The Beacon Message Board

Unless the forecast is for rain all day, I'll lead a (birthday) B run to Malvern, approx 75 miles. Pace will probably be 15-16mph. I'm proposing two stops...a breakfast stop at Cob House fisheries (Mayfly cafe), then a stop in Worcester at TripelB Belgian Beer Café for a beer and frites (or waffles if you prefer)

http://www.tripelb.co.uk/

08:30 at the BH for 08:45 start. Bring a cafe lock if you have one. Here's the route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36086247

I'll keep an eye on the forecast and if it looks like rain, I may change to a shorter route and/or postpone to another week

Sign up below, limit of 8 (we can split into two groups if necessary for the stops)

Matt Hale (L)
Harri Evans
George Garvie
Michelle Thompson

Meeting at Cob House - George Barker

Hi Matt
I would like to join you please. Thanks.
Michelle (Chris is not around on Sunday)

Hi Michelle - great...see you on Sunday

Matt, I won't do the whole ride with you, but I may join you for breakfast. That's on the assumption that you'll have to divide your eight riders into two groups at the café, and that I'll be able to join one of them without pushing the group size above the limit of six. Is that okay with you?

My plan is dependent on the weather and on my work situation.

Hi George, sounds good to me - hope to see you there

Hi there Matt , could myself George Garvie and my friend Harri Evans join you for this ride ? Sounds like a gooden! Cheers .

Hi George G - you're in. I will add you and Harri to the list

Morning Matt
I am just wondering if you are still planning to do the long Malvern ride tomorrow, as the weather looks quite damp especially in the afternoon - I have got soaked the last 3 times I've been out - also, what time do you think we will be home if we do the Malvern route? - thanks

Hi Michelle,
I will have another (shorter) route in case it looks like rain, but still planning to head to Cob House and leaving the BH at 8:45.
If dry and we stick to the original route, I reckon we'd get to Worcester by 12:30-1, then 1.5hrs or so back to Brum.

Thanks all - after a slightly delayed start (my fault), we made our way to Cob House where we met George B. Lots of loose chippings on Curslow Lane - watch out if you're headed that way.

The cafe has had a makeover, looks smart, but the service was poor. We were told it was table service, but a number of people were ordering from the counter, causing much confusion. Once we'd eventually placed our orders, it arrived in dribs and drabs (no cutlery, food at different times, drinks after we'd eaten)...needless to say we were there a lot longer than expected. I'm inclined to put it down to teething issues upon re-opening, but be aware if planning to visit - table reservations possible too.

We didn't quite make it to Malvern, after a collective decision to shorten the ride and try and get home before it rained. George B guided to Bransford before turning off for an appointment at Villa Park. We took the cycle paths through Worcester alongside the River (but missed the new ped/cycle bridge over the Powick roundabout), and pushed on for home rather than having a 2nd stop in Worcester...next time

Thanks for organising, Matt. Great to see you again after such a long interval, and to meet three recent joiners.

You probably did well to avoid the new bridge near Powick. I tried it a couple of weeks ago and, although the bridge itself is great, it doesn't yet connect to anything either side. Access on both the Powick side and the city side consists of a really poor shared-use footpath. I know that there will fairly soon (i.e. in next few months) be a link to an upgraded cycle path beside the new dual carriageway bridge leading up to St Peters and M5 J7, but I don't know what they are planning for cycle traffic between Powick and the city, and at one or two points there doesn't seem to be much space in which to put a facility even if one were contemplated.

Good to see you too George.

The north side of the Powick bridge appeared to be linked up - that's where we picked it up. The route over the Diglis bridge and alongside the river through Worcester was quite busy with pedestrians, but picturesque and a nice relaxed pace. (I used the 'bike paths' toggle on ridewithgps to identify the routes)

Worcester seems generally quite bike friendly with well marked paths and provision for cyclists

There is definitely an inclination to make more provision, but not all of it is well designed (e.g. grotty little paths where you have to give way a thousand times to side roads, etc) and continuous through routes are often lacking. There's also a lot of sharing with pedestrians, which is fine if you're riding to school or work at 10mph, but not if you want to make good progress on a longer ride. There are also councillors who are very opposed to things like delivery riders riding through the pedestrianised areas. They make a huge fuss about the associated nuisance and danger (which are minuscule in objective statistical terms) while having no trouble with the problems associated with facilitating car/lorry access.

Thanks all, was a good ride and thanks for waiting for me at the top of those mountains