Dustman Dave's Doddle Audax - 108 km - 20th April (really 120km!)

Pippa had assured me that this one would be a good flat fast ride and she was right - it was wonderfully flat no Devon hills, this was Somerset and very, very kind on the old legs!! Weather was good and the company great as we set off from Bishop's Lydeard to Langport for coffee 2o miles away! Good job I wasn't gasping for coffee as it was definetly a Somerset 20 miles (more like 25!!), arrived at the Parrett Cafe only to decide since we were going so well we wouldn't stop but would carry on to the lunch stop another 35 miles on where we could munch our sarnies! So off we went through Langport to Somerton then onto Sparkford to the Haynes Motor Museum for lunch where we thought the tanks would be better against the cars than bikes!!

After refueling on coffee & sarnies we were off to North Cadbury but no chocolate there!, and onto RNAS Yeovilton where the Beavers, Cubs & Scouts were obviously having a wonderful time celebrating St Georges Day clambering over helicopters and very fast looking jets!

I was worried I might get arrested for taking photos on the wrong side of the fence but obviously all the guards were on their tea break and no one caught me!

Off we went back to the Parrett Cafe in Langport again - ever get the feeling you are going round in circles, for the next control stamp. Out of Control and onto the "Curries", we went through - Curry Rivel, Currywoods and North Curry and not a single Curry house to be seen - only very impressive mansions! The lanes were still lovely and flat as we trundled through Creech St Michael, Goosenford and back to Bishops Lydeard where a wonderful spread of Quiche, cake, beans on toast & tea awaited us (don't worry I didn't eat it all, I left some for the others!).

My longest ride yet at 76 miles - average speed of 14.56 mph - riding time 5hrs 16 min - overall time with stops 6hrs 5 mins - not bad even the trainer thought I had done well (thanks Pippa!!!)