Richard and Michelle led this month’s ride which started from Wiveliscombe where 7 tandems and riders met at the White Hart for coffee before heading south towards Langford Budville.  This section held the first mechanical problem of the ride.  Richard was trying to identify a strange whistling bird when we realised that it was Carl trying to attract our attention. They had a broken chain. 6 men then looked on, offering advice and parts, until eventually the chain was repaired. The ladies of the party dutifully held the tandems and had a good chat!

Problem solved, our route joined the Sustran's route towards Bampton and it wasn’t long before problem number 2 occurred. While descending a narrow lane a loud bang was heard and Nigel and Mercedes suffered a blow out - hopefully this will not be a regular occurrence as they had also punctured on the previous ride!

Aware that things happen in 3's, we tentatively continued towards Bampton enjoying quiet lanes with lovely autumnal colours and views. Lunch was at The Swan, where we arrived about an hour late, but they were very understanding and we enjoyed an excellent lunch. Here we discovered the third problem - a lost phone, but fortunately it was found where it had been left at the White Hart!

The return along the B3227 had a few hills but we also enjoyed some long and fast descents.