Review by Martina:
“What a fantastic morning!

I have been hunting for a cycling club for sometime now; one that will suit all our family needs, which to be honest is a bit of a tall order.

Kieron (10) who had his first road bike last Christmas, loves speed where as Robyn (8) enjoys a short ride that doesn’t take to much effort i.e. not to many hills! Rob (41) enjoys a good ride to stretch his old legs however it must include time to have a chat and a coffee stop, and then there’s me, Martina (NA, you don’t really need to know, now do you!) I just simply enjoy been out and about with my family meeting new people and having fun.

First Bank Holiday of 2011 we meet up with members of the club for the family ride, our first ride of many I hope.

Everyone was so friendly and straight away we all felt that Stoke Cycling Club was the one for us. The ride took us through shared paths and quiet roads which we had not noticed before around Bradley Stoke, Harry Stoke and Abbeywood.

Kieron got a puncture, which was quickly sorted by many and we stopped of at McDonalds for a hot Chocolate and to Kieron and Robyn’s delight a cake. Snow flakes started falling however didn’t chill the warmth of the group we felt very much a part of.

Robyn pedalled faster than she has ever pedalled before and not because she was trying to keep up, Robyn spent most of the time at the front, as the group rode to her pace which made Robyn ride with such confidence, so lovely to see. Both the children enjoyed their morning ride and once we got home were quick to ask when they could join the club for another ride. That evening Grandma came round and Kieron shared the story of how he had a puncture and how everyone got involved with tools, knowledge and skills to fix it, it was funny seeing Kieron proud of the fact that his puncture had showed everyone on the ride that day to be friendly and happy to help.

We so enjoyed been out with you guys, Rob has completed the membership form and we hope to join you for the next family ride.

A huge Thank you,
The Obee Family”

Review by Richard:
“A ride to the village of St Briavels, with it’s own castle, overlooking the Wye valley. The Saturday had been dull, damp and miserable, but Sunday dawned bright and sunny, so we set off in high spirits. We arrived in Tintern at about 11:15, having enjoyed the swooping, mile long descent on the main road, and stopped at the Old Mill for refreshment. Brian and Craig followed me in having the speciality of the house, the mill wheel, which is a toasted tea cake the size of a pizza. We then rode to the Brockwier where we left the main road to go up to St Briavels, and I mean up! It was granny ring stuff for a couple of miles with the sweat running into your eyes. We did manage a breather when Brian’s gears decided to go automatic though. The lunch stop was the George, and bowls of chips and some liquid refreshment later, we headed up to the B road, and the long descent into Chepstow, stopping only to admire the view from Wintour’s Leap, which overlooks a particularly spectacular loop of the Wye. Back to the Three Brooks (the Clubhouse!) where we were joined by the ladies who were sensible enough to stay home.”

Review by Richard:
“This was a ride on a sunny day to a spot on the bank of the Severn. We had a very pleasant ride through the country lanes to Thornbury, where we made a useful discovery of a wonderful cafe, which did the biggest doorstep sausage sandwiches ever. And they were Gloucestershire Old Spot sausages too. We did think about staying but stirred our stumps and rode to Sheperdine, where we sat on the river bank, munched lunch, supped coffee and watched the boats struggle against the tide. It was after that that I decided to try the bridle path, which was interesting, but slightly muddy. Back on the road, we returned via the White Hart at Littleton, then up the hill to cross the A38 and home, having had another thoroughly enjoyable day.”

Review by Clare:
“Our medium ride headed to Hillesley, just beneath the Cotswold Edge. A direct route to Chipping Sodbury gave us brunch at Poppy's. Afterwards we headed across the large expanses of Sodbury and Hawkesbury Common, complete with cattle grids (most comfortable when crossed at speed!). Lunch was a pub in the pretty village of Hillesley. The journey home was via Wickwar where we went under the Bristol to Cheltenham railway line, only to cross it a further 4 times in the next few miles.
We had our first puncture on this ride. Fixed in 5 mintues, although I'm not sure many of us could have replaced an inner tube in as fast a time as Dan. Maybe we need to start a club record for the task.”

