Over the weekend before the rally. They have spaces and said they anticipate having the rally pitch allocations so we can be put in the same one throughout without having to move on the Monday. Is that correct?

PRE CAMPING FOR THE RALLY. I visited the campsite for the last time yesterday before the event and Sally gave me the list of those that have booked a pitch before the rally. I will be allocating pitches by Saturday and people prebooked will be placed where they will be during the rally. It is therefore absolutely crucial that anyone booking a site before Monday emails me and tells me, otherwise you may have to move when the rally starts. Can I also put this one to bed please. I have had maybe 6 emails regading the price of the pitch at the rally being £10 more than if you booked it yourself. There are 2 factors. Firstly the level of extras involved. The extra showers and marquee are just shy of £3000 for example, you don't get that for hiring a piece of grass for a day. The other is the fact that we have sole use of the site, so a single figure was asked for. In advance it is tough to guestimate the break even point, therefore for the clubs sake I took the decision to make sure that it would hopefully break even. Any surplus does not go to shareholders it either goes to the club or is ploughed back into the event. Previous organisers may appreciate this but having some money to play with takes an awful lot of stress out of putting these together. In short this is an event

Hi Neil. It would appear that you used Ride With GPS to create the routes. Did you save them with public or friends visibility? If not, would it be possible to make them available to us? It would appear that inporting the gpx files only loads the route with no cues. It would be particularly helpful for David and me to have the turn-by-turn cues which ar automatically generated when creating a route. Thanks Peter and David

PITCH ALLOCATION. Thankyou for all the emails. There were also some notes with the booking forms, so I think I've satisfied everyones requirements. I have had a list of everyone turning up a day or so early as well, hopefully no-one will have to move. For those that haven't asked and non electric: ELECTRIC. Allocate on arrival, slot you into available pitches. NON ELECTRIC. Along the hedge at the back of the site, just pick a place. There is a 6 metre rule between pitches but not at rallies. FAMILES. Dedicated area at the back of the site, between the hedge and the road to the lake (not close) One family asked about electric. It might be possible if you bring a very long lead, just not sure yet, there are an awful lot of variables to satisfy here. In short, I've done the best I can

I can bring a 10m HOOKUP EXTENSION lead in case needed for family area.

FACILITIES in marque. Trying not to oversell here. There will be tables, chairs and places to charge phones and Garmin type devices. For E-bikes there will be socket and we can accommodate a few but I would be grateful if you could bring a multi socket to save tying up the plugs. Overnight charging is OK but please away from the marquee material and anything combustible, however unlikely. I have also acquired 2 fridges 😃

COMMUNICATION HI Folks. If you have any queries can you use email only please. I don’t use what’s app, messenger, text etc etc. There are just too many of them. Either via tcn2026 or neil@tandem-club.org.uk Thankyou, Neil

BAKERY IN THE MORNING. There is a bakery in Martock which is about 4 miles away. They do bread, rolls, croissants etc. They open at 08:00. If I get a few volunteers, we could co-ordinate to order and collect in the morning with 5-6 people taking a turn to collect at 08:00. I've done this before and it works well, but the best way by far is a standard order every day, so every day you get 1 croissant or 2 packs of rolls. One person could take this on entirely but it's an obligation. If you'd like to volunteer, please email me at neil@tandem-club.org.uk and mark the email 'bakery'

WHATS APP GROUP We'll be running a whats App group again. This is for general chit chat, pictures etc, official announcements will be via tcn2026, which means you won't miss anything important if you aren't on what's app. The link to join is at https://chat.whatsapp.com/EXVPq8SgMH64DOH6bcf9br and the group will be deleted at the end of the rally

ROUTE DOWLOAD step by step Kay. Can you access the website and find the ride you want on the Tandem Club website? These have a map, elevation, 6 pictures and download links. Start there with a yes or no and I’ll go to the next step

FOOD AND DRINK. So 1 validation and 2 rabbits out of a hat. The Hog roast. I have paid for and have booked the exact numbers and this depends on what you have booked, I won’t be issuing tickets but will have a list to tick of as you collect the meal. I might be able to accommodate anyone who hasn’t booked, having just asked the question to the caterer, this check will be part of the booking in process. OK now the rabbits… There will be a bar in the marquee all week, wine, cider, beer etc run by the campsite managers children. It is separate to anything I am doing. A licence has been applied for and will be from approx 18:30 to 22:30. It’s a lovely gesture, please support it as it gets people in the marquee. Sunday There is the barn dance starting at 19:30. There will be a paid for meal beforehand, bread, quiche, cheese etc, all free for participants.

SHOWERS and TOILETS in addition to the basic campsite facilities there will be a 4 berth shower unit and 6 portaloos scattered about. Can I ask 2 things please. At night especially please try to close the portaloos doors quietly. Secondly can everyone pack a loo roll. One option is to have a toilet monitor which is a pretty onerous job and I don’t want messages of there is a loo roll run out in portaloo 6 Easier by far is if you spot a portaloo running low, just add one, that way all should be well

ALLERGY and HYPERSENSITIVITY. There will be a teastop and an evening meal arranged. I am aware of 2 people so far who have allergies/hypersensitivity. I am making alternative arrangements in these cases but for this I need to know who to cater for. Please this is for previous hypersensitivities or gluten/lactose intolorance, not if you'd prefer a gluten free option. Can you email me privately on neil@tandem-club.org.uk please, even if you think that I already know. (I have a lot on my mind at the moment)

On Tuesday Jen and I will lead whoever wants to join us on the Medium ride. Route goes Yeovil - Sherborne - S Petherton - home.

