The Highway Magazine - Jan Feb 2020

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A TALE OF A BAD BUY

GRIMPEUR REAPER

JIM BEED BOUGHT A THANET, WHAT’S THE

DR CLIVE LONG AND HIS MERRY BAND OF CLIMBERS

WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN?

NEGOTIATE THE WILD COUNTRY OF SIERRA NEVADA

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WELCOME v o l u m e 6 8 n u m b e r 4

It’s an interesting time at the moment.

The weather has been less than ideal, the conditions of the road and lanes have suffered as a result. South Devon CTC has unofficially set up its own Seaborne Division to cope with the extent of flooding.

Endless bugs and colds seem to be doing the rounds on more than one occasion and now we have a serious issue with Coronavirus.

Yes I mentioned the “C” word, sorry. On one hand it is namely just to archive such an event in this magazine - hopefully we can all look back in relief! On the other hand, to highlight a clear point while simultaneously blowing smoke up our own derriere’s, that if we stay fit and healthy we can all be stronger for times like these.

All the while through this doom and gloom, the snow drops have sprung, wild garlic boarders our lane and the birds seem busier than ever. In amongst the breaks in the wind and rain it is feeling a lot like spring. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

Chin up, pedal on.

Shaun East

CHAIRMAN:

EDITOR:

LAST COPY DATE:

KEVIN PRESLAND

SHAUN EAST

March | Number 05 | 21st March

Hind Street House

5 Bridge Terrace

PUBLICATION DATE:

Hind Street

Tuckenhay

March | Number 05 | 31st March

Bovey Tracey TQ13 9HT

TQ9 7EH

COVER PICTURE:

T: 01626 833749

T: 07748816396

MOUNTAIN DECENT

E: kevin.hindstreet@btinternet.com

E: thehighwayman@yahoo.com

- Graham Brodie

SECRETARY:

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

GRAHAM BRODIE

GEOFFREY SHARPE

10 Courtney Road

35 Claredon Road

Newton Abbot TQ12 1HP

Ipplepen TQ12 5QS

T: 01626 335130

T: 01803 812743

E: brodie@bikerider.com

E: geoffsharpe35@gmail.com

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MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION: ELIZABETH RASHLEY

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E: erashley@hotmail.co.uk

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LETTERS AND NEWS SOUTH DEVON 2019 YEARBOOK

South Devon has released an Instagram Year book for 2019.

It covers all the adventures recorded on their Instagram account.

Not everyone has access to Instagram or knows about it. You can view the book at the following link: https://issuu.com/thehighwayman/docs/2019_instagram_year_book

GET WELL SOON GEOFF! We have received recent news that South Devon CTC member and comittee member Geoff Sharpe has suffered a mild heart attack.

At present, we don’t know any further information, but wish him a swift recovery.

If there are any SDCTC members that can assist him with his varous club duties, then we ask for those kind people to step forward.

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GETTING TO KNOW THE CLUB INTERVIEW BY: THE HIGHWAYMAN

What is your profession?

Hopefully this will turn in to a longer standing run of articles. The idea is to highlight members of the various CTC sections of Devon, who have been longstanding and have given their time over to the running and organising of their section. (ed)

I left school when I was just 15 years old and started a job as an assistant in a chemist. Helping to put out the items as ordered from the customers Doctors.

Obviously this was always checked by the boss.

What is your favourite part of Devon to ride? Do you have a particular route that still fires up your excitement?

So to kick off the first of this series, I introduce you to Jean Brierly of Exeter CTC. So, to start with, a few quick fire questions:

I don’t have any real favourite places, I am just happy to be out enjoying all the places I go to.

Triple or Double Chainset?

Which is your preferred cafe? What do you look forward to ordering?

I used to have a Triple Chain set before I purchased an electric bike a year ago.

However when I rode in my early years I used to ride a fixed wheel bike. This was built by the owner of Westlands Cycle Shop, a local bike shop in Exeter.

I have no preferred venues.

What are the varieties of bike you have owned?’.

Is there one particular bike that you own or have owned that has been near to your idea of perfection?

Coffee or Tea? Any Moor or Coast?

I enjoy either of those choices.

Over the years I have ridden various bikes.

As mentioned above most of my early years was on my Westland bike with a fixed wheel. Later on I changed to various Double & triple chainrings to suit my energy level. At the moment I still have two Trek bikes, one which is a carbon fibre machine with a low range of gears, plus another one with Carbon Fibre front Forks.

And now I mainly riding just the Electric Bike.

Racer or Tourer? I am basically a Tourer.

Maps or GPS? I have always been used to Maps.

About you: Have you always lived in Devon? If not where were you beforehand and what was your cycling life like there?

In your time cycling, what has been the biggest change?

I have always lived in Devon. Born in Exeter but following on from the Blitz in the early 1940’s was moved around to be looked after by my Father’s family. whilst he was in the forces. j a n

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The biggest change is having to cope with all the traffic which is around now. In my early years we were able to ride on the main roads two abreast most of the time.

We always singled up when someone from the rear of the group shouted out “Oil Up”. |

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GETTING TO KNOW THE CLUB INTERVIEW BY: THE HIGHWAYMAN

Have you ever cycled abroad?

there we rode up to St Malo to catch a Ferry there to return back to Plymouth. The second time was a three week trip to Spain to ride up in the “Picos De Europa. This time we had a wonderful trip down to Santander via the Bay of Biscay and back again.

