One day to go until the Tour de Wiltshire 2006. It’s looking as if it’s going to be a gorgeous day, Heather and I are currently debating which bikes to cruise around Wiltshire on, dare I mention we may succumb to a blast on the road bikes?! We did have a few hours out on a true ‘Girlie Run’ with Noeline over the bank holiday so we are still partial to some mud. I guess we feared the sun would have dried out all that mud; which we so love!

……… 24 hours on and what a great day had by all on the above-mentioned Tour. All our thanks go to Keith and Mary for organizing such a great day out. Congratulations to the winner, Chris Stanbury who will have been presented with a fine prize by the time this is read. Pete Toghill was runner up and Reuben and Caroline came in third.       

We needn't have worried about giving the road bikes an airing. The ‘done thing’ was to switch bikes after the first 100 miles or so (at least Pete and Chris did so and managed to get split up, we think unintentionally!) as the planned routes by most of the competitors was to take in more tarmac than dirt. But there was Neil, Sean and Russell who eventually turned up at the Three Magpies with a fair splattering of mud and going on about the 'trail' in TRF, as they tried to do as many lanes as possible, I wonder if this was just an excuse after missing out on a podium position?

It certainly was a tour, taking in the likes of Stourhead, Salisbury and Stratford Tony ford in the south, Malmesbury, Castle Combe and the Swindon and Cricklade railway in the north and many places in-between!

It was a mostly gorgeous day, with only a few showers towards the end and the sound of thunder as we relaxed at the final destination at Sells Green - for some much deserved refreshments. Saying that Heather and I did pretty well through the day with a coffee stop after visiting Lanford Lakes, lunch at Pewsey Wharf and the afternoon cuppa at Barbury Castle.

If such an event appears in our calendar again, I recommend it to you all.