Tuesday's led ride is about 42 miles going East. Suggest we meet 09:15 at the campsite entrance. Jen and I will be on our blue-and-white Orbit. All welcome. Not a race! We will go at the pace of the slowest tandem. 

Please download the route to your Garmin/phone and have a look at the route info so you know what to expect along the way.

We will stop for lunch in Sherborne where there are lots of places to eat. Or else take a picnic to eat in the park. Sherborne is an attractive town with lots to see.

Catch us Monday eve in the marquee if you want to know more.  Our phone nbrs 07730 925759 / 07780 438303

Jenny and Peter Weeks

LED RIDES . There will be a led ride each day. This is a great oppertunity for new members to mix with other tandems. Peter and Jenny will lead the first one. I advertised this orriginally to start at 09:00 at the marquee. Peter has noted 09:15, so I have changed the times on the information for all the led rides to reflect that. 09:15 at the marquee, Tues,Wed,Sat and Sun

Slight change: Tuesday ride will start at the marquee instead of the campsite entrance. Time the same 09:15.

LARGER VEHICLES TO THE SITE From wherever you come from go for this junction, don't go through the centre of Langport. Look for the A372, the turn is next to St Marys Church. Large lorries from ABP go this way. Fom the A303, take the turn opposite Tintinhull through Ash, then North along the B3165, then west along the A372

A closer view of this junction

GETTING TO THE SITE. Message from Sally at the campsite :- Think the road closure was in Langport, best route avoiding Langport is the A303 and come off at Ash/Tintinhull, head through Ash, straight across the traffic lights at Stapleton Cross, through village of Coat, after Coat over river bridge turn right, (we are brown signed from Stapleton Cross!!) If anyone has problems they can always contact me on my mobile 07803005042.

Using Outdooractive to import rides using .gpx files, all rides are ok except 1911. Yes, I downloaded zip file and also tried .gpx from ride details. My screen freezes. Any helpful suggestions?

The Club Shop has arrived on pitch #12

Re Outdooractive, I had the same issue and I solved it by using 1910 as a basis, modifying it and then saving as 1911.

ELECTRIC PITCHES. I have allocated everyone for the week as it makes life easier. First added those that wished to camp together, then filled in randomly. It's quite a small site and no hedges. I enclose a screen shot of names and pitch numbers.

VELOCIO This glorified treasure hunt will take palce on Thursday and will follow the format started by Stephen Dee 3 years ago. Within a 20km radius of the campsite will be 64 clues. Each of these have a question that is very specific, so I have asked for the number of letters or numbers in the answer to reduce 'appeals' As you go further out from the campsite the value increases. There is no set route so it is up to you to plot a route to find as many as you can. For families and also for those who want a more relaxed day, I have done a walking hunt around 3 local towns, where there are 27,19 and 16 clues to find. These are all fairly close together. If you are doing the 64 clues as well, these will also count. As the event can take up to 6.5 hours if you want to try to find as many as possible, there is a tea stop arranged, pre paid and yes there are a lot of points for attending the teastop and availing yourself of coffee/tea and a bun of some decription. Start and finish at the campsite at a time to suit (from 08:00 - 09:30) In the evening, I will have collected your answer papers and we'll meet in the marquee to redidstribute and mark them together. I have pictures of nearly all the clues which will add to the evening. There will be a prize for the team that gets the most points in each of the 3 towns and there is a stunning trophy for the winner, which we'll present on the night. Remember there is a bar open so it should make for a lovely day. Teams are your tandem pairs. To help you find the clues there are 2 ways. I have printed out all the clues on A4, please bring a pen. On each is a map reference. The other is a first. We have created an icon for each on rides that marks the exact spot and in there is the clue. That's the picture with this (to be continued as only one image will load)

VELOCIO CONTINUED When you open Rides there are buttons on the left hand side, you want S

VELOCIO CONTINUED When you click S you get this. Press select NONE, this wipes out all the boxes

VELOCIO CONTINUED Then select misc/velocio. Press SET and only the velocio icons will appear (however it won't be turned on till the day on Velocio (insert smiley) I'm telling folks in advance, so you can give it a go. So try selecting food/cafe for example, this will show you all the cafes in the area. You may wish to add a few more so you can see cafes/castles/museums. t is an amzing piece of programming (Thanks to Terry)

SHOW US YOUR TANDEM. Show us your Tandem This has worked brilliantly at the Cycle Touring festival. 10 minutes to talk and answer questions about your Tandem. How can you get luggage on it? Tyres/Splitting it/Electrification etc etc. There will be a sign up sheet when you check in and collect your badges. On Wednesday night starting at 19:30 in the marquee

Re road closure in Langport : according to ‘one.network’ (a site we use frequently and find to be very accurate) a short section of Bow street is closed, and the work is scheduled to close tomorrow (Sunday 2nd August) so for anyone arriving on Monday the road should be open. For anyone arriving tomorrow by tandem, although the road is closed, the pavement will be open so you should be able to wheel your tandem past the roadworks.