Our only complaint was that it wasn’t as warm as we expected in May and only saw the sun for three days. However it was certainly very enjoyable. Such wonderful views there. A lot still with some snow lying around. One time we travelled up one when it started to hail ~ I was alright because I could keep my head down behind Colin, whilst he had a job to see ahead all the time. (Happy days.)

Yes, my first time abroad is when we went over on the Brittany Ferries to France with our two children when they were 10 and 12 years old. My daughter, the youngest was on the back of the tandem with a her father whilst my son and I rode single bikes.

We all enjoyed ourselves.

Could you recollect on a memorable journey?

That particular time in France we had quite a long standing memory of our trip back on the ferry. To start with the ferry had to be pulled away from where it was berthed in Roscoff by a Tug. About half an hour later the ship was rolling around very severely which caused a lot of the bottles of wine flying off the shelves in the customs area. So obviously they had to close that area down. Once we were out in the Channel the ship was lifted up and then the whole ship just dropped down into the trough with a most horrible noise as the rudder lifted out from the sea. Very scary.

When we arrived at the English waters for the first time ever they couldn’t land at Plymouth with the sea being so rough which meant that instead we were chugging up and down the Channel as far as Lyme Regis and we virtually saw where we lived each time in Paignton. We eventually docked at Plymouth 12 hours later on from when we should have docked. The one thing that pleased us as a family was that not one of was sea sick like most of the passengers.

About the CTC: What CTC Devon section are you with?

I am basically now a member of Exeter, but for nearly thirty years was a member of the Torbay Section when Colin was working for SWEB. I joined the CTC in 1954.

What drew you to the CTC rather than other cycling clubs?

A friend of my Father suggested to him to let me go on a ride to see if I would like to join. My first ride was on a very heavy bike with rod brakes, metal chain case and four gears. The route was to Trendlebere Down, then up the Old Manaton road which was up hill and rough so I walked it and then on to North Bovey for a cream tea in the pub before wending our way back to Exeter.

If you could cycle anywhere in the world, where would you like to go and why?

Have you had any involvement in the running of your local CTC section? If so could you give some detail as to the nature of your role?

I have done two rides on a tandem with my late husband the first one was also in France when we rode down to the Loire Valley travelling alongside the river Eastwards having gone over to Roscoff. From j a n

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I have been involved with many jobs over my long time as a CTC member. At one time I was the minuting secretary when |

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GETTING TO KNOW THE CLUB INTERVIEW BY: THE HIGHWAYMAN

Colin was the DA Sec. (He had been involved with the club most of is riding years). I started typing up the Skins for the Highwayman Magazine in the early 60’s. Since then I only had a two year break of involvement in the early 70’s. I finally handed over the work of being the Treasurer and general odd jobs etc when you and Geoff took over. I am still involved in running the Exeter Coffee Pot rides etc.

What would you like to see in the future with the Devon CTC / your local CTC section?

I hope that there will always be a lot of members who will enjoy riding with the club.

And remember that we all should think about how much work goes on the keep a Club together. It takes a lot of effort on the people who have done various tasks over the years. Also that we try to ride in an orderly fashion to keep our reputation of good riding behaviour. I can remember when I first joined back all those years ago how we were taught to keep well in to the left. If not you would get a telling off!!

THE DIGITAL HIGHWAYMAN WORDS: THE HIGHWAYMAN

From the following volume we propose to make The Highwayman magazine available as a .pdf viewable online with the ability to download on to your computer.

We have receieved much feedback from members that indicates many people favour an online publication. However, we are hoping that we will still be printing off copies for those who may want that, and we know that there are a few.

If you haven’t told us your preference then please get in touch soon: thehighwayman@yahoo.com Winter 2019 can be viewed here: https://issuu.com/thehighwayman/ docs/winter_19_thm_for_print

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CHRIS BENNET 300KM MEMORIAL The Chris Bennett 300 (better known as the Turf n Surf)

memory of Chris under the title of Turf n’ Surf 300 + with a 100 and 400km options in the latter years.

It is 8 years now since we lost Chris. Before joining the CTC in the 90s he had enjoyed weekend cycle trips from his Kingsteignton home to visit his parents near Wadebridge, so he was already pretty fit when we first met him. CTC widened his cycling horizons, and along with many memorable tours and club runs Chris enjoyed the long distance life of the Audax Randonneur. As well as riding, a plan remained niggling away for his own event, but circumstances discouraged him from taking on the mantle of organiser. This changed in the winter of 2011 /12 as Chris then decided that the time was right to run his event. His route was based on those formative weekend trips to Wadebridge, but via Great Torrington to make a round trip of 300km.

Rod and Chris were to ride the route, but sadly fate intervened and he was never to test the whole route himself. Rod organised for a band of his long distance comrades to complete the route a few weeks later in Chris’s memory, despite the cold and rain we all agreed that it would be a great event. Rod and Lisa went on to run the Audax for the following five years in

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On all of the events Chris’s family pitched up to assist with running controls and also to assist with some of the admin duties.

All profits raised have been donated to Devon Air Ambulance as part of the ‘Just Giving’ Fund in Chris’s memory. It was Devon Air Ambulance that attended the scene when Chris suffered his massive heart attack that killed him.

