Riders: Carmine Petta, Chris Mustow, Colin Chapman, Drew Johnson, Henryk Gromadzki, James Dyke, Tom Shaffer.

And our invaluable road crew and luggage chauffeurs extraordinaire: Chris and Dominique.

When the seven of us rolled out on Tuesday, September 30th, Wiltshire welcomed us with a crisp autumn sun and the promise of open roads. Our base for the week: The Castle Hotel in Devizes, perched alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal, proved to be the perfect HQ with its secure bike storage, hearty meals, and staff who seemed genuinely pleased to see seven slightly obsessive cyclists turn up with muddy bikes and bigger appetites. https://castlehoteldevizes.co.uk

We were blessed with three dry, often sunny days out of four, not bad for late September. The outlier was Friday’s 75-mile return leg, which began with drizzle, graduated to proper British rain, and ended with a full soaking just as we neared home. It was, inevitably, also puncture day: Chris edged out Drew 2–1 in the flat tire stakes, a victory of sorts.

Across the week, we clocked up around 250 miles, and more of it was off-road than any of us had bargained for. From canal paths with personality, to a bone-rattling traverse of Savernake Forest, and some honest field-plugging between Chippenham and Calne, our bikes were not quite the ideal weapons of choice. I can see the point of Gravel bikes now! Still, the challenge made the views sweeter. Wiltshire’s rolling hills, meandering country lanes, and wide, green valleys are a quiet cyclist’s dream.

From all of us, a huge thank-you to Chris and Dom, who ferried our luggage to and from Devizes respectively, sparing us from the dreaded pannier drag and adding a touch of pro-tour luxury to the week. Without that support, it simply wouldn’t have been half as much fun.

All told, it was a cracking week’s riding, full of laughter, grit, and a reminder that you don’t have to go to Wales for wild hills and wet weather. Wiltshire will do just fine…

Day 1 – Home to Devizes (71 miles)