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.
There will be a burger van on Tuesday. Not any old burger apparently a farmer from Wells that rears rare breeds and these are pressed beef. ,
TUESDAY The rides all head out together to Yeovil then diverge. Suggest tea stop on the old railway path through Yeovil, outdoor seating. Cafe have been warned. If full there are a few options a kilometre later in a shopping area. Short ride then returns. Medium and Long, basically head for Sherbourne. A pretty Dorset town. The Abbey is good for a picnic, a few cafes at the bottom of the High Street. Going back. Cafe at East Knowle is open according to Facebook. There are cafes in South Peterson. The cafe at Merritt is closed but open on Saturday when routes pass this way again. In the evening burger van at 17:30, sounds yummy. At 19:00, not the quiz, teams of 8 in the marquee, bring your glasses and maybe a torch!! Depends on how long this takes, who knows, could be fast, could be slow 😉 The bar will be open
As the burger van was an hour late, we’ll start the ‘not the quiz night’ at 19:30. Teams of 8-10, just bring yourselves, no pens needed but if you wear glasses don’t forget them
RIDES on WEDNESDAY. The short and medium are ‘similar’ Recommend a morning coffee stop at Barrington Court (National Trust) The medium goes to Perrys Cider Farm which has a good cafe. I’ve never known it full but their website recommend to book to avoid disappointment. Not sure how relevant this is, but the link is found if you google Perrys Cider Farm. Both then go via North Curry and then to the Wetlands museum and cafe which is a lovely visit. Return to Langport, my favourite cafe is next to the bridge just after you cross it on the left side. The long takes you to Wellington. Monument worth looking at but views not great as a lot of tree growth. Better from the car park a few hundred metres before the turn to descend steeply to Wellington.
Wednesday continued. Head to the Marquee and Clem will come up with various games involving tandems. In the marquee from 19:30 Show us you Tandem, how was it built, where have you been, who’s idea was it, maybe even talk technical. Talking of that if you have anything to sell/ give away then bring it along. I’ll also put out an OS map with the Velocio points so you can plan the next day
To everyone on the Committee: I would like to arrange a quick get-together one evening while we are here to get to know each other and catch up. Not sure what eve yet. Peter
VELOCIO key times. Start 08:00 - 10:00 at the marque. Cafe, Alfredo’s in Somerton 09:30 - 12:00 Time allowed 6.5 hours
VELOCIO 4 components. Main clues are scattered about a 20km radius, map in the marquee, the further way the more points
3 quiz sheets in Martock, Somerton and Langport, great for families and a slower pace. Prizes for these
Lastly, rides the Tandem Club database is your friend. Open the map via any ride. Hit S, select none, then misc/velocio to reveal black icons at the locations of the clues. The target circle below S is a position marker, shows where you are. You could just select Velocio as above, create a marker and the small red circle homes in on the clue, much like the Alien film
For the Velocio the TC Rides system might help as it will show a list of the Velocio places as a list or on a map with the questions on a mobile phone.
As a list use:
https://tandem-club.org.uk/rides?cmd=placeList&sel_category=misc%2Fvelocio&sel_mapReference=&sel_postcode=&sel_distance=30&sel_period=&sel_onMap=&sel_title=&sel_personal=0&sel_allZooms=&sel_pager=0&sel_order=%21id&sel_zoom=&postValidate=9cxq341w&select_cmd=Search
Or on a map any of the weeks rides when viewed on the TC website will show them, or use the following link:
https://tandem-club.org.uk/rides?cmd=navigate
The map will track where you are (if you allow it to access your position). The Velocio Places are shown as a black shield which you can click on to get the questions.
You can use the "S" button to select just the "misc/velocio" places to make it easier to see where they are. The location I con can be toggled to turn off the tracking of your position and the +- buttons can zoom the map.
The place icons can appear a bit later if mobile Internet is slow and a page refresh can help.
Have fun.
If the TC Rides system is showing your location wrong, make sure your location settings for your Web browser (Chome?) is set to precise.
From 18:30 (hopefully) Please bring your own plates, knife and fork to reduce waste. I think the portions should be OK but if you want to supplement with something else please do
Congratulations to Richard and Hilary Abbott who won Velocio. Stuart and Jackie Hibbard along with Eugene and Sally Kertzman came a very creditable second. The walking clues were ruled by the Dutch, well done Jan and Anja
Sorry we missed the hog roast. Roger met a friend in Somerton he had not seen for 20 years and we had meal out with them, Tandem power bringing people together in a loverly way.
Reminder; Committee and ROs welcome to a get-together THIS EVE Friday 17:30 in marquee before the hog roast. Peter
HOG ROAST ready maybe 18:40 by the marquee. Please hog first then vegetarian at 18:55ish as this helps the cooking process. There is gluten breadcrumbs in the vegetarian burgers, we do have gluten free buns if required
SATURDAY RIDE. All rides head south. All go through Merriott which makes a good cafe stop. I haven’t warned them but it’s a good stop. The short then swings north to Barrington Court, the National Trust property. The medium takes in the Chard to Ilminster Cycleway that has a good surface. The long goes further south, the cafe at the shop at the south is open until 13:00 (Thorncombe) after that return north to meet the other routes we
SATURDAY NIGHT cider tasting and tasting notes. Probably 6 to guess the type from the description. There will also be some apple juices and some cheese available. Will be in the marquee at 19:00 at the moment, dependant on Somerset farmer time
SUNDAY MEAL quiche, bread and salads. We have some gluten free rolls. It will start at 17:30-18:00 dependant on set up time ( same caterers as tonight) There is a 50/50 split of vegetarian/ham quiches. As carnivores also like vegetarian food, can the 30 vegetarians who opted for this on Friday, go through first. As with tonight please no seconds if there are any until the last person has gone through
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.
| 06/08/2026 | Misc | A History of the Tandem Club |
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| 13/05/2026 | Misc | 2026-AGM |
| 05/03/2026 | Rose and Crown menu |
April Ride Report and phots.html
November 2013 Ride Report.html
December Ride Report.html
October Ride Report.html
Ride Report - February 2014.html