In 2018 James and I rode the route together as a DIY event, and now in 2020 the same is being offered as a local DATC event, partly because it is a great ride, but also as a fitting memory of such a good cycling friend. The entry fee of £5 will be donated in full to the Devon Air Ambulance, and if Audax members want to have the event recorded as an Audax then for an additional fee I will enter those riders that give me two weeks’ notice.

The event is on Saturday 18th April, starting bright and early at 6am from Newton Abbot. kevin.hindstreet@btinternet.com

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NOTICES

AUDA X UK

Future Devon Ev Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

ents:

- A River ch. Mad March Sunday 15th Mar D) Too Far 200k (Cat Exeter ch. Mad March Sunday 15th Mar at B) Excursion 100k (C Saturday 18th Ap Auda x (Cat D)

t 30 ril Chris Bennet

0k

TAVIS TOCK TRIP Anoth 12th e ganise r Tuesda 13th M d y . “ D ay.

Awayd dation ave P h a as org y trip” for the at the a night Queens nised s has bee of om n H h o The id tels and12th May.e(ad Hotel i e accommorn e c T please a is to b ycle ho here ar Tavisto oe also ck use th ook yo stel in th u is link o to sereselves onteotown) ther t t h hi about e http:// it: note froms trip w w w.

Stella bikew eb.org .uk/ta vi_120 520.pd f

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COFFEE POT RUNS WORDS: JEAN BRIERLY

2020 Jan 9 Escot Jan 16 Bernaville Nurseries Jan 23 Gittisham Combe Garden

Centre. The Kitchen EX14 3PD Jan 30 Greendale Farm Shop Feb 6 Exmouth. Kings Garden Centre Feb 13 Powderham Castle Feb 20 Cyst Hydon village Hall Feb 27 Cullompton ~ Padbrooke Hotel

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Mar 5 Bernaville Nurseries Mar 12 Willand Bluebell Restaurant Mar 19 Escot Mar 26 Gittisham ~ Combe Garden Centre Apr 2 Greendale Farm Shop Apr 9 Exminster Golf Club Apr 16 Exmouth ~ Kings Garden Centre

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WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG...

Q: Who is this sh

ort clad whipper snapper?

Clue: He was bo rn and bred on GMT, but in a wa rmer country...

A: Steve Main j a n

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TOURING COMPETITION WORDS: GEOFF SHARPE

2020 South Devon CTC Tourist Competition Sunday16th February saw the annual St Valentines Day ride and also storm Dennis bringing high winds and a lot of flooding to south Devon.

Members turned up at the arch in Kingskerswell for the event and also I believe for the cakes at the finish.

So……after 4 rounds the competition looks like this.

- GEOFF SHARPE CTC Devon Events Co ordinator | Email.geoffsharpe35@gmail.com LADIES SECTION

OVERALL 1 2 3

5

7

10

Graham Brodie Kate Brodie David Twigger Richard Coverdale Geoff Sharpe Caroline Twigger Rob Legg Steve Maddock James O’Neill Danny Cortis

36 points 33

30

30 25 25 20 20 20 18

1 2 3

7

Kate Brodie Caroline Twigger Jill Day Stella Thompson Sarah Britton Pippa Wheeler Linda Swayne

33 points 25 10 10 10 10 8

TEAMS Torbay Vets Rule Okay The vets have taken over top spot from Totally Torbay and the Tipplers. With several of the members in more than one of those teams it’s going top be interesting to see how it will end up.

1 2 3 1

TOTALLY TORBAY (Geoff Sharpe, David Twigger, Graham Brodie) THE YOUNG FOGEYS (Caroline & David Twigger, Shaun East) TORBAY TIPPLERS (Steve Main, Graham Brodie, Dave Prudden TORBAY VETS (Geoff Sharpe, Dave Prudden, Rob Legg)

91 Points 60 56 55

Future Events: Round 5: Sunday 15th March. Mad March: A River Too Far 200k Round 6: Sunday 15th March. Mad March: Exeter Excursion 100k

(Cat D) (Cat B)

Round 8 Sunday 26th April Big Peaks Devon Dirt 70k

(Cat F)

Round 7 Saturday 18th April Chris Bennett 300k Audax

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HIGH ROADS TOUR 2019 WORDS: DR CLIVE LONG

The High Roads Tour.

12th-22nd October 2019.

The HRT covered a circuit in Southern Spain. Those present: Kevin Presland, Graham Brodie, Dave Twigger and Clive Long.

Steve Jones couldn’t make it due to his accident.The main event was to be an ascent of Pico Valeta (3396 m) and to see how many National Parks we could traverse in a week.

Bikes built, we set off on the first afternoon for a local circuit through quiet mountain roads (Sierra Espuna) and splendid views.

We flew into Murcia and took a Taxi to Santuario de Santa Eulalia de Merida which is a beautiful church which we did not visit.

We stayed in the attached hotel. Amusingly and noisily, so did a wedding party on the first night.

First great vista before us was the dramatic cliff hugging village Aledo.

Many of the roads had the look and feel of UK A roads, but with virtually no traffic, so made for riding at a good pace. We were travelling through the arid low lands

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Wall to wall sunshine and 28 degree heat for the second day. We stocked up big time on a superb breakfast spread, departing 9.15.

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threading our way past various sierras and grape and olive plantations.

