Ride on Sunday 12 Oct.  starting at South Ferriby at 10:30.  On the seat just after the right turn of the A1077 on to Horkstow Road.  43 km.  Refreshments stop at Elsham Hall.  Good weather ordered, from Paul Hudson.  

The ride is 12 October not July. Unfortunately Dr Whk will not be attending with the Tardis. My appologies.

A chilly start with a thick fog didn't dampen the spirits of the six riders from Humberside, who set off on a leisurely tandem ride through the picturesque lanes of North Lincolnshire. Organised by Peter and Lyn, the group met at South Ferriby, with the aim of completing a  circular ride from South Ferriby,  also takingbin the Roman rosd Ermine Street.

Hi

There are now 22 onsite booking for Easter 2026 which leaves 48 sites to fill, so still plenty of room, however I need to release the exclusive use in mid November so if anyone you know wishes to book, please remind them.

If you want to book with the site either side of the rally, I am happy to liaise with the site. I need the dates (and the days) that you would like. Please Email me at neilwheadon1@gmail.com

Chris Juden is helping with the routes. He was the technical editor for CTC and has moved to Derbyshire. He led tours for CTC Holidays, so I have every confidence. He also rides a tandem with Helen

   Best Wishes

       Neil

We would love anyone whohasn't already done the Rally Survey to do so by clicking on this link to complete a very short survey!

As they say ‘all good things come to an end’ so on Sunday 19th October after a long dry spell the forecast for the Somerset Levels was 90% rain and strong winds! 4 intrepid tandem pairs and 3 soloists decided to brave the weather.

We left the Avalon Marshes Centre after talking ourselves into it over coffee and tea. We started out heading for Tealham Moor where we were stopped in our tracks – the ground shaking – as the young ‘goddesses of the grass’ or black and white heifers galloped after their farmer along the road, as usual the naughty one at the back took her time!

The back roads towards Cheddar were new to some of our local riders and the spectacular view from 6 weeks ago was now shrouded with low cloud! We skirted Cheddar, with all noting how the reservoir is still very low, to pick up the Strawberry Cycle Track to our coffee stop in historic Axbridge where the Traffic Warden was very busy! The Almshouse Tea rooms had reserved space for us and before leaving we cycled up and down the famous High Street with its blue plaques and wonderful front doors. We returned to Westhay - our lunch stop – via the main road at some speed with those of us using pedal power only slowing down for the hills and nasty short climb, all worth while to speed down Mudgley Hill.

We met friends at The Bird in Westhay for a generous lunch allowing the open fire to dry us out a bit. Most of us decided to cycle along the Shapwick Heath Reserve before returning to the Avalon Marshes Centre for more tea, if you are visiting there beware the eco teaspoons they use although we did have a fit of the giggles as Rex tried to remove his tea bag! Special mention to Malcolm for cycling from home to join us then racing back to collect Grace in time for lunch. It was wet but at least warm and well done and thankyou to all who joined us for the 27 miles.

Rex and Hannah Whitcombe

As Storm Claudia descends on most of us we thought it was a good time to help you make plans for the 2026 tandem rallies. Here is what you can look forward to for 2026:

2026 Easter Rally:- Ashbourne, Derbyshire Dales 2nd - 6th April 2026

Every year the Tandem Club organises an Easter get together. In 2026, this will be close to Ashbourne which is situated in the southern Peak District. For 4 days rides will be offered in this glorious area, put together by club member Neil Wheadon who has created many great tours over the years.There will be two communal tea stops offered as the joy of these events is to meet and greet fellow riders. In addition there will be a marquee on site and on Saturday night the campsite have laid on a very good band for our entertainment. Easter is a very popular time for camping and this site would normally be full. We have been offered exclusive use, but the club needs to ensure that enough people will be there. The site is half full, to achieve this everyone who would like to come needs to book as soon as they can. Thank you Neil. -  Rally page and how to book click here

2026 International Rally:- Gouarec France 23rd - 30th May 2026

We will be revisiting the Breton Region for this rally with a lovely campsite along the Nantes-Brest Canal. We have up to 4 fields for sole use available for the rally. The toilets, showers and washing block have been recently refurbished. Rides will be undulating with canal and cycle path sections as well as opportunities to sample the local foods. The site is just 68 miles from Roscoff or 85 from St. Malo. 975 Km. from Amsterdam or 777 Km. from Brussels. There are two permanent marquees on site for those cycle camping or without facilities to use for cooking. We will have a larger Rally marquee for all our own activities. Rally page and how to book click here

2026 National Rally:- Thorney Lakes, Somerset 3rd - 8th August 2026

Another visit to the Somerset Levels for a rally at Thorney Lakes as we did in 2015. Plenty of flat rides as well as the challenges of the Mendip Hills with rides up Cheddar Gorge and Burrington Combe. Further details will be on the Tandem Club website soon.

Tandem Survey

If you haven't completed our very short Rally Survey please do so by clicking here. Thank you.

