Shindig to Bath
Distance: 22 miles
Time (hours): 2:12
Average Speed: 9.8 mph
Ascent: 1,299 ft
The Magic Evaporates
Needless to say, Love & Hope and largeness were had at Shindig. But the 2 am last-night curfew meant that, even with en-suite after-party, it was possible to get a few hours’ sleep before packing down for the ride home. It’s always surprising how quickly the magic evaporates and the fields start – once again – to just look like fields. So, leaving isn’t quite the wrench one might imagine.
Tribal Marking
Fortunately, I was up and away before the weather began to turn. But I hadn’t got far before it started to rain in earnest. Which gave me a good excuse to stop for lunch only a couple of miles down the road. What I hadn’t realised, until visiting the rest-room having eaten my meal, was that my forehead was still adorned with the gold ‘tribal’ marking given to me by my camping neighbour. No idea what the people serving made of that but they didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow.
Somewhat Compromised
My perception of time, post-festival, was somewhat compromised. So, it felt as though the subsequent journey was taking an age. But whilst I was rather below my normal cruising speed, I actually covered the miles in not much longer than would normally be expected. A brief downpour, just before reaching the final descent into Batheaston, was less than pleasant but served to test-out my waterproofing before the main body of the tour. Everything remained safely sealed and the rain quickly abated. Soon thereafter, I was both home and dry.
Fringe Benefits
When I got back, my partner in cycling – Rob Whale – was already there. He’d traveled down from Yorkshire to join me for the remainder of the tour on violin. First-up was our Fringe show at The BeIl Inn in Bath. This was a special one-off, where we were joined by Stu on bass and guitar and DJ “Mumma” Miche Quiche on decks. Plus, the ‘secret choir’, with members from Bath Folk Singers, The Bellini Girls, Bath Male Choir and other local groups.
Spine-Tingling
These provided a spine-tingling finale when, from among the audience, they burst into harmony for the final choruses of ‘Time is On Our Side’. DJ Miche was also fantastic: responding to our songs in the moment with appropriate and complementary discs. To these, we improvised: Rob on violin, Stu on bass and guitar and me on flute and percussion. Once the audience got used to this interplay, it worked really well: they chatted and danced along, then tuned right back in once we started each subsequent song.
Afterwards, we had some amazing response:
“loved every minute!”
“Your messages are not only loud and clear, they are gentle and sublime”
“brilliant violinist… at one stage reminded me of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons”
“freeing, fun and captivating”
“Bloody awesome!!!”
“profound and relevant to our time”
“gave me great comfort”
“a true artist”
… we’ll take that.