Day 3 started a bit damp and after a town square breakfast and a search for a bike shop (Graham had wheel problems), we headed toward the Sierra Almorchon and a National Park called Carzola. First headed up the ever greener valleys between a variety of sierras. Delighted at the virtual absence of traffic.

Then through the hairpins we climbed into limestone country, and we were treated to grandstand views of the valley, and above those soaring vultures again.

Our quality descent was denied again, this time by the jarring rough surface. Highlight was the herd of wild goats. The valley lasted only as long as lunch, then onto a smaller 400 m climb. We stopped in a park to get water, alas no water, but a friendly chap came over, got his tools, lifted the iron cover and turned the water back on just for us! So many really decent people in these parts!

An early punctuation on the long climb at a roadside garage / bar at La Paraquai buoyed us, 2 hours in, so perfect timing.

We crossed from Murcia into Andalusia, and so the gradient kicked for a hot climb into the fortified town of Velez-Blanco, Moorish influence very much in evidence.

We found a shaded terrace for lunch then a fine fountain with sparkling clear water.

Through Sierra de MarĂ­a-Los VĂŠlez Natural Park and a headwind kicked in, we had joined a road that had occasional cars, so joined the excellent roadside cycle path to the mountain town of Maria. Eventually we fought our way over the summit, but we were denied the long awaited rolling descent by the ever increasing headwind.

As the gradient decreased we found ourselves on an endless straight.

Ahead were a column of circling birds, as we neared we realised these were vultures. To our left was a group of chicks and we were discouraged from going close by parent birds flying close over us. One of the gigantic avian beasts took to the air beside us, just incredible size, then they would soar low over us in threatening manner, scary but awesome. It appears vultures are being reintroduced to these hills.

The climb was a wide main road, albeit still little traffic, long straights, stiff headwind.

The descent was terrific, perfect surface, long sweeping bends. We finally dropped into a flooded valley surrounded by forest and mountain, but still lumpy cycling, not least the climb to the dramatic cliff hugging town of Hornos.

Our final ride on the hill above the reservoir was a delight, through the pine woods with a few deer sightings, dramatic lake views between the trees and at clearings, but time was pressing on, eventually we were welcomed with beer and olives at 7.15 after 81 miles of mountain cycling.

Orse offered bars, so we took advantage of the refuge from the ever present wind. We had dropped into a dry sandstone gorge with many cliff dwellings.

Kevin had told us that we would be sleeping in a cave! Indeed, our accommodation in Huescar was a 5 star man made cave, nice and cool. The walk to our cave restaurant was accompanied by a cacophony of dogs, all very threatening.

All in all an impressive,All in all an impressive but hard day awheel.

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Day 4 was a day of two halves. Cold mountain air with low clouds passing through, to sun soaked rolling expanses of olive plantations.

A very relaxed departure meant that the sun had reached the valley floor, but still cold. A fox took to cover upon sighting our |

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approach. Around us was mixed woodland, with occasional grove of ash turning glorious yellow.

into a deep valley. No sooner escaped, then down into the next. We spotted Praying Mantis on the roadside.

We followed the second valley all the way to Granada, 7 km up and 12 km down, but as we climbed so we found the gorge rising around us, great shards of limestone stretching skywards, dramatic trees shining in the afternoon sun, water filled valley setting contour line to the vertiginous cliffs. Stunning cycling, and we had it to ourselves. As we approached Granada we saw quite a lot of cyclists. This is obviously a cycling centre.

We arrived at our cave dwelling and even found a cycle shop to replace Graham’s worn rims. He was going to need them the next day!

On nearing the top the splendid panorama of our valley approach opened out way below us, we turned our wheels for the col and out of the Sierra de Cazola.

Beneath us now for as far as the eye could see was plantations of olives, each ‘farm’ having planted to their own grid, so creating an unfamiliar patchwork to the UK eye.

We stopped for coffee, cycle shop hunting and lunch in the town of Carzola, complete with fine square and dramatic castle — the backdrop to lunch.

This was olive country on an industrial scale. Our road contoured along the western side of the Sierra de Carzola, then crossed a few 150 m deep valleys.

Great surfaces, and no traffic. On cresting one summit we spotted a distant mountain range, realising it was the Sierra Nevada some 100 km away.

The final stretch of the ride took us on to a wide main road, mercifully quiet, so this took us at good pace for the gradients up to Belmez de la Moraleda in the Parque Natural de la Sierra Magina.

107.2km. 2116m

The Big Day (6).

This was to be our Pico Veleta day, soaring some 2700m+ above us at a height of 3398 m!

We used the route up via the Genil Valley and the village of Monachil. This deep cleft sandstone valley had been dammed, and we passed with bright sun offering dazzling reflections whilst behind us the waning moon remained high in the sky.

Our very steep climb from the Genil River was preceded by a 100 m drop from the village, and wasted little time in reaching gradients of 15 - 22% for the first 350 m of altitude gain, important to keep to a sensible pace. The town fell away beneath us, and soon we were looking over the opposite valley wall to the series of ridges we had crossed yesterday. Small groves of fruit clung to the hillside in garden plots and we passed a most amazing tree den — an old cable car cabin.

We re-grouped at the information centre for elevenses at 1700 m altitude, so 950 meters done.

Thereafter we joined the less steep main drag to the Sierra Nevada ski village with the inevitable widening views, bottom of town was at 2100 m, the top at 2400 m.

Day 5. Expansive vistas and deep gorges.

Andalusia at its best.

