Thompson struggles in Gt Yarmouth CC event

A cold, windy and only slightly wet Sunday morning gave Velo Club Baracchi riders the opportunity to ride fifty miles or thereabouts on the club run.

Two groups met up at Halesworth and then two riders set off for Laxfield, while four others went more directly to Bungay via Wissett and Homersfield.

After meeting up at Bungay five of the riders returned together to Lowestoft, one of them having completed sixty miles.

John Thompson rode the Gt Yarmouth CC sportive from Northgate Street in Yarmouth, riding there first along the A12.

He described it as  an incredibly complicated route and without a route sheet (as there were none) he had the misfortune to take a wrong turn, though he was not by any means the only one who went off route.

However he conceded, “It was silly that I missed the left turn in Lessingham and didn’t realise it until we reached Happisburgh.”

Thompson and the riders he was with went well well out of their way. They adopted different strategies to get back and even though for some time Thompson rode through some lanes solo, having abandoned hopes of resuming the correct course, he happened upon a group of three others who were in a similar position.

They continued together and one of them obtained some help from his GPS, so they then managed to stay basically on-route.

The last part was against a headwind, including his ride home. Thompson said, “Because of the dithering around and the fact that we went significantly over 50 miles it took us 4.25 hours.
Including riding to and from the event I will have done close to 80 miles.”