Thetownend.com

Right, I got my bike back which i didint even know my dad leant it out to someone.

Wheres good to cycle around swindon?

Magic Roundabout?

The magicroundabout .

bollocks!

beat me.

very few places i suspect in januray, other than the obvious lydiard, coate water etc

i rode to cotswold water park with my mates last year, that was good. But that was in june, i think it may be a little different this time of year.

Hehehe, only just though.

Great minds and all that eh?

magic roundabout?

 Now you're talking....TBH I've not been on my bike for about 18 months,  but before that for many years a pedalist of some distinction.  I keep meaning to do the bit of work to get my bike back on the road.

 Swindon has in fact got a rather decent network of cycle tracks, bits of quiet road etc,  that make it just about possible to cycle anywhere safely.  Similarly these can be linked up to lanes etc to get in and out of town reasonably easily.

  Living in OT the most difficult bit is to Wooton Bassett, in a reasonably sensible fashion.....there is a route all  through  West Swindon, but very much a long way round.  If you're prepared to say do 30-40 miles then there are some marvellous routes out and around.

 So where abouts do ypou live Chubbs?  what sort of mileage are you thinking about?  Give me a clue and I'll give you a decent route.

We usually do West Swindon via old town to Barbary castle, then long way back - about 25 miles I think, its a killer but good views

Shaw Forest (tip ..whatever) is easy enough to get to via cycle routes and  non boggy because its been pathed all round.To be honest you cycle from one side of swindon to the other in 20 minutes and there are cycle routes everywhere anyway.

Barbury Castles a nice ride with a bitch of hill but thats Summer fare for me.

   Once you're up to Barbury then rolling along to Rockley via 4 mile clump is a good one, then on down into Marlborough and back by the old railway line is a decent 30 miler.

If you pop into the library you can can a map of all Swindon cycle routes! It's great!

No need to go to the library...

http://www.swindon.gov.uk/swindoncycle1.pdf

The old railway track is good for a shorter trek, doesn't take long on a bike though.

Growing up in Park South, Coate Water was dead close to me and once you get behind coate then there are all sorts of Random track's to get lost on (Which I did often, I loved getting lost, sort of added to the adventure). In the summer I used to follow the Ridgeway all the way to Avebury and back, although I woudn't recommend it this time of year.

Behind Coate you also have Liddington hill and Barbury Castle (I think!!!)

Mountain biking used to be a keen hobby of mine, I even spent 1,500 quid on a specialized rockhopper something once, which was promptly knicked within a month after letting my brother borrow it to go to town, duh!

Asides from Avebury I never really set off with a target destination, I preferred to just see what was about and twice I stumbled across Army Excerices wiv tanks and stuff, which was cool.

 I've done a bit of walking on Salisbury Plain, which is rich in wildlife and archaeology....mainly because it hasnt been subjected to agribusiness.  Its weird because the rights of way are a bit vague....in many cases in theory there are still paths but often nobody much bothers due to the militarry presence.

 When John Major was PM  he introduced the Citizen's Charter....one of which was a leaflet entitled Walks on MoD land with a phone number to check military movements.....I rang up to sort out a route I had devised....they didn't have a clue what I was talking about...just said do it anyway, but don't mess with shells, or go anywhere with a red flag.

 But then you get the tanks and strike helicopters flying around....it feels like they decide you'll do as some sort of fucking target for an operation.

  Not exactly relaxing.

When the foot and mouth was on a few years back, I was staying on a campsite near Exmouth, which coast path  had just re opened, and down on the cliffs was a Royal Marine training site.   So I'd be out there cooking up a bit of bacon, and there was a full scale battle going on....fellas swinging about on ropes up and down the cliffs lobbong smoke canisters the lot....

  Think they came around from Lympestone.

I grew up in Park Saaaf, and one of the many perks of growing up on said council estate was the annual air-show held which involved only wwII aircraft, Wroughton Airfield I think.

Each year I would look forward to being able to lay in the back garden and see Spitfire's, Lancaster's, Hurricane's, Mosquitos, Messerchmits (Sp) Ect flying in formation directly above me whilst sunbathing in my Nans back garden.

That was so ace it was simply ace!

 I went to Park School.....

Really Reg? As a pupil?

I wasn't there for long as I was so far ahead of the teacher's class plan that I was moved up to Lawns Comp. (Oooh, look at me!!)

how long where you there for?

 6 years

You must obviously have grown up in the area then. My mum lived in Charfield close, and my Nan in Pakenham Road, where she still lives now. My mum still has a house in Park Saaf but for the life of me I can't remember the name of the street (It's opposite the subway under queen's drive, the one that always smells of piss and leads up to Lawn woods).

Have you ever had a GP named Dr. Flew? (Oh the Irony)

 That subway is key to cycle routes leading  east of town....nip through to Whitbourne Avenue...then a nice path through Eldene by the Crumpled Horn.....along past Dorcan School and out through Covingham...opens routes to Wanborough pubs or over the flyover by Sainsbury's to South Marston etc.

Cycle route's are easy in that part of town:

Get to Queen's drive, Hang a left, keep going for a bit and hey ho youre in the countryside.

Although has the new hospital not been built in that area (The reason my Nan's house almost doubled in price). I'm not sure where it is as it was built after I left blighty.

Reg, did you ever get plastered in old Town and then ride back home on your bike through Lawn Woods at night, as fast as you can with no lights?

I you did, those trees: They don't half hurt when you hit them don't they? I have had this same conversation with Mark Lamaar (A regular at the 'old' bell), and he agree's, those tree's don't half smart a bit!

Getting back to Chubbs original question - get the bike on the back of a car and drive over to Lechlade, have a few beers at my place then cycle round the Coln Valley and Bibury!

'Clears throat', If I may point out the flaw in this plan of yours!!!

 Not exactly, but a couple of summers back, I was pedalling out to Covingham to visit a bird I was seeing, after having had a few beers, and thought I could rely on my homing powers when cycling pissed.  I was looking for the track down to Upham Road, completely missed it and rattled through a load of molehills etc across the field  doing untold damage to my nads...ouch.

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:  Sorry I forgot it should read "have a few beers at my place, cycle round the Coln Valley and Bibury, go back to my place and have even more beers, get a lift back to Swindon.  Not sure whether this was the kind of day Chubbs had in mind  8)

Whilst cycling home merry from the Running Horse to Rodbourneby the Dairy type place ive gone flat out into a barrier thing and wiped myself out 8)

Ahhhhh,

So youv'e never done the.

"I am blotted, drinking in the Bell during the summer time without a shirt on and feel like going for a ride in the woods, and whilst doing so completely forget to turn and find a huge bush of stinging nettle's to break my fall"

Thing.

You ought to try it some time, your mate's will find it hilarious, trust me.

I had more Doc Leaves than sympathy.

 I'm too old for that sort of shit

and i'll even invite myself!

cheers guys, dont want anything to much to start, but wanna get in practice for the brighter months.

I used to cycle a lot, cycled to lechlade a few times, even to wales once, fuck i've walked to wales, (this is when i was fit and was in the scouts)

But ye all sound good and if anyone ups for joining, more the merrier.