Traffic free main road, away from Sierra Magina, through the olive groves.

Views of different sierras all around. This area of Spain is known as the Altiplano, a high plain, with numerous small mountain ranges dotted over it. Then down we dipped, dead straight and long, all the way into Guadahortuna with its ancient church, our coffee stop. So the big views continued to the village square in Moreda for lunch, and then until Daro where we took to the small roads.

Here the steepness increased, and before long, so the plain opened up before us j a n

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At the top of the town was a fabulous sports centre, with high altitude running track and sports pitch on the roof overlooking the valley.

Stopping at 1700 m the cafe was closed, but the 950 m 16 km descent was bottomed out in just 20 minutes — an exhilarating finish to a thrilling and inspiring day.

We took lunch at the cluster of food cabins that marked the end of the open road at 2500 m. We passed under the barrier and entered the delightful quiet closed road.

The surface was initially good, albeit not smooth, but by the time we reached 3000 m the surface was increasingly broken with sections or rough and loose aggregate.

The next day was supposed to be easy!

In the event it proved a challenge of its own. This was basically an anticlockwise 180 degree circumnavigation of the Pico de Veleta on the outer edge of the Sierra Nevada.

Having escaped Granada route joined the ‘camino rural,’ this took the form of unpaved sections, though fairly easy cycling.

It was later when we cut in from the rapid former principal road that the really rough surface began, not feasible for us to ride.

Once we had reached the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada, so the route started to climb, drop and climb whilst not quite contouring in and out of the ravines and valleys which were dotted in white villages.

We stopped in the charming tourist village of Pampaneira complete with colourful rug and clothing shops, cute chimneys and streams channelled along the centre of the street. Coke and ice creams gave a boost for the last 350 m of our 1050 m climb through chestnut groves to our delightful refugio in the village of Trevelez, in a deep Nevada Valley.

The days before Granada were very rural and non touristy.

2150 m of tough climbing in a sub 100 km day.

Scenery wise we were into dark shale rock glistening in the early afternoon sun, rising from the village the paraphernalia of the ski resort, and on the opposite ridge a large satellite dish and twin telescope.

Upward we continued, with the remaining tarmac running out at 3250 m, and track finishing with just 50 m of rocky scramble to reach the summit.

I (CL) found the altitude really tough and just couldn’t cycle. I left my bike below the summit among the rubble.

Extended views all around of receding mountain ranges, except to the South where a haze largely obscured the sea, and the East which looked along the ridge of the Sierra Nevada. Essential photos taken, and then the scramble followed by bumpy descending. I had a horror that I couldn’t find my bike but with some footstep retracing found it. A bad place to lose your bike!

A thin veil of cloud passed before the sun, and we felt the chill on our long descent.

The first section was brakes, brakes, brakes!

The real fun began from 2500 m for 1750 m of smooth tarmac and wide bends, on the upper reaches the milky late afternoon light created receding profiles of jagged ranges, a magical backdrop. j a n

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An early start from Trevelez and late finish courtesy of mountain roads, gravel tracks.

Breakfast at the panaderia for delectable cakes. Descending through the town we came upon a brass band lined up for photographs, then as we climbed out of the town the sound of the band filled the valley with their jolly tunes — all part of a day of festivals for Trevelez.

The road was magical, it kind of contoured along the southern face of the Sierra Nevada at circa 1200 m, with extensive views |

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over the rising valley mists. Autumn was more advanced here with leaf fall all around, and along the way occasional white villages hugging the hills. Progress was slow, stopping on every other bend to photograph yet another jaw dropping view.

We stopped at Mecina Bombaron for coffee and Kevin noticed he only had one arm warmer. He decided to head back to find it at the last stop. We had a restful coffee and plodded on. He eventually caught us up at the lunch stop having added 15 miles to his day. This was now at the bottom of the big climb, 1100 m to just pass the 2000 m contour - The Puerto de La Ragua.

60 or so kilometres away, and a snow clad Pico de Veleta - how lucky we were to enjoy it in 12 degree sunshine.

We climbed and crossed from Almeria to Granada and with that the road became silky smooth. The North westerly had caught us at times, then as the road followed the 2000 m high ridge for a while we had a fair bit of robust buffeting. Then just as the pace was building for the descent, so the tarmac texture followed suit, so with mixture of cold hands and vibration we had to keep speeds frustratingly low.

After a prolonged straight directly into the wind we reached Caniles, our one chance at getting food on a Sunday. So glad we were to be using a restaurant, and thereby finding warmth and large bowls of home made lasagna, beef for Dave and Graham, black sausage for Kevin and I. What followed was sublime, a strong tailwind on a gently descending smooth main road. Freewheeling speed was circa 30mph! Turning to the lanes after 30 km we soon crossed a converted rail track, so we’re drawn to this cycle track for the next 30 km or so. Variable surfaces from light gravel to mud flows to sand to heavy gravel.

Mixed bag then on the descent, narrow and poor surface to a main road, then back to narrow. Fine views of La Calahorra - a sandy looking castle on a hillock. We turned away and soon encountered a marching band of Christians all singing their way along our lane, we threaded through traffic jam and ensembled walkers.

We had a gentle descent (off the Altiplano) and tailwind and were flying along. However our road was to deteriorate in to gravel, and even to the bed of a melt water river.

As evening came on, we slogged up hill to our accommodation.

