (in theory

bicycles are banned inside the city walls)but Nigel managed it and so we decided tospend a little more and spend our lastnight on Mont St Michel, actually justinside Normandy. It was still cheaper thanour first night. Our room wasn’t exactlywhere the main hotel and restaurant wereas we discovered when we chased our hostup little alleys and steps to what seemedlike the top of the city. At least the viewacross the bay was stunning and the roomwas charming – even if the bathroom hadcome straight out of a caravan! Our mealwas not the best in France but I guess whatwe would expect in such a touristy placebut since most of the tourists had left bysunset we were able to walk around andenjoy the place without the crowds.

Time to go home but we had the wholeday to get to St Malo. After lots morephotos we found a great network ofunmarked lanes like you might findaround the Somerset levels. We even tookour chances on a track heading in the rightdirection which proved a success for achange. This day turned out to be thehottest at around 37 degrees so we spentquite a bit of time stopping to drink andfound a beach to have a swim before goinginto St Malo. We explored the Intra Muros(inside the City walls) then headed back tothe ferry port and boarded the Condorhome. All in all a very successful tour. Ifeel there is still a huge amount of Brittanyto see and hopefully we can do thatsometime soon – probably exploring thewestern end. Although the south coast wasa little busy I would certainly recommendBrittany as a cycling destination – so easyto get to and so much to see.You might not be so luckywith the weather of course!

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Aren’t we lucky to have some very nice Cafés, Pubs & Garden Centres in our area that canprovide refreshments for the audax mileater, potterer or dawdler. We appreciatesomewhere to sit whilst we stoke up with some food and drink to provide the energy forthe next part of the ride. Cyclists need to refresh their bodies more often than car driversneed to refuel their car engines, but there are less cafes, pubs and restaurants out in the

country where we like to ride than there are filling stations. Some cyclists prefer to take theirown food and drink, particularly in the summer, but most find it a welcome change to call infor a snack. The change of posture, the time to talk to the other riders and to hear the latestnews, gives as much enjoyment as the club run itself. This is also a time when you can feedthe body machine and put back a bit of lost energy with a drink and something to eat, whetherit’s the coffee, lunch or the final afternoon tea stop.

Unfortunately there are too few places that provide these refreshments locally and our ridesare governed by their location within a reasonable riding distance. I recall many years agowhen I first retired that one of our favourites was a Mrs “B’s“ at Woodlands. She did someexcellent snacks and madedelicious cakes that nearlyevery ride section visited herlittle shop for either coffee ortea at least once a month. Weused to send her a copy of theruns list so she would knowwhich section would visit on aparticular day. It was a greatdisappointment when sheclosed. Fortunately we wereable to use the Fleur De Lys atCranborne for coffee, but wesoon moved to CranborneGarden Centre when theymoved their coffee shop froma rickety lean to greenhouse tothe lovely building we use today. Another more recent example of café lost, was “Tanners”at Blandford, which closed two or three years ago. However we now use the delightfulCostume Museum café which I personally rate as one of the best places we have ever found.Unfortunately we don’t want to start from Wimborne and ride to Blandford every week.

We are very fortunate to be able to use some excellent Garden Centres, cafes, pubs and farmshops that feature regularly on all our rides and we would always welcome information aboutany new places to try. What we must do however, is to try to ensure that all the places wecurrently use continue to give us a warm welcome. Yes I’m sure they value our business andsome ask to be notified of our visit in advance, to enable them to arrange extra staff to copewith 15 to 20 riders all arriving at the same time. If you are leading the ride and the runs list

Rob GarnettCafes, Pubs & Garden Centres

Behind the scenes at the Cafe Stop!

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says please advise, please make sure you ring them at least two to three days in advance andgive them an approximate number of riders you trust will be with you. It’s always difficult toestimate the number, particularly in winter, but is very important as a leader that you phone.

