Bike Ride June 2009

Aye, it's that time of year again when the Young Executives Cycle Club cast off their role as chefs and event organisers and take on the continuing challenge of cycling around Britain for no other reason than that it's there.

Looking along the line-up on the departure photograph, no fewer than 5 out of the 8 participants are retired allowing us to ride from Monday - Wednesday instead of the usual Friday - Sunday. Despite the well wrapped appearance of the cyclists the dominant feature of the ride was the heat. The forecast for the area we visited had been dire, but as St Paul tells us: "The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" and our prayers were answered and the rain held off.

For some, the challenge of the 6.00am early start was a difficult hurdle, especially after not getting in until 3.00am earlier in the day, but being the honed athletes we are, such trivialities are counted as nothing.

For regular readers, you may recall that the 'Round England Tour' finished last year when the end of the 2008 ride connected up with a point of the 'Coast to Coast' that had been part of the first leg. Being the international types that we are, we thought Scottish womanhood should enjoy the sight of a finely honed thigh or two flashing by, so we disembarked just outside Penrith and headed North.

Through Carlisle, the route was clearly marked, but the council in their wisdom decided to dig up the paths and fence off the entire south side of the river necessitating mucho consultation of maps by the only member of the team with enough lamp oil to read them.

Having finally picked up the route, the lunch stop for Monday allowed time for the phone call home to ensure the wives and sweethearts were managing without us. Our thoughts never stray far from hearth and home even when we're desperately trying to re-hydrate our bodies under the fierce anvil of the sun.

We are also aware of our status as ambassadors for St Michael's and take our role seriously; this shot was taken by a passer-by of the full cycling party outside another St Michael's & All Angels in Arthuret, just inside the English side of the border with Scotland.

From Carlisle it was but a short hop over the border to Gretna where the chance to sit on a cool metal seat and eat an ice cream made us the object of attention among a coach load of Japanese tourists. By now the tarmac on the roads was melting and shade was a rare luxury as we re-mounted for the final leg of the day.

With 50 miles under our belts, the time had come to stop in Annan for the night and enjoy a shower and a bite to eat. The accomodation was booked & waiting for us as we dropped our bags off before retiring to the bar for a quick discussion on the role of the host in the Eucharist and other such topical issues.

After a light repast it was deemed necessary to retire to the rear of the premises to enjoy the cool of the evening before another long day in the saddle.

Tuesday dawned slightly overcast allowing us to get some serious speed going along the North of the Solway Firth. The photographs do not do the scenery justice.

But of course as the sun rose in the sky, the slight haze burned off and once again the tarmac was melting on the roads. Long stops to re-fill water bottles and try and find cool shade are loathed as wasting valuable cycling time, but sacrifices need to be made in the continuing quest to maintain our status as the fittest cyclists in the diocese.

Our hotel for the evening was the Bogue Hotel, advertised as being near Kirkcudbright; now the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said there are three types on untruth, "lies, damned lies, and statistics." To this pernicious list needs to be added another - the description from the Tourist information girl in Kirkcudbright that the Bogue Hotel was "Over the bridge, and around the corner. It's not very far". After 7 miles we found the place, several members of the team voiced what they would like to do to the girl were they able to get their hands on her.

An idyllic setting and a cold refreshing libation took the edge of the anger and we settled under the shade of a parasol from the residual heat of the day and compared sunburn marks accumulated after another 60 miles in the saddle.

Now another feature of the annual bike ride, is that it's usually someone's birthday whilst we're away, although as we usually go away at the same time every year this may be a factor in the calculations. After our evening meal a cake was brought out for the birthday boy who generously shared it 8 ways after some complex mathematics on the best way this could be achieved with a round cake.

Wednesday morning dawned bright and humid, but with only 30 miles to cover after the the extra miles the previous day, it was an early end at Creetown bringing the total mileage for the 3 days to about 135 in total.

A quick stop in Dumfries at lunch time allowed us a chance to refuel before heading back to Houghton. As usual there are many people to thank for this successful and enjoyable break; John Lambton for organising it and booking hotels etc. Derek Farthing for hiring the minibus and driving us - no mean sacrifice as he sits on his own for hours on end waiting for us to turn up; and not least of all our wives for allowing us to go jaunting around the coutryside when we are old enough to know better. The bike ride isn't an exclusive event, if you think you've got what it takes (a bike is usually a start) speak to any of the folks featured in the photographs and we'll be pleased to invite you to join in the preparations for next year.

Behind the scenes