King of the Mountains, pedals and paws ........

Snods Edge was in the news today.

Cycling's tour of Britain swept through the village which featured in in the SkodaUK King of the Mountains stage of the race.

The riders raced up the hill from Shotley Bridge down through Devil's Dip before climbing again up and  through Snods Edge before racing on towards Cumbria and the finishing post for this stage in Kendal.

Cycling was a great hobby when I was young. I was a member of the Cyclists Touring Club and a local Potteries Cycling Club when I lived in Stoke on Trent and would with the clubs and with friends cycle most days and most weekends.

My bicycle was fitted with a 72" fixed wheel on one hub and a 100" fixed wheel on the other so that the wheel could be turned around to adjust to the gradients, it took a bit longer than changing gear but it made a statement.

There was a cycle track in Stoke on Trent and some evenings friends would gather there, cycling from home and then stripping the bikes down to racing style before lapping the track, at the end of the evening the bikes would have to be rebuilt with brakes and mudguards before we rode home.

A great adventure was to wait on the A34 for a bus or HGV and then tucking in behind to gather speed before attempting to race past on the dual carriageway, always shouting out the question to the driver, 'How fast' as we sped by.

I cycled whilst at college in Salisbury and continued to ride cycles until on one occasion riding through my parish in Bolton I was attacked by an Alsatian Dog which had been guarding a scrap yard.

It rushed, growling, from the yard, grabbed my raincoat and dragged me backwards off the bicycle. I managed to retain my balance, if not my dignity, and swung the bicycle round to ward the dog off. Luckily I must have caught it in a painful spot as it ran off down a ginnel squealing with what I hoped was pain.

Not long after that incident I had an accident with a car and then my bicycle was stolen so my cycling career came to an unhappy end.

So no Tour of Britain for me at least not as a competitor.

But it was fascinating to watch the general cycling population pedalling their way along the route that would be followed by the competitors.

If we had been smarter it would have been a good opportunity to open the Church Hall to provide refreshments if not for the Peloton then for the crowds of spectators who gathered along the route.

The main event of the week has been attempting to train the dogs, (all three!) not to ride bicycles but to restrain their enthusiasm and their behaviours as we welcome a new addition to the Vicarage menagerie, Baxter, the golden retriever puppy is joining the Snods Dog pack on Friday.

As we have a Stanley the general feeling was that we wanted a name that fitted and after various false starts including Baldwin, Kubrick, Unwin and Olly we finally settled on Baxter.

Who  knows Baxter may soon have his own blog!







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