We had been very lucky with the weather as we could not have done Pico Velez or some of the other passes in bad weather. Today, our luck was partially running out. A wet start and cold! At least we were ascending, 1000 m climb of the Sierra de Baza. Sleet at the top. Progress was slow as Graham had a puncture which seemed to take ages to fix.

The cloud hugged the Sierra Nevada behind us, and the rain showers swept down the wide valley one after another, on our mountain to the North we were fortunate to just get clipped by the edge of the cloud, and therefore not much rain.

Two stunning views at the top: the gulf of Almeria stretching to Cabo de Gata some j a n

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The last 15 km were disappointing, following the new dual carriageway on side roads with all manner of surfaces. The worst part were the fording points to melt water rivers, these were generally unpaved mud and gravel, sometimes with steep drops in and harsh gradients out.

This is marble country with many stone cutting yards and stacks of discarded broken finished marble. We reached out hotel in Albox at 6, and marble surfaces abound.

So relaxing though to have an early finish!

The final day and still plenty of climbing!

Not enough food for breakfast at our Albox Hotel. We negotiated Albox rush hour and Gardia whistles. |

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HIGH ROADS TOUR 2019 WORDS: DR CLIVE LONG

As the road rose, winding through hillocks reminiscent of sand dunes, so the low traffic volumes curtailed. Taberno offered grocery opportunities for lunch and reinforcement of breakfast.

It was an unusual climb in that the top seemed to extend beyond every ledge we reached. We rose through olive groves with verge lined in dainty blue flower and skylark singing overhead, then through stunted pine woods in to bare and arid high ground, though just 1100 m or so.

Distant views abounded, the coast to the East, Velez Blanco from our outward journey, and outstandingly the now snow coated Pico de Veleta some 130 km away!

We hovered around the 1000 m contour for some time as we headed east along the ridge of the Sierra de La Estancias stopping for lunch in an olive grove before a wide vista which included the lunch stop town from day 1!

A most delightful twisting descent followed through the rounded sandy hillocks dropping us into Puerto Lambreras. Our river crossing was one of the typical dip through crossings of a dry river bed, we watched a September video later of this bed in full spate and understood the need for the scale of channel.

The next 20 miles were gently descending through a wide agricultural belt, we were horrified by the extensive plastic fragments arising from the intensive crop industry in the area, it was in all of the soil and blowing around on the road!

A sharp climb back up to our original hotel from Totana. A weather front was coming in and it started raining as we reached the hotel. The next day we flew back and the weather was lousy. We had been very lucky with the weather! j a n

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JACK & GRACE COTTON 100KM WORDS: GEOFF SHARPE

Jack and Grace Cotton Memorial 100k Audax Saturday 25th January.

There was a full entry of 250 again this year. Rob, Graham, Kate and myself had managed to get on the entry list and selected a 9.00am start time. Graham rode off up the road to get some photos, while the three of us dropped in amongst a large bunch of riders going North towards Gloucester.

This was the 20th year of running the event and at the end of January was always considered the first event of the new Audax season.

I’ve probably ridden the event on 15 occasions and I have been joined over the years by members of Exeter as well as Torbay section. The route has remained much the same, but now one of the controls has changed. How many of you recall going into Layhill Open Prison for the second control and being served by some of the inmates? j a n

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Taking to the lanes for the first info control at Littleton on Severn after 9k. There is always a nice show of snowdrops along these lanes at this time of year. Staying in the lanes we soon reach Berkeley with its magnificent castle and was the scene of the murder of Edward II in 1327.

Continuing up alongside the river Severn we arrive at the Epney control at 47k in |

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JACK & GRACE COTTON 100KM WORDS: GEOFF SHARPE

just over 2 hours. This had been the easy, flat section, the return will be a bit more challenging!

Due to a number of road closures the route had to be changed and we joined the old A38 for a number of miles and came across a large outdoor centre, where you could buy anything from a tent peg to a 6 man tent. They also had tea and cakes in their café. Since we hadn’t bothered to get anything to eat or drink at Epney, due to the numbers of riders, this place suited us just fine for our halfway stop.

My son, who is into keep fit tells me that when you are on these events always go into the café and get the largest piece of cake they have, it will set you up for the next few hours of riding. Well..there was a very nice coffee and walnut cake on the counter and I didn’t need much tempting to decide what to have.

After a couple of cups of tea we are back on our bikes turning towards Stroud to join the original route and take in the two climbs out of Dursley and a third one, a lot steeper to get into the Farmers Table Café control at Tortworth.

No cakes on offer here, but slices of flapjack which should be enough for the last 17k to the finish washed down with more tea.

Another change of route due to a deteriorating road surface kept us on the B4058 to Tytherington and then a few short miles and a climb up to the finish at the Swan Inn on the A38.

An enjoyable ride, no rain or sunshine for that matter, but I’ll try and be on the start line again next year.

Geoff j a n

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EVENT

THE SOUTH HAMS CHALLENGE 2020 SUNDAY 17TH MAY

Starting at Ivybridge Railway Station car park; PL21 0PL @ 10.00 am Discovering the beauty of the South Hams riding on mostly lanes with the occasional `B` & `A` roads, distance 70 km Event run by Plymouth CTC, for entry form, route directions & GPX file contact: Trevor Bradshaw 07889984290 email: trevbrad235@gmail.com

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DIVESTING OURSELVES OF STUFF WORDS: FROM THE BOOK: MINDFUL THOUGHTS FOR CYCLIST. BY NICK MOORE

Paradoxically, perhaps, touring cyclists provide excellent models for economy and forethought. Though freighted with panniers front and rear, they carry not a gram more than they absolutely have to. Stories abound of long-distance riders sawing handles off toothbrushes, drilling holes in cutlery, and painfully writing diaries with pencils an inche long. Straws, camels’ backs and all that.

