NLTCBMBC - Deal With It II

NORTH LONDON THUNDER CATS BLACK METAL BICYCLE CLUB

Overnighter to Deal on the South East coast.

Ride is a few weeks before Dunwich but much more fun and interesting (no DP riders either..).

166.6KM mainly traffic-free.
5km gravel + 1km grass sections.
23 tires OK (don't bring road-shoes).

Be self-sufficient and bring adequate clothing.
Decent lights are a must, the moon is only at 42%.
Beer, spirits, food and sports gels/bars required..

Fast-social pace, nobody left behind.
We want to stick together as much as possible and leaders will wait at non-obvious forks in the road and corners.

GPX will be posted here closer to the date.

(BUT) If you are seriously dragging the group you will be off-loaded at a train station.
There are plenty enroute, you may have a long wait as trains down there resume at 07:30 on Sunday morning.

LONDON - Woolwich - Gravesend - Rochester - Rainham - Faversham - Whitstable - Herne Bay - Margate - Ramsgate - Sandwich -DEAL

Bike, body and brain could be tested : No crybabies, No crap equipment!

So save the date (do it now!) and invite your friends!

Meet London Fields - top Broadway and Westgate
Start time 20:00 (meet 19:30)
SOUTHIES MEET-UP : 21:00 South Tunnel Entrance Woolwich

I will be going fixed on about 71GI (46x17:23c).

If you want to ride gears, three simple rules:

1. Geared riders to the back of field (I want to enjoy the silence of
   the night without your freehub ruining it)
   
2. On descents give clear warning (on right, stay etc.). Always pass on
   far right
   
3. Don't sprint off at the bottom of a descent. Slow down and let the group come back together
   
   

#NLTCDEALWITHIT

^ i always pass by the far right

too early to commit by actually putting my name down, but it's in the diary

Wooo, now with added BLACK METAL!

'The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway' - Conrad

As in the book that would eventually inspire 'Apocalypse Now' we head down the river until we see:

'The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth'

After that it is all jungle and craziness.

Also on FB

Why no road shoes? I got cleat covers but don't remember using them last year.

Is it possible to prep the pub for our arrival? :)

You can wear whatever you want.

That is just PSYOPs to dissuade roadie-wankers from turning up then crying if they have to walk up some steps or find themselves rolling across grass and a bit of gravel at 4AM.

Pretty confident the pub will know we are coming this time..

Oooo I can feel the angst from here. Grrrrr.

Wish these guys were open at 1 in the morning, they make amazing pizza.

http://www.acasamia.co.uk/

After leaving the Thames behind us we glide down a few agreeably dark lanes towards Hoo. Our first contact with English countryside after 40-odd kilometres of urban sprawl.

Climbing out of Lower Rochester and then down over the Medway at Strood (past a decaying Soviet sub moored just to the left of the crossing).

Our first rest stop will be The Chatham Naval Memorial in Great Lines Heritage Park. An amazing wide expanse of a park with great views (in daytime..) over the river and surrounding conurbation.

Former site of military fortifications set up in the 1700's to facilitate dropping cannonballs, shells and later anti-aircraft fire on enemies intent on messing with the dockyards and city.

A good place for refueling in the middle of the night.

From Great Lines we descend through the deserted streets of Gillingham down to Lower Rainham.

At this point our route parallels the Medway running a couple hundred metres to the north.
Apparently, as I have never seen it beyond the fields and foliage that line the road; you probably won't either due to it being midnight..

The direction of travel naturally leads astute minds to assume that the evil Basser Hill will be included on our itinerary. To minimise waiting, keep the ride flowing and help save rider energy for the following 90KMs I have found a less depleting diversion around Lower Halstow's most feared col.

Over Kemsly, a forgettable little town enhanced greatly a few years ago with a cycle path that negates actually having to travel through it (on the B2006).

