In Marlborough: to Avebury - Three Seasons Around France: Summer - CycleBlaze

August 25, 2022

In Marlborough: to Avebury

Well, why not start the post with a photo of my new haircut again?  I could make this a new thing, starting each post this way so we can all watch it slowly grow longer, shaggier and  less kempt.  Why not!

Maybe not.  But I did want to show that with a hint from Bob Distelberg I figured out how to take the shot without the third image whiting out.  I hadn’t noticed before that the camera on the iPad has a flash function that only activates in selfie mode.  And there’s a setting for it so you can turn it off, but the setting is only visible in selfie mode.

This is the affect I was after.
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Suzanne GibsonPerfect, the picture of you taking a picture of you taking a picture of you taking a picture...
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Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThanks for commenting. It wasn’t until I zoomed in just now that I saw the fourth. I wonder with a better camera if the fifth would be clearer too.
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Before we move on to today’s ride, let’s take a look around our room in the Green Dragon, one of the more ‘interesting’ places we’ve stayed.  Interesting, but not in a good way.  For starters note the refrigerator, which we were delighted to find was a part of the furnishings because it means we can store milk in it and have breakfast in the room, since the inn doesn’t offer breakfast.  Rachael of course immediately went out grocery shopping, but when she returned we discovered that the milk would just slide out the door because the floor is sloped so badly.

Problem solved when I grabbed an extra hand towel, folded it several times, and shimmed the front end.  We’ve never stayed in a place with such an uneven floor.  It’s amazingly sagged in the middle and makes us wonder the odds of it falling through and dropping us onto the bar below.  Really, at the worst spot it must slope nearly 10%.  It’s disorienting and a bit unsafe walking around on it.

It all goes downhill from here.
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Andrea BrownWe stayed at a place with a sloped floor in Thailand and it was slippery tile. I felt drunk every time I walked to the bathroom.
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Scott AndersonTo Andrea BrownAt least this place has carpet, so sliding isn’t a risk. It really is bad though, especially on Rachael’s side of the bed. When I’m on that side and step off onto the floor it’s almost dizzying.
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And, speaking of unsafe.  There’s the treacherous design of the stairwell to the en suite bath, which is a half flight above.   They’re narrow, steep, angled, and slightly sloped downwards; and worst of all, the final narrow stair is tapered to a point.  I was shocked yesterday by the thud when Rachael pitched face forward slipping off the bottom step.  When I looked up she was sprawled on the ground, one arm holding up the filled coffee pot that she impressively didn’t drop or spill in the fall.  Thank heavens she didn’t injure her, then or the second time!

Death trap.
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Kathleen ClassenGood catch Rachael! Those truly are a death trap though. They certainly don’t conform to any known building code. And that they connect to the ensuite bath, which people of a certain age (ours) are known to frequent in the night makes them even more treacherous. And you thought it was narrow lanes and cars you needed to be concerned with!!
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Rachael AndersonTo Kathleen Classen they are really bad! I slid coming down 3 different times and thought I sprained my ankle but it’s fine. I finally figured out that I need to both hold on to the railing but also take a step with one foot and then bring down my other foot to the same step. I’m a really slow learner.
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1 year ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Kathleen ClassenThose triangular stair treads were in conformance to the BC Building Code at the time our previous townhouse was built, in 1970. We had a 90° bend with three triangular treads on each flight of stairs in our 3-level home.

On the other hand, a place we rented on Hornby Island for a week had a (straight) staircase so steep and slippery that even our border collie lost her footing.
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So with all that prelude, there’s hardly any room left to say much about today’s ride, a longish, hillyish loop that took in Avebury and three more Wiltshire White Horses.  Just the pics then:

The Green Dragon, in Marlborough. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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Jacquie GaudetI always thought the Green Dragon was a pub in the Shire...
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Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetHa! How can I have forgotten this? It’s only been 50 years since I read the Hobbit.
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We’re barely a mile out of town when we collect our first white horse of the day. The Marlborough White Horse lies in the grounds of Marlborough College and is the smallest horse in Wiltshire. Cut in 1804 by a group of school boys, the horse was desinged by pupil, William Canning.
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It’s surprising how many thatched roofs were seeing here. In some villages they’re very common, almost in a majority on the older houses.
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Also, many of the thatched roof structures are brick here. Brick is one of the most common building materials.
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Well, we should say a few words about Avebury.  Everyone is of course aware of Stonehenge, but Avebury might be less familiar to some.  Another megalithic site in the same region (Stonehenge, also in Wiltshire County, is only 20 miles away), Avebury is a huge site, a giant circular henge (bank and ditch) containing the largest stone circle in the world.

The site is too large and sprawling to see from the road by bike.  You really need to get around on foot, which we plan to do tomorrow.  It’s only seven miles from town so we’ll bike out there and take a lock with us this time.  So, hopefully we’ll be back with a longer report on Avebury tomorrow.  In the meantime you might bone up by reading the Wikipedia article so you’ll have a better idea of what you’re looking at.

Stone Avenue, Avebury.
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We took a photo of me standing next to it for scale - the stone’s nearly twice my height - but the lighting wasn’t as good and you’ve already seen my haircut anyway.
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Hey, don’t kick your dogs!
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A very small segment of the great Avebury stone circle. It really needs an aerial view to give you a sense of the huge scale.
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Looking down from Knap Hill into the Vale of Pewsey.
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The huge Alton Barnes White Horse (160’ by 180’, cut in 1812) runs across the face of Milk Hill, the highest ground in the county.
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Saint John’s Church, Pewsey.
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Climbing Pewsey Hill, to see what we might find there. You never know what might be lurking around the next bend.
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Surprise! It’s the Pewsey White Horse! A three horse day!
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The view across the Vale of Pewsey from Pewsey Hill.
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Our vote for the best lunch stop of the month, if not the tour. It was wonderfully pleasant sitting here in the sun, watching the ducks and moorhens drift past.
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The Kennet and Avon Canal. Much of the back half of the loop paralleled the canal and river, giving us miles of relaxing riding.
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More sunflowers! They’re not common by any means but this is the third planting we’ve seen of them recently.
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I love this long split rail fence. It reminds me of Gettysburg.
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One last thatched roof for the day. More to come, I’m sure.
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That truck ahead looks menacing rounding the bend. Makes me think of a Gary Larson cartoon - watch out, here comes the Old Age Truck, Rachael! Oh - and notice that pine tree, which is what prompted me to pull out the camera in the first place.
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Ride stats today: 46 miles, 3,100’; for the tour: 2,129 miles, 128,300’

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 2,128 miles (3,425 km)

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