Category: Ride Round Up

Congratulations to all the Spinners who climbed their way over Dartmoor on Sunday – 7000ft on the Medio and 11,000ft on the Grande.

Simon & Suzie Bean and Rod Inglis rode the Grande. Simon and Rod got inside the Silver medal time with Suzie doing amazingly well to get round such a tough course with a time not far off a Silver after very few long rides this year.

On the Medio, Jennie, Kevin G, Sue J, Lin and Steve D. all did the Spinners proud. Jennie struck Gold in an impressive time of 5:22, and Sue came in with a Silver.

On Sunday June 6^th, undaunted by the threat of rain all day, Lyn, Sue, Suzanne, Jennie and Mike met at a farm near Bridport to take on the Beyond Wessex Sportive. They all completed the Medium route along beautiful undulating (hilly!) landscape, fields, quiet back roads and pretty villages in Dorset and Somerset. The weather was ideal: cool and cloudy for most of the day, with no rain at all. The chocolate pancakes at the feed station were delicious, as was the ice cream eaten in the sunshine at the end. The route was well signposted until near the end when a sign had been turned to go down a very steep hill. After about 2.5 miles of descent, a Beyond Events van filled the narrow road. Yes, we then had to cycle back up the steep hill, squeezing past a vast combine harvester on the way. In all, they completed 66.6 miles.

On Saturday 5 June John, Roger, Rod and Jerram took on the Somerset Dipper Sportive which starts in Wells and winds its way to Weston-super-Mare over the Somerset levels with one nasty ascent to negotiate. The route has a lovely section along the coast by the Bristol Channel where an ice cream stop in Weston was called for. Then back to Cheddar with another punchy climb to sap the legs and great views over the Somerset levels. Finally, the highlight of the route is to ride up Cheddar gorge up on to the Mendips. Rod went on to ride the longer option of 92 miles with 5,800 ft of climbing and a loop around the lakes. The longer route had two stops with ample refuelling supplies, including sandwiches at the second. John and Roger opted the shorter 69 mile route with 3,600 ft of climbing. It says on the web site it is one of the hardest hundred and certainly lived up to its name.

The Finisher medals were made of eco-friendly laser cut poplar plywood.

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Rod Inglis braved the wintery May weather to take part in the Jurassic Classic Sportive. Although it was a bit of a damp day, there was no real rain. It was a great course with fantastic views, starting and ending flat from Bovington Tank Museum with a few hills in between, the highest point being a 1.8km, 7% average gradient section up along the Lulworth Range. With the efforts of the climbs comes the rewards of some spectacular coastal views down over Warbarrow and Kimmeridge Bay. Finishers were rewarded with a medal, beer from Freedom Brewery and other goodies from our partners at Jimmy’s Iced Coffee and OTE sport.

Rod found it a very enjoyable ride. He quickly found a pace buddy, a Kiwi down from Surrey for the weekend, to chat to. He pushed the pace on after the second feed stop at 50 miles while Rod decided to back off a bit and take time out to mend a flat tyre soon after restarting.

The route took riders through Corfe Castle and on to Swanage, where the whole population appeared to be wearing race numbers – or possibly vaccine certificates?

It was impeccably sign posted on route, but just in case Rod, who has a knack of getting lost, had Komoot navigation running through Bluetooth out of ear headphones, in the background.

Congratulations to Rod Inglis and Lauren Wilson who rode the 100 mile Taunton Flyer. Lauren picked up one QOM, one 2^nd place cup and no end of PRs, speeding round a hilly course with 5400ft of climb, at an impressive 15.6mph. Rod could boast an impressive Gold Medal time of 6hrs 16mins.

Rod thanks the event organisers and the great food at the feed stops – including the amazing fig rolls!

Honiton Spinners do not require riders to wear a face covering during rides, but request that face coverings are used when at the start and end of rides.

From 29th March 2021: British Cycling-affiliated Club rides or recreation programme rides for up to 15 participants (can take place) on highways, trails and tracks.

Riders will be required to maintain a ‘one metre plus’ distance from others, and follow other relevant guidance on hygiene, self-sufficiency and equipment sharing.

While we know that group riding presents a very low risk of transmission (due to it taking place outdoors, with very limited face-to-face contact), we must remain mindful of the wider public’s understandable concerns around Covid-19 and ensure that all clubs and groups respect and adhere to the relevant COVID-secure guidance for safe delivery.

This is to cover British Cycling club insurance, affiliation to organisations and club events.

New members: £15 (this includes a discount towards a club jersey and a discount at Cycle Honiton)

Renewals: £10

Please go to the British Cycling website to pay: Honiton Spinners Club profile (britishcycling.org.uk)

Honiton Running Club and Honiton Spinners are planning a Duathlon on a Sunday 15 August 2021 from Payhembury Village Hall (post code EX14 3HT) starting at 10:30am. The route is a 6.1 km run, 25 km bike ride and 3.9 km run. Its a ‘club members only’ event (so we are covered for third party incidents) and to cover our costs we will only be asking for donations on the day (£5 per person is suggested). Any profits will go to the local school which is allowing us to use their playground for the transition area. Refreshments and toilets will be available in the Hall and there are plenty of parking spaces. Early birds can park in the Hall spaces. Later park in the space opposite the Hall entrance. 

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Participants can either do all 3 legs themselves or there can be a team of 2 or 3 to do separate legs. Juniors below 18 yrs must be accompanied on the bike ride and below 15 yrs for the runs. There will be prizes for the first solo male and female and first male and female teams and finally one for a mixed team. To help us prepare it would be good if you could complete the signup form for your team either on line click here or print out form click here and give to Roger or Jennie on a club night. The 2020 results from the virtual event are below. 

Thank you for your interest in Honiton Spinners.

You are very welcome to join us. 

The main club season starts on Tuesday March 31st 2021. Guests are very welcome to join us for three rides. After that we ask for a subscription o cover costs, such as British Cycling affiliation.

Club sessions

Tuesdays 6.30pm
Thursdays 6.30pm
Sunday social (times and distances vary)

A day or so before a ride, leaders will post details on the club Facebook page (open to all) and club email (open to club members).

We have to be very careful about keeping to groups of 15 riders. Riders are encouraged to let ride leaders know in advance if they plan to join the group.

Please use the club website or club Facebook page to let us know if you are interested in any of these and further information will be sent to you.

I look forward to seeing you.

Jennie

Club Chair

The two hill climbs and the airport loop challenges will continue until 31^st August, so you have plenty of opportunity to beat your own time! Full details are in club emails, or contact jennie.sleeman@gmail.com for information.