Review by Andy:
“We had a nice liesurely ride to the duck pond at Winterbourne, around 6 miles. James (4 and 3/4 years) had a great time chasing the ducks around. A few snacks and drinks were consumed and the ducks were fed, then it was back to Bradley Stoke (about 4 miles) and a drink at Costa Coffee.”

Review by Brian:
“Today’s ride was a pleasant change to our usual trips out, as we ended up not too far away at a small vintage rally by Coal pit Heath. We saw an impressive range of small engines, classic cars (some of which I remember well!) and classic motor bikes with the occasional old tractor thrown in. Our return journey and trying to find a place to eat was more of a test, Alison enquired in quite a few pubs on our behalf, only to be told that they were full (although she was in each one, a while... ☺). We managed to get a lovely snack and of course wedge of cake at the Frome Valley Farm Shop on Winterbourne Road, which is well worth a patient visit if you’re out that way. All in all a lovely 18 mile trip and not too hot a day either.”

Review by Clare:
We followed what is known as the Avon cycleway Filton-link north from Bradley Stoke, which passes through some lovely quiet country lanes north of Tytherington. After crossing the A38 we carried on northwards to Berkeley Castle. The picnic area was nice with some welcome shade under the trees, but no view of the Castle!

The journey back kept close to the River Severn, through Oldbury-on-Severn, Littleton-on-Severn and Elberton. For a flood plain its surprisingly undulating, but this did give great views across to the Wye Valley from the St Arilda Church just outside Oldbury."

Here's what Brian had to say about the ride to Wyevale Garden Centre:
"For our trip to Wyevale Garden Centre, we were joined by newcomers Roger and his family on their triplet – yes a tri-cycle – Alison on her superb bike and Bob on his trusty steed. We had a pleasant trip through the quiet back roads and villages of Earthcott Green, Itchington and Tytherington to our destination at Milbury Heath where we enjoyed a snack or two at their cafe. We took a slight detour on the way back via the infamous Jekka’s Herb Farm near Alveston which has won 62 RHS Gold Awards amongst many other prestigious awards. They are having another open day soon and we intend to include them in one of our future rides."

Review by Clare: "I was really looking forward to this ride, I have had Richard's South Glos Castle Combe leaflet for several years but never quite managed to plan it.

The route we followed was north of the M4 to Castle Combe and south of the M4 for the return. The great part of this ride were the gorgeous single track roads west of the A46 which were virtually traffic free. The lanes were fairly flat with expansive views across the fields. Having been to Castle Combe before I knew it was in a valley and the climb out worried me. But in the end it wasn't too bad, and we all made it up without walking.

We had 6 people for this ride, with a special mention needed for both Andy and his Brompton, and Sam with his dodgy gears. I got great satisfaction out of completing my longest ever ride."

Here's Clare's review of our ride to Chepstow:
"We had 7 people join Richard for our inaugural medium length ride to Chepstow. The distance, 28 miles, was identical to the temperature 28C! We followed country lanes through Tockington and Olveston and on to the Severn bridge, here we stopped to admire the view and feel the vibrations of the passing traffic, then on to Chepstow for a picnic. A couple of us went into the castle, but most joined the unexpectedly difficult hunt for an ice cream. Newly energized, we all made the hill out from Chepstow. Then back across the bridge and onto Almondsbury and the final hill. Once at the top we could look back and trace the route we had taken. A great day was had by all."

Here's what Brian had to say about our first ride:
"Well, what an absolutely excellent start to our cycling club’s rides. Many thanks to all 14 who turned up and took part today, I know that we didn’t have the glorious summers day that we were hoping for, but at least that horrible wet stuff had the decency to hold off until the journey home. A special thanks to Richard Burton who was our Ride Leader and devised the scenic route through all manner of back country roads, cow-pats and the occasional pot-hole. I guess we should also mention (and thank) James who did such a lovely job, in helping his Dad cycle up a few slight inclines on their bike-and-a-bit cycle."