ABC of Pubs and Cafes, 2024

[DCLane]

@Alex321 - it's an opportunity to go further, get to new areas. I do a weekly club ride, so that covers a café stop, plus other much longer rides. The 300/400/600+km audaxes need to include stops and last year's 600 had four in.

 

[All uphill]

Why not?

Well I've never actually stopped in a pub on a ride yet, although I may well do so at some point, but nothing like often enough t9o get 26 in a year. And there are only a few cafe's I have stopped at when out riding.

The majority of my rides aren't really long enough to justify a pub/cafe stop, particularly since I am usually by myself.

Like you I've seldom been in a pub on a bike ride (or any other time in the last 20 years, tbh). I'm teetotal and never liked the blokey atmosphere of many pubs.

Two thoughts, maybe I've been missing out on some nice places to stop, and there's no obligation to go in the pub. All that's needed is a photo of your bike outside a pub.

 

[Alex321]

@Alex321 - it's an opportunity to go further, get to new areas. I do a weekly club ride, so that covers a café stop, plus other much longer rides. The 300/400/600+km audaxes need to include stops and last year's 600 had four in.

Ye, when I do a longer ride, I will often have a café stop, but even those rides are usually only around 2-3 hours, and I have recently started riding with a local club, but not as often as weekly, and those will usually be one of only a few different cafes.

I do use these challenges to ride different routes to those I would otherwise, and some longer rides, but I jut don't expect to enter any significant portion oif the ones I take photos of for this challenge.

 

[All uphill]

I'm only on "B" and the fun has started!

I cycled out of town along the river Tone, which was high and flowing fast. The mudguard releases did their job when the front wheel picked up a stick - a first for me.

I arrived at the Blackbrook Tavern to find its now a rebranded steakhouse. Not a B in sight. That's something that doesn't happen with village names or churches!

Saw a kingfisher up close on the return, so it was a worthwhile trip.

 

[Alex321]

Looking through the alphabet, the only letters I can't get within cycling distance of home are U, X, Y, Z

I wouldn't be surprised to find a U or a Y somewhere that I have overlooked in 2nd or 3rd words, not so sure of X or Z. I can only find one Q in reasonable distance - in the centre of Cardiff.

 

[All uphill]

Looking through the alphabet, the only letters I can't get within cycling distance of home are U, X, Y, Z

I wouldn't be surprised to find a U or a Y somewhere that I have overlooked in 2nd or 3rd words, not so sure of X or Z. I can only find one Q in reasonable distance - in the centre of Cardiff.

I'm not planning ahead, but I did notice the Zetland Arms in Bristol recently, so that's my "Z" prepared. That will be a bike ride one way and train the other.

 

[Alex321]

I could actually do A to F (in sequence) in one ride of less than 20 miles, though I would have to cross my route at some point. I could also include G and H by riding the same roads again for some of it.

 

[Mike_P]

Looking as far as L, ABC, F, HI & L are all potentiallly within staggering distance of each other oops, meant

 

[FrothNinja]

I'm struggling to find a day when it's not

Why bother about whether it is open though?

I am certainly not going in to 26 pubs or cafes for this challenge.

Snap on the open point

 

[Alex321]

Having looked around a bit more, I can get U, Y and Z, so the only letter left that I haven't found within a 15 mile distance from home is X (or EX)

 

[DCLane]

Got my 'A': Aroma Café Bar, Horbury.

Cheap and cheerful meals - sausage & mash plus a coffee for £8.40

And yes, that is a spoon they gave me with it.

 

[Alex321]

Got my 'A': Aroma Café Bar, Horbury.

Cheap and cheerful meals - sausage & mash plus a coffee for £8.40

View attachment 717889

And yes, that is a spoon they gave me with it.

You haven't quite taken the photo according to the Rules of the challenge though (in the first post of the thread).

"The name of the pub or cafe must be visible in the photo, with your bike."

 

[DCLane]

@Alex321 - given it was one of only two café's that started with an 'A' in West Yorkshire, and I didn't want to get mugged in the area, the link's got the café photo and my bike's visible from inside. With no visible menu's. It'll do. And anyway, who doesn't want to see sausages & mash served with a spoon?

For me this challenge is like getting Turf zones; in West Yorkshire it means going to dodgy places and hoping you come out with all limbs intact. And the bike.

 

[Alex321]

TBH

@Alex321 - given it was one of only two café's that started with an 'A' in West Yorkshire, and I didn't want to get mugged in the area, the link's got the café photo and my bike's visible from inside. With no visible menu's. It'll do. And anyway, who doesn't want to see sausages & mash served with a spoon?

For me this challenge is like getting Turf zones; in West Yorkshire it means going to dodgy places and hoping you come out with all limbs intact. And the bike.

TBH, I think with all of these challenges, the point is to get us out and looking for places we might not otherwise have gone, and the interpretation of the rules is really up to you.

For me, this is likely to be one of the easier challenges. I'm still stuck at I for the towns & villages, and K for the saints, and while I do know where I can get those, one is a long ride (for me) and the other would need a drive plus ride.

 

[Mike_P]

It's a good one for the winter months whereby staying largely local works. For the village ABC I have proceeded to redo it on the second, third etc letter and also on the second word which expands where to go especially ruling out places previously used.
A winter one I did was an ABC of roadnames but made a bit complex by requiring something of note on the road so ruling out most of roads in suburbia and tin shed commerce, using roads with schools, pubs, banks, DVLA test centre, police station, tourist attraction etc.