To consciously divest ourselves of stuff seems counterintuitive in today’s society. We feel vulnerable, half-dressed, irreponsible, if we go anywhere or do anything, without preparing for every eventuality. But there’s also something delicously liberating, even subversive, about it. Like freedom, unpredictability is a fundemental part of cycling’s essence and appeal. Mindfulness means being responsibly prepared, while accepting there are still some things there isn’t an app for. And long may it continue. j a n

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CLASSICS CORNER WORDS: GRAHAM BRODIE

Classic Corner. No.3 1980 Team Raleigh 753.

For the third classic corner, it’s back to the Raleigh paddock.

I’d long coveted the classic red black and yellow Raleigh, and whilst many 531 version and lower end copies are about, I seized the opportunity to buy Colin Lewis’s 753 team frame when he offered to me a few years back.

It was made for him by Gerald O’Donovan back at the end of the 70’s.

Colin raced it domestically and eventually broke the RH chain stay.

The frame was subsequently sent off for repair, and re-sprayed by Colour-Tec in London.

Once purchased the job began of trying to put it together as a complete bike with as near correct to period parts as I could get hold of – these bikes tended to vary from time to time.

Finding a pair of Mavic SSC wheels was difficult, but when I later purchased an OLMO bike from Italy I found that it had the SSC rims so these were swapped over for the temporary large flange Campag/ Mavic G4’s which I’d put onto the Raleigh to get it going.

A Chainset, gears and plenty of over-priced Campqagnolo components were sourced mainly via Ebay, and eventually a roll of white Benotto tape to finish the bike off ready for Eroica 2017.

It’s a really quick and smooth bike to ride, as is typical of high end Raleighs of the 70’s and 80’s.

The bike was all fettled although the Eroica event was the “bedding in” ride, so typical problems of a crank continually working loose, and the RH gear lever kept losing friction. Luckily I had taken some older tools on the ride, the event mechanics at the control stop had masses of tools, but all modern so their crank tool was too fat to fit into the recess for an older Campag chainset!

The price of these models has gone silly, ( as high as £3k asking prices) partly an Ebay thing where they are open to such a wide market. Luckily this one was put together for a lot less and at least knowing the history, it is genuine. There are a lot of fakes and copies about and even much lower end frames doctored to seem like a team frame – lugs, fork ends and weight are usually a good clue.

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CLASSICS CORNER WORDS: GRAHAM BRODIE

HANDY TRANSLATOR FOR BUYING USED BIKES FOR EROICA ETC

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A TALE OF A BAD BUY WORDS: JIM BEED

My Thanet.

A tale of a bad buy.

I was sixteen and getting involved with cycling. The only trouble was that all I had was a heavy ‘roadster’, with rod brakes, three-speed hub and a dynamo. Club runs were possible but hard going. Time trials ridden on it were not at all satisfying. Then a friend loaned me his old bike, a pre-war Claude Butler, to use for club races. Despite not being used to fixed wheel and drop bars I did manage to show that I could do decent times over 25 and 30 miles.

Thanet cycles were advertised in the ‘C.T.C. Gazette’ and so I wrote to them, giving them my personal details and telling them what I wanted it for. First mistake. The reply advised a twenty-four-inch frame size, which was too big for my five foot ten.

It cost £19 (I still have the receipt for it), about the top price for a hand-built frame then. My savings would just about run to it and the gear needed to build it into a complete bike, so I ordered it at the start of January. Delivery was promised for the 12th of February.

About this time I encountered a C.T.C. member on a new Thanet and was very impressed by it. What I did not find out until much later was that it was the third one he had been sent, the other two he had to return because there were faults with them. j a n

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Mid-February came and no frame. March ditto. Early April and it arrived! First disappointment, it did not have the Chater-Lea ends that I had asked for but cheap Cyclo |

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A TALE OF A BAD BUY WORDS: JIM BEED

ones. The forks were wrong as well. But the season would start soon, so I decided to accept it.

I set about assembling it with the stuff that I had bought. As was usual then, I had ordered it with a chainset fitted. When I had put the mudguards on the right-hand toe clip cleared but the left hand one did not. The problem was that one crank was a standard six-and-a-half inches and the other seven inches long. I managed to borrow a left crank of the right length and sent the seven-inch one back for replacement. It took several weeks to arrive.

The headset was loose, and I could not get it to tighten. The bike shop in Exeter solved that with an extra washer. But the bars I had bought were too deep and had to be changed so that I could get comfortable.

For fixed wheel the chain line needs to be perfect, and it was not. Result, frequent chain replacement needed.

Despite this, for a couple of months things went well and I covered a lot of miles, including an Easter weekend tour, and managed some respectable times in races.

Then, in June, I was finishing a 25 when the bike became unsteerable and I was lucky not to come a cropper. The top tube had come away from the head tube. A mechanic who was there said that it had never been brazed properly. Only a small amount of brazing had stuck. I was given a lift home in a club mate’s car.

