COTSWOLDS POOTLE: 24th November; it's official.

Most of the flooding was further south – devon and somerset

maybe, didn’t stop the M5 being restricted and the A46 being shut in the Cheltenham area today though, when i was driving home the A46 was open but ALOT of water on the road, a few broken cars. Good many of the lanes are shut, how soon they reopen? considering more rain tomorrow.

Probably be ok on sat, it will be wet, that is a given. In fact it is probably wet enough that the mud won’t clog bikes up to badly.

Definitely not as bad as ’07 though.

That’s what I was thinking. Really wet mud isn’t as sticky.

Blinkin’ weather 🙁

Saturday’s sunny forecast has indeed changed to light rain showers, and the ground will be pi$$ wet from this week’s deluges.

However, the ride’s going ahead. Most of the route will be country lane/cart track/hard pack type stuff. The bits that aren’t will, well, be dealt with.

Obviously you’re all adults(!) and can check the weather forecasts, check the travel stuff and make your own decisions.

Wheels roll at 10:30

Cake is waterproof though

As long as it’s not too slippy slidy. Being overtaken by the wife is never good. However, when we are on the tandem it’s either very entertaining, ‘kin scary or a subtle mixture of both!

“Wheels roll at 10:30 00:45“
Fixed that as they say, for you.
I’m far too excited.

Skin’s waterproof too, you big jessies! Lets be honest, its been raining non-stop all year. I expected nothing else really. There’s no way it can be as boggy as it is on the moors up here at the moment. Truly wheel-swallowing 😀

Are we having a tandem? Cool!

I’ll be fast asleep at “Wheels roll at 10:30 00:45 in my nice warm bed

🙂

Skin isn’t waterproof, it’s water resistant. That’s why you go wrinkly in the bath.

Looks like we is all going to be well wrinkly, Saturday then, innit? 😉

I thought most of is were wrinkly before starting the ride.

I have the odd couple of lines…

You wish; like you have that much hair 🙂

Right: Mud tyres. Crud Catcher. Waterproof shorts. Winter boots.

Check!

I’m still in. 🙂

Will I die on a singlespeed?
Seriously thinking about it, as it’s already winterised!

You’ll be fine. You may be cursing slightly on the first climb, but you’ll be fine.

If you need somebody to get off and push with you, I’m happy to offer my services.

I’ll be carrying a full compliment gears myself, but hey, that’s the kind of guy I am 😉

I always curse anyway. 🙂

Will the piss taking be turned up to 11 if i fit a rear guard?

You need to ask?

Actually I wouldn’t worry. I’m wearing a wetsuit

I don’t need a crud guard on the back of the Tandem. That’s the wifes job 😀

Not by me, I have a rear mudguard, a crud catcher and a muckynutz-a-like Dairyomatic on my fork. And waterproof shorts.

And a mudsplatter-free grin of smug dryness

You’ve been down south too long 😉

I don’t know what you mean. Anyway, I’m off for a pint

In that case, so am I…

How biblical is the weather looking down there then IHN?

Put it this way, i’m currently sat in a jam wishing that my van was an ark 😯

Single speed it is then.

it’ll all be rosy by saturday

Having previously believed the weather forecast that showed sun, beer gardens and partially-clothed swedish people sunbathing, I am now undergoing genetic mutation to grow gills by Saturday that remove oxygen from water and mud combined. Still, as the previous poster noted, cake is waterproof and no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Due to a fairly productive day today, involving me going into work, but not actually to do any work, just work on my own bikes, I now have 2 seemingly fully functional mountain bikes to choose from for Saturday!

Bring on the wetness…

Right, route sorted, there’s a 30km and 37km option depending on the weather.

And if it does rain, the wind will dry you off 🙂

I have tyres! (always a bonus for a bike ride).

Sod tyres, bring armbands, as the weather forecast has changed (again) overnight:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2633860?day=1

Camelbak repacked. I’ve substituted camera for goretex.

I’m afraid, given the conditions, we’re crying off. Bloody softy northerners, eh? 150 miles is a long way to drive to get rained on! I can do that here every day! 😀

We’re going to bank the offer of a weekends grand-parental childcare duties for when the weather looks a bit more promising, then come down and ride with you bunch of reprobates then. January Pootle anyone?

As IHN pointed out to me, I seem to curse the weather. Whenever I say I’m coming down, the weather turns! I thought we were going to die of hypothermia last time! Sorry! Now we’ve cancelled, it’ll probably be cracking the flags

Given that it’s two and a half hours driving each way for us, we’re currently discussing whether or not to bail on this.

Seems emergency services in the area are asking people to only make necessary journeys.

Winchcombe sogginess

Seems like there’s a lot of trees down in the area too, which might make even driving there more difficult.

Seems emergency services in the area are asking people to only make necessary journeys.

That’s further south than here – Somerset/Devon way. Winchcombe is North Gloucestershire, quite a way out of the worst of the problems.

Weather today is lovely, weather forecast for tomorrow is not, weather forecast for Sunday is lovely. Typical.

I can fully understand if folks don’t want to drive a significant distance to ride in the rain. Even for cake.

The ride will go ahead (well, it will start at the very least), if the weather’s truly rubbish then it might be prematurely binned and there’ll be a retreat to the pub.

If the rides being binners’ed (see what I did?), could somebody please kindly give me a shout before 11 o’clock this evening?
I’m in China Town in Manchester tonight and I’m leaving the ‘do’ to be home by midnight so I can start pedalling my way down around 1:00am.
It’ll be a right laugh (for you lot) not to tell me but I’d probably sulk a bit….