A few deep breaths and we are back into darkness with the undulating 7KM of Lower Road that leads towards Faversham. This is one of the longest stretches of countryside on our journey without turns or distractions; an opportunity to experience what this ride is about. Hopefully we will get some stars rather than the usual British blanket of clouds..

Another empty town in the dead of night then down to the Medway's estuary and the North Sea..

After being inland for so long we finally break out to the coast again at Seasalter. Depending on the wind direction this long drag down to the sea can either feel stupidly fast as you barrel along behind the seawall or as though you are actually climbing back up to where you came from.

Whitstable, Herne Bay - all sleeping when we pass (alas the Chefs of the UK's best Neapolitan pizzeria will also be tucked up in bed).

Down a few alleys and across a coastal park to our second rest stop of the night; by now the first signs of sunrise start to filter through the black night.

Reculver Towers

Remember when Dracula first came to the UK and was shipped in at Whitby? He should have chose here instead. Atmospheric, moody and secluded yet with convenient rail links to London..

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/reculver-towers-and-roman-fort/history/

After Reculver comes my favourite bit of the ride, several KMs down a traffic-free seawall in the near dark.

The night slowly losing its fight with the dawn as we hug the cliff road past Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea.

Then following the gentle bumps of the coastline, a quick detour through a sneaky alley and on to the deserted main that drops us to the beach at Margate.

Dreamland rises above us but we won't get the chance to rest for another 40KM..

Between Margate and Ramsgate we find ourselves in daylight and rounding the peninsula hosting south-east England's most easterly point.

Rolling over the undulating clifftops, dipping into and out of the seven bays that made Broadstairs a smuggling paradise in the days before Internet shopping.

Charles Dickens used to live in the neighbourhood, but we don't pass his house..

Next is the marina at Ramsgate, usually full to bursting with yachts and small pleasure boats. A short climb affords a view of the busy commercial port and on a clear day maybe France.

Only 15KM to go.
(I better wrap this up before Saturday..)

"Geared riders to the back of field (I want to enjoy the silence of the night without your freehub ruining it)"

Love you, John haha

Climbing out the back of Ramsgate then down a short chalk road and the beginning of Pegwell Bay Nature Reserve on the NC15 cycleway.

A few minutes away, just atop the cliffs is a full size replica Scandinavian longboat celebrating the times when Anglo-Saxons had to row here rather than ride, drive or jump on a plane.

It actually sailed from Denmark in '49 to mark the 1,500th anniversary of the first Viking invasion!

A short straight stretch on an A-road leading to another straight stretch that spears directly into Sandwich; over the river Stour and under the gate guarding the town proper.

Sandwich (from Ye Olde English - wic, meaning market or trading post.. Nowt to do with bread and yummy fillings)

A few twists and turns, a private road through a golf course, some coastal terraces and you've DEALT WITH IT.

Go on then, in. Will be on a road bike as knees aren't up to the fixie. Quietly, at the back.

(no DP riders either..).

At first I was like

Oooo I can feel the angst from here. Grrrrr.

And then I was like

Club beef wars

This was a highlight of last years riding

I am tempt for Saturday

Less of a club than a disease on the south-east's streets.

There will be a pub opening especially for us on the Sunday morning.

Serving full English and the like (plus baked potatoes and sandwiches).

They also serve pints (of decent beer)..

Probably meeting at Yard Sale Pizza on Lower Clacton Rd around 18:15(TBC) to fuel up for the ride.

Re the pub..

There will be things like sandwiches and fries on offer BUT If you want a:

-Full English Breakfast
-Tuna Jacket Potato
-Jacket Potato

I need to know before 12:30 Saturday so I can ring ahead.

Where's this thread going? Jacket potatoes aren't very angsty?

Re the pub..

There will be things like sandwiches and fries on offer BUT If you want a:

-Tuna Jacket Potato
-Jacket Potato

You can do one you snivelling crybaby. I want to the silence of my inner turmoil without the sound of someone chewing a comforting baked vegetable meal.