Elated riders hit the heights as they Gorge themselves on Cheddar!

On the day the Tour de France got underway in Normandy, these cyclists were staging their own Grand Départ from a village just outside Bristol as they tackled the Get Gorge-ous Cycle Challenge.

There were a few nerves about what lay ahead as they saddled up at Long Ashton Community Centre at the start, for this was a step – or pedal – into the unknown after five months of hard work.  

The popular Get Gorge-ous ride, organised by Cycle Bristol CTC, helps adults to discover – or in many cases rediscover – the joys of cycling, with the majority of the participants female and aged over 50.

They have been increasing their strength, skill and stamina on a series of led training rides since early February, gradually building up from five miles to 50.

Tony Upfold, Cycling UK’s Communications and Media Officer, joined one of the four groups on the ride to speak to some of the participants and hear their inspirational cycling stories.

Among them were 26-year-old Rachel Powell – one of the youngest taking part in the event – and her ‘cycling mum’ Sue Gardner (pictured below).

Rachel, who works in the library at the University of the West of England (UWE) and lives in Stoke Gifford, said: “In the New Year I decided to sell my car and commute to work by bike. It’s a healthier and greener thing to do and just as quick as driving in anyway.

“I wanted to do more cycling and spoke to Sue, who is a tandem rider and best friends with my mum, Jill – and we decided to cycle Get Gorge-ous together.

“Sue has become my ‘cycling mum’ and we have motivated each other to do the training rides. It’s all been great fun and very sociable, meeting lots of new people – even the climb up Cheddar Gorge was almost easier than I expected.”

Tandem Club and Cycle Bristol CTC member Sue, who is 56 and lives in Frampton Cotterell, said: “I enjoy riding a tandem with my partner Keith but decided I wanted to do some solo cycling.

“I was pretty rubbish cycling on my own to be honest, having to steer and brake for myself, so getting together with Rachel to train for Get Gorge-ous has been brilliant. I will definitely continue to do more solo cycling now, as well as riding the tandem.”

We set off from Long Ashton for the first stop of the day at Yatton Village Hall, where Cycle Bristol CTC organisers provided welcome tea, coffee and luscious home-made cake.

That first section threw up the only inclement weather of the day, a headwind and blustery rain across Kenn Moor – although a noisy display of radio-controlled model jet aircraft on land alongside the lane provided an interesting distraction. We just hoped they wouldn’t choose our stretch of tarmac to land on, as some of the aircraft looked the size of a bike.

After cycling past the Farmers’ Market in the picture-postcard town of Axbridge, lunch was taken at the bottom of Cheddar’s dramatic limestone gorge, where Gary Harris of the Bristol Bike Centre in Hambrook supported the event by providing a free roadside bike mechanic service.

The ascent itself includes a lung-busting 16% gradient around a couple of hairpins early on, but the rest of the climb is less cruel as the road rises a total of 500 feet in 2.6 miles.

The sense of achievement at the top was tangible as cyclists swapped tales while munching on fruit and chocolate bars provided by the organisers.

Lesley Whittle (pictured below with ride helper Lee Purnell), a software manager in Bristol, admitted: “I’m absolutely elated. I really didn’t think I could do it. The steepest part through the hairpins early on was a nightmare but I got up it.

“I was a lapsed cyclist but really enjoyed cycling around Vancouver on holiday this time last year, when the hotel let guests borrow bikes. I then started commuting the three miles to work by bike instead of motorbike last November. A friend told me about the Get Gorge-ous Challenge, so I signed up for it.

“I went on the first training ride in February and it’s incredible how they build you up to do this event. I used to have to get off the bike and push it up hills. Not any more – and to complete my ultimate test up Cheddar Gorge is a fantastic feeling.”

After a steep, twisty descent down a narrow lane on the northern slopes of the Mendips, it was time for a final tea break in the sunshine at Sutton Wick Farm Shop before journey’s end back at Long Ashton Community Centre – where all participants were presented with certificates by Cycle Bristol CTC club secretary Liz Daniels.

Retired aeronautical engineer Stephen Day, 67, said: “The Cheddar Gorge climb was extremely challenging at the beginning, about as tough as anything I have done.

“The whole day was excellent and brilliantly organised by Cycle Bristol CTC, with four groups of riders setting off at 10-minute intervals and coffee and cake stops arranged along the route. I don’t how they do it.”

Francoise Grimshaw, who lives in Mangotsfield and works at UWE, was in a different group on the day but I had met her on a training ride in April. She had a very personal motivation to complete the challenge.

Francoise said: “I feel a huge sense of achievement and want to dedicate the ride to my sister Catherine, who died from cancer in the space of just three months in 2006.

“She was 49, five years older than I am, and was very fit. It affected me badly but I got back into cycling about two years ago, which really helped, and I feel proud and elated to have completed the Get Gorge-ous Challenge in Catherine’s memory.”

Weston-super-Mare’s Debbie Marriott, now retired but formerly manager of the Dental Deanery at the University of Bristol, went on a CTC cycling holiday to the Loire in 2008 and became a member of CTC – now Cycling UK.

She said: “I hadn’t really been into cycling recently and decided it was time to change that. I’d heard about the Get Gorge-ous Challenge when the last one was held in 2014 and decided to sign to up for it this year. We started the training rides during a very wet February and I haven’t looked back, cycling virtually every weekend since.

“Cycling up the gorge was challenging but I stayed on the bike round the steep hairpins and managed it. I’m elated, it feels like quite an achievement – and now I’m going to continue cycling because it’s so good for you.”

Julia Shahin, from Keynsham, declared: “I feel a great sense of achievement, especially getting up Cheddar Gorge, and it has inspired me to continue cycling regularly – although I might try to avoid quite so many hills!”

And it was the same story for Vicki Tyler Jones, who said: “It’s so good to challenge yourself like that and I really enjoyed it. I cannot praise the organisers enough, they have given us amazing support.”

Bob Jefferies was Ride Leader of the group I joined, with Jenny Weeks and Lee Purnell acting as helpers.

Jenny regularly rides a tandem with her husband Peter but also loves the freedom and control cycling solo offers. She is also a great believer in the benefits Get Gorge-ous brings to its participants.

Tandem Club member Jenny said: “I thought it was such a great event that I just wanted to help. You see such a transformation in people once they get going on a bike.”

Lee used the last Get Gorge-ous ride in 2014 to help his recovery from a fourth hip replacement operation. The 34-year-old IT developer from Brislington had his first hip replacement at the age of nine because of a tumour.

He said: “I used to do a lot of cycling but had a big operation on my left hip in 2013 which put me out of action for a year. I decided to do the 2014 Get Gorge-ous Challenge – building up my strength from five-mile training rides in February to the full 50 miles was perfect for my recovery.”

The last word should go to Ride Leader Bob Jefferies, a project manager in the estates department at the University of Bristol, and one of the organisers who put so much time and effort into making Get Gorge-ous a success.

Bob, who lives in Nailsea, recalled: “On the first training ride back in February, we cycled about 2½ miles from Long Ashton to Gatcombe Farm and back.

“Look where we are now – we pedalled past Gatcombe Farm today little more than 15 minutes after setting off, then cycled another 47½ miles and got up Cheddar Gorge. It shows how far all the participants have come up in such a short time.

“We have held more than 70 Get Gorge-ous training rides since February and the people here today have cycled a total of over 8,000 miles between them. Well done to them all – and hopefully they have been inspired to continue cycling as part of their daily lives in the future.”