Eugene and Neil

16 riders met in Taunton for the November group ride. This was two days after Storm Claudia so there were some concerns about the state of the roads. As it happened they were better than expected with only a few muddy sections.
A couple of navigational errors, early on in the ride, took us down a dead end and then into a farmyard (by one of the muddy sections of road!)
Lunch was at the New Inn Halse where we were warmly welcomed and enjoyed an excellent lunch.
It was then 8 miles back to Taunton where we asked Ian to lead us back to the cars. We stayed dry and even witnessed blue skies and sun after lunch.

Richard & Michelle

A test email

Hi. Some have asked about the 5% discount for which I have no nowledge I'm afraid, but this may work? https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/offers/black-friday

This is the link I was sent. It worked for me. And gave 5% off in addition to the Brittany Ferries 20% Black Friday eatly bird discount which expires today, 8 Dec. "Dear Rally participant, I now have the Brittany Ferry discount code. This 5% code is only for those coming to the 2026 rally and can't be used at other times https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/?referrer=XXXXXX (Sorry removed the XXXXXX as everyone can see this. The value is on the Attendees web page (if you have booked for the event) or email tci2026@tandem-club.org.uk TB). Distances from ports:  Caen 182 miles St Malo 85 miles Sherbourg 205  Bon voyage!" Linda

The sky was blue and the sun was shining when eight tandems and 4 solo bikes lined up for the decorated cycle helmet competition. We rode through Tiverton and then onto quiet country roads to take us to the Globe at Sampford Peverell where we stopped for a coffee. 
It was then back on the bikes to ride a slightly different return  route through Chieflowman and Chevithorne.  We cycled up past the walled garden at the National Trust property Knightshayes, down the main drive and back to our starting point.
There we met up with another 14 club members for our annual Christmas lunch and prize giving. Joan won the decorated cycle helmet competition for her fabulous ‘Santa down the chimney’ roof scene, and she and Rick then picked up the award for the most rides attended with an amazing 100% attendance.  Nick and Rachel won the Christmas quiz competition, which had most members scratching their heads. 
Ian and Lisa then told us of the packed diary of club rides and events planned for 2026. So we all have a lot to look forward to in the New Year.
Vicky and Jeff Conibear 

There is a trial running event at Bon Repos on the Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th. Various distances but you must enter asap when entries open on the 25th January at 18:00 hrs (19:00 hrs French time). Enter here: https://www.traildeguerledan.com/inscription

3 months to go and the campsite have opened up to external bookings, so far one pitch has been taken. If you want to come along, please book ASAP. Happy New Year Left as now: 4. hardstanding with electric 3 grass without electric 17 grass with electric

Hello Lincoln members,

We are in touch with Camper UK Leisure park in Swinthorpe, Lincs. We are hoping to have the National rally there in 2027 and I was hoping that you might be able to help with that as you live in Lincolnshire.

There are different things that would need doing but the routes would be a major part (5 days, short, medium and long) and there would be the evening program to think of as well as the marquee and other practical things.

If this is something you could help with I would like to hear from you.

Kind regards,

Eugene Kertzman, Rally Co-ordinator

We can do the routes but id like help in checking them for accuracy

We can do the routes but id like help in checking them for accuracy

Greetings, Eugene. As a BC route planner, and H&S trained, i be more than happy to do the routes. Also check them for accuracy, safety and for places of interestjust let me know how long you would like routes to be . Best wishes, yours in cycling, PEtet Hobson

Our server's SSL security certificate was updated fairly recently and uses a modern certificate that requires the knowledge of the Sectigo Public Server Authentication Root R46 certificate. If you encounter security access issues make sure your device has the latest software updates. Unfortunately if it is an older device that does not receive updates then you can install the "Sectigo Public Server Authentication Root R46 certificate" manually. Different devices have different ways of doing this.

The root certificate is available from https://crt.sh/?d=4256644734 make sure you trust this download.

On Android phones/tablets you can install using:

• Download the Certificate:

• Get the Sectigo Public Server Authentication Root R46 certificate file (usually a .crt or .cer). You can use a WEB browser for this.

• Save it to your device's Downloads folder.

• Open Settings: Navigate to your device's Settings app.

• Find Certificate Installation:

• Go to Security or Security & privacy.

• Look for More security settings or Encryption & credentials.

• Tap on Install a certificate or Install from storage.

• Select Certificate Type: Choose CA certificate (Certificate Authority).

• Install the File:

• Acknowledge any warnings.

• Use the file manager to find and select the SectigoR46Root.crt file you downloaded.

• Tap Install.

• Confirm: You'll need to enter your device PIN or use your fingerprint to confirm. 

The certificate will then appear under the User credentials tab in your trusted certificates.

I bought a pair of Endura mountain bike trousers last year. They have been great.

When I fell off my mountain bike onto a studded peddle I lay in the moor for a while counting my blessings and noticed that I had ripped my pants, as well.

I emailed Endura to ask if I could buy a repair patch and they told me to post them back to Endure at my expense and they would repair and return them without any cost. This sounded too good to be true so I was careful to  checkout where I was sending my trousers to. Sure enough 5 days later I got them back - looking better than I could believe - new reflective stickers on them and the tare repaired almost invisibly.

How brilliant. In this throw it away, buy some more society there is still a company that assists their customers to look after their kit. Definitely they have my loyalty. Alas, the fantastic thermal Freeer pants are not available online this year. So I will be very careful with my existing pair now.

Jacqueline