Two months went by and I wrote to ask what was happening. The reply was that they had other orders and I must wait my turn. It was September when the frame came back. A new lug had been put on, unlike the rest on the frame, and badly filed.

The frame had been sprayed a different colour. I had one last race on it before the end of the season.

When I wrote to Thanet they said that I had to send it back, to an address in Kent, and they would repair it. The shop was in Bristol, but the bikes were not built there.

I had to pay to send it back by rail. Another club friend lent me a frame that he had damaged and had straightened out and that was what I had to make do with for the rest of the season. j a n

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For a few years the bike had to do until I bought a second-hand Gillot and did most of my best rides, such as they were, on that. The Thanet became my winter bike.

It finally broke when being used to tow a trailer with our first son in it. |

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TED’S TOPICS NO.42 WORDS: EDWARD GAMESON

Ted’s Topics No.42 – Myth Busting - Tyre Pressures

recommendation on the tyre-wall is aimed at preserving his (or in the case of German frau-made Contis, her) reputation, not primarily looking after your interests, although generally these markings do give you a starting point. The point here is that the manufacturer has to be able to guarantee that the tyre will stay on the rim at the highest recommended pressure, and this is done by controlled testing - the recommended maximum pressure being half of the test pressure at which the tyre risks departure from the rim. This isn’t a good starting point to determine a normal real-life operating pressure. So, then, what are the real life requirements?

Do you remember back in Articles 38 & 39, busting myths about skinny tyres rolling faster than wide ones, and bike tyres needing tread for grip? Well this time the myth to bust is ‘hard tyres roll better than soft ones”, or “you need to pump your tyres up as hard as they will go”, which is what I was taught as a kid. Well all of the above myths are a bit untrue with the possible exception of “hard tyres roll better than soft ones” but it all depends on circumstances.

I happened upon a ‘Youtube’ video recently which ‘chimed’ with my own experience, so I sat up and took notice. You see, for 30odd years I commuted daily by bike, and as I was a bit lax with my maintenance (called politely these days ‘fix-on-fail”), I had the opportunity to ride tyres in all states of inflation and deflation, and I know how they behaved. So how does one determine how hard a tyre should be inflated ?

The first thing to say is that the maker’s j a n

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In normal use, too low a pressure risks the rim grounding on bad bumps with a ‘pinch puncture’ or, more commonly, two ‘pinch punctures’ (a “snake bite”) resulting. In any case, regardless of the tyre size, the ride will feel ‘squidgy’, the handling unsafe in bends, and the bike plain hard work as the tyre deforms and squirms as it rolls, losing lots of your energy as it does. The pressure at which this occurs depends on |

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TED’S TOPICS NO.42 WORDS: EDWARD GAMESON

the weight on the tyre, its section, and just how rough the road is. However, large section tyres are generally happier at lower pressures, with 30 – 40 psi being often used for MTB tyres - the sort of pressure which would ‘kill’ road tyres of 25mm section for example.

What constitutes too high a pressure is more subjective. What I noticed when commuting is that the higher the pressure I used, the more punctures I picked up.

And I did this frequently enough to prove it to myself. So, a tyre that was perfectly reliable at 60 psi would become puncture-prone at 80 psi. It’s well-known in the trade that a tyre structure becomes easier to breach the tighter and more rigid the casing. Clearly this reliability is important for people who use their bikes in the real world for extended mileages either by the day, or on tour, without the need to resort to those dreaded semi-solid ‘plus’ versions of already heavy tyres. So how hard is too hard ?

its loading (which of course includes your weight – so a light rider will need lower pressure and smaller section for the same comfort and proportional energy loss), and the type of roads. You’ll be more comfortable and faster on good roads at higher pressures and smaller sections (22, 25mm for example). It’s why track cyclists use very high pressures. But try to ride 100 psi in a 25mm section tyre on the sort of broken badly-maintained top-dressed surfaces that are all too common in Devon right now, and you’ll not go far, or fast. I now ride 32mm section Gatorskins for most of my riding, although 28mm would probably be OK, too, and regard the 70 psi I use as about 10 psi too high, being a bit rough on these very poor roads of ours.

So, go out and experiment to find the highest pressure at which you are just comfortable on those real-world roads. That’s the pressure which will give you that optimal point, with minimum energy loss, maximum reliability and acceptable comfort.

Oh, and don’t forget to use the energy you’ve saved wisely, by riding smoothly, looking far ahead, and keeping off the brakes.

Enjoy your riding in 2020 and above all, stay safe and know what’s behind you at all times. It might be me !

The real-world balance is about comfort level and energy loss. If the pressure of a tyre is too low for any given section and load, it loses energy by deformation and squirm. So, could we presume that high pressure = low energy loss, right? Actually, wrong. A tyre that is too hard will also lose a lot of energy in setting up vibration in the frame. This energy is lost as noise, heat build-up, advanced wear of components, and believe it or not, through you. Yes, it actually takes a lot of energy to vibrate a rider, and here’s a clue - it’s also uncomfortable. So, the correct pressure for the type of riding you are intending, starting with the tyre too hard, is the point at which the ride quality just becomes sufficiently comfortable. That way, energy loss is minimised through both tyre deformation, and deformation of the rider (!) and usually this will ensure minimal risk of pinch punctures. This pressure will depend on the tyre section, the type of tyre, j a n

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