Day 13 – Tuesday – June 15th

We came, we saw, we left!

72 miles from Kidlington to Trowbridge

Fair to say, today was a hard day both physically and mentally. First having been home and seen how the other half live, and then having to leave it all behind again to get back on the bike. Also funny how little aches become big aches after having chilled out! Pleased to see Danny and his poorly knee (we know its just attention seeking really) back on the start line! After a round of paracetamol and various lotions and potions we were ready for the off, until………..

The start of the day wouldn’t be complete without the first of our breakages and Laonie played her trump card and had both a kinked tyre & a puncture. All before we had even turned a wheel!

Kev Dell suffered several indignities as numerous people have seen the pictures of him dressed as Orville on his bike and agreed…….

Today we acquired new drivers in the form of Clive Durbin and Chris Smith, obviously they have hard acts to follow but the initial signs are good!

We left Kidlington just after 9 with a great send off by HQ again – thank you all, and set off for Witney, through Hanborough & Bladon. We arrived in fantastically good time (To much lucozade sport!) and after having cycled round the entrance to Marriott’s walk thinking that was where we doing it, but finally using our initiative, we got to the market square in Witney to meet up with the Risk reduction team, Army and Witney crews for their road show.

Fantastic to see everyone there, a big thanks to Witney for their support and a good hour was spent meeting some of our sponsors and supporters as well as getting the safety message out there…. Great to see Mike from County Textile Services, and Catherine from Watermeadow Medical who came down to see us – thank you for all your support! We hope you can see that it is real and we are actually suffering for our art.
The team would also like to say a big thanks to Nathan, who although unable to be on the ride with us as still undergoing treatment for his motorbike last year – BIG THANKS NATHAN, and for all the work behind the scenes you have done and are doing!

We were joined by the day by Steve Dutton from HQ, who joined us on the way to Witney – We were heartened to hear that it was not just us having our trials & tribulations – No-one had told him we were back to leaving from Kidlington instead of Slade, so he had gone all the way there first – Thanks for coming though Steve – great to have your support.

Those of you with good eyesight will have seen Toby staggering out of the pharmacy in Witney with a large bag full of pharmaceuticals to see him through the rest of the week, back to his car to go back to Bampton to find his bike again.

After watching Bob give another interview, we all saddled up and weaved our way off the pavement back onto the road to head for Burford for our last photo shoot of the hour……

Onwards to Burford, having picked up Dino, Jon & Gav at Witney (they cycled there last night), and a stop at the station for yet another photo! What was amazing in Burford was people clapping as we left the station and turned into the main street to go up to the A40 roundabout. Amazing! Big thanks to Phil and his extended family!

Next casualty of the day was Pete who tried to change gear turning onto the main street of Burford, and managed to bend his chain. Phil ‘Grizzly’ Adams to the rescue again in a lay-by on the A361

We finally started to head out of the county, leaving our risk reduction team carrying on the safety message, whilst we headed into Gloucestershire to Lechlade, and then on to Highworth, round Swindon, and onto Lyneham through Wooton Bassett.

Allegedly, Toby joined us at Lechlade (although not all off us saw him join) – rumour has it that a slightly odd person was seen languishing with a bike on a bench in Lechlade, looking like a tramp. Toby is currently competing in James Corden’s ‘Back the Beard’ competition for the world cup, as well as the world’s scruffiest tramp…….

On through Highworth and around Swindon without a break and headed for the lunch stop at Lyneham at the 49 mile mark.

Whilst on the way, several of the group stopped at the memorial in Wootton Basset to pay respects for all the soldiers lost through the current conflicts, or brought back for treatment in the UK.

Lunch was on the side of the road at Lyneham, and Princess’s homemade sandwiches went down a treat. We also met up with Clive’s son who is a RAF pilot at Lyneham, and no time was lost in a bit of banter with Bob and his map.(Thanks Bob – but you had to be there)

We moved on from there for the final push through to Trowbridge, but for once despite a few niggles, we all felt that we were finally getting the hang of this cycling lark, and could have done a few more…..

A brief stop at the Foresters Arms in Melksham ensued as the weather was getting warmer, and it is very important to keep hydrated…

The final push into Trowbridge was uneventful, except for poor Phil (Grizzly) who had to detour via the bike shop to get a new bottom bracket fitted as his had a nasty knack. Only half the group knew what he was on about, but it sounded nasty…….

We arrived at Trowbridge around 4.30 at the station, and after having a few stretches in the yard, we finally got into a meal laid on by Princess of Pork stroganoff or stir fry – Fantastic!

It should be noted that our industrious JOGLE leader (due to his age) has had to book into a nearby hotel to get his beauty sleep - leading from the front – Well done bob. He also managed to find a very complimentary person at the hotel who commented on what a lovely van he was driving J

Tomorrow is our long haul – around 95 miles, although with the inevitable Perry tour of the coast looming is likely to top 100! Who will survive………..