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@Ludd
Saturday saw me building up the Lomond Tourmalet frame that I bought off the forum a few weeks back. To my amazement, the only extra thing I had to run off to the LBS for was a new chain.
On Sunday morning I headed off from Eden Park, tweaked the gears slightly, and rolled down through West Wickham, along Layhams Road, watched the larks rising along Skid Hill Lane, admired the new raised kerb on Hesiers Road, down (fast) and up (slow) Beddlestead Lane, down Clarks Lane to the Pilgrims Way. Lots of Dulwich and Brixton riders out on the roads, all very friendly, all very sunny.
I flinched at the sight of Sundridge Hill Lane and headed round the southern fringes of Chevening, back onto the Pilgrims Way through Twitton and Otford, up the Shoreham Road (with a buzzard overhead) to Eynsford (paused for a mars bar and a can of coke from the sweet shop and sat by the Darenth) and then back along the TNRC route through Crockenhill to St Mary Cray.
I checked the time - I had a total of three hours available before I had to be back at Eden park to collect Luddlet #3 - and decided to press on through Chislehurst. Leesons Hill was a pain, but the roll down through Bickley and Bromley was fine. Got back to Eden Park with 20 minutes to spare - 37.3 miles with about 2200 feet of climbing, moving average 16mph (after taking off the 20 minutes spent watching swans at Eynsford).
The bike had performed faultlessly - there is something that rattles, but it may just be that I'm not used to listening to a derailleur, and there is a steady hooting once I reach a certain pace, which I assume is the wind resonating somewhere.
My legs, on the other hand, were feeble. I'd fitted a fairly racy cassette that gave 39x23 as the bottom gear, and I still struggled on what I knew were very mild inclines. I may have to reinstate the 12-27 cassette for the London Classic.