Taunton Regional Group
Organisers Contact: Jackie and Stuart Hibberd, Tel: 0117 9695159, Email: westcountry@tandem-club.org.uk
Monthly rides usually held on the third weekend of the month - either on a Saturday or a Sunday.
CAMPING WITH FRIENDS. The site is exclusive use and not that large. However I can try to arrange for friends to camp next to eachother if you are on an electric site. To allow this, can you liaise with the folks you wish to be next to and as a group tell me. What I can't easily do is cope with daisy chains, where X wishes to be close to Y and Y next to Z, then Z next to A etc. Please email me privately at Neilwheadon1@gmail.com. For non electric there is space and non marked pitches, so come along and save a space for a friend. All the families will camp together if they are non electric. Having written this as the campsite is small and there are new members, everyone mixed up is a nice thing to have.
Janet and I will be bringing a selection of items from the Club Shop
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
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 😃

The cyclists turned up two by two, Hoorah Hoorah
The cyclists turned up two by two Hoorah Hoorah
The cyclists turned up two by two, you have a battery; I have one too.
And we all went onto the moor to have a jolly good time.
Five tandems and two halves. The ride was hilly, but short. The views were lovely. The short optional stroll to Grimspound, a Bronze age settlement was a fun diversion. The weather was kind and no-one fell off. And we had a lengthy de-brief in the Globe in Chagford afterwards. And Spain won the world cup. Mustn’t grumble.
James & Liz
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
Contact: Paul Rodman Tel: 07768 647745 Email: paul.rodman@kencomp.net
Contact: Kevin Smith Tel: 07879411059 Email: kevinsmith20002000@yahoo.co.uk
The ability to download all the rides, by a member, in a zip file will be available once the rides have been published here.
| 13/05/2026 | Misc | 2026-AGM |
|---|---|---|
| 05/03/2026 | Rose and Crown menu | |
| 02/03/2026 | Tandem Club rides list Jan-July 2026 |
April Ride Report and phots.html
November 2013 Ride Report.html
December Ride Report.html
October Ride Report.html
Ride Report - February 2014.html