At all refreshment places please always consider the staff and other customers. I have noticedrecently the etiquette of a minority leaves a lot to be desired and a bit of gentle nagging, Ithink, is all that is necessary to remind everyone of how important these venues are to us.Please encourage everyone to park their bicycles in a manner to avoid any obstruction. If weneed to move furniture to sit with our friends, consider access for other customers and staffand return the chairs before leaving. Lastly if it’s customary to return crockery please makesure we do so or at least leave the table reasonably tidy.

In short, let us always leave these establishments as we would wish to find them.

With your help I’m sure we shall continue to enjoy a warm welcome in 2007and for many years. May you all have a very Happy Christmas and enjoytrouble free cycling throughout the years.

There was a question from the floor at the Bournemouth Section’s AGM regard-ing incident reporting. The committee feel that because of the infinite variety ofpossible incidents, the persons involved must decide for themselves what needs tobe reported. The form for reporting any incident is available for downloadingfrom the Cyclists’ Touring Club’s website at:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3829it should be sent to:DA Secretary Peter Loakes, 1 Church Cottage, West Stafford, Dorchester, DT2 8AB

Incident Reporting

The Bournemouth section has assisted me in becoming an instructor of the newNational Standards, which has been devised by the Cyclists’ Touring Club who alsoadminister the whole scheme. This is a national government sponsored drive toensure cycle training will be delivered to the same standard across the country. Thistraining progresses to enable the student to confidently cycle on public roads andtherefore an avenue for the future members of our club.My qualification is provisional at present. I will be monitored during a couple offuture training sessions and if satisfactory I will become fully qualified.

National Standard Cycle Training

Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh

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Friends,If you haven’t heard the news elsewhere I can confirm that our friends in Saint-Lôhave given us advance information that they intend to hold an event on 8th/9thSeptember 2007 to commemorate their 40th anniversary as a club. Also it seemsthat 2007 is seen as the 120th anniversary of ‘cyclotourisme’ in France.

Some readers will have experienced and will recall the ‘Easter Cider Meets’ which tookplace on twelve occasions within the 1969/1999 time span: they will know whatastonishing feats of organisation they were particularly given the fact that the Saint-Lôclub is not a large one. The 2007 event is described as a ‘mini Cider Meet’ although itdoesn’t sound that mini ! It is understood that, as before, around 1500 participants areenvisaged, but whereas the Easter events spread over three days - into the Bank HolidayMonday -2007 will be restricted to the Saturday and Sunday (I assume that this meansthat they will have ‘only’ to cater for over 1000 people at an evening meal just once andnot twice as in earlier events).

The official programme and entry formswill not be published until January but Jean andLoïc have asked that we do not hesitate to talk about it, to our friends, friends of ourfriends, all over the world! I can imagine that there will be a lot of interest. Traditionallythe Brits have numbered around 400 at those earlier Cider Meets and there will be manywith good memories of previous events.

As before accommodation is available at hotels, B&B’s and a school gymnasium (thisearly communication does not mention camping). But the Saint lois have expressed thewish to accommodate their Wessex friends at their homes wherever possible. Personally,I can imagine that in some cases this will not be practical given the demands on theSaint-Lô club members. I can understand that they wish to reciprocate following lastMay’s joyous weekend but there will be another time!

At the moment, I’m wondering what do at this stage. At the time of the last Cider Meet Idid reserve 13 rooms at the Formula One - there’s an Ibis next door, and both are veryconvenient for the event HQ. As you can imagine, given an event of this magnitude hotelrooms go quickly. Probably the best thing to do is just to get some idea of who is likely towish to participate , this irrespective as to whether we will be hosted or hotel/B&Bbased. In the past ‘Wessex’ has won the trophy for the foreign club with most participants.

Can I have an initial reaction please?01202 695179normvel.payne@virgin.net

St Lo in 2007 Norman Payne

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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.

Keith Matthews: 7 Cotes Avenue, Poole, BH14 0ND TEL: (01202) 740388 Email keithjanet@btinternet.com

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

Date of next Meetings

Next Committee meeting atThe Conservative Club, Parr Street, Parkstone.

Wednesday 21st February 2007 at 19:30

Committee meetings for 2007May; 22nd Aug; 24th Oct (AGM); 21st Nov