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Thank you, I was jokingly saying to Chris that at least he have a personal mechanic should he have a mechanical, which turn out to be needed!
Glad I carry the bare necessary including the small Park Tool chainbreaker, also equally glad he went for the KMC chain with the quick link.
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Great report, Ed.
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I have forget to mention in the report that I occasionally mimick the sound of any animal that we cycle path.
Just near Chiddingford, I was about to pass a horse, neighed loudly to it, and to our everlasting surprise, it respond back with an additional shake of it's head.
Could not stop laughing.
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A night ride report from me for Reading CTC :-
There are only two things to get right as a ride leader.
The weather
and of course, not forgetting
the weather.
Route, refreshment stops, pace and general bonhomie are in the lap of the gods so I’ve found. I am now a master in weather-control. Does the club have an award for this? In between a down-pour at 9pm on Friday night and whatever precipitation Saturday decided to bestow I’d demanded a wet-free window for our ride to dip into Bath.
So anticipating another miracle from previous Moses-like behaviour there were 14 mustard-keen riders at the station for the departure.
Old friends like Suj V and Nick C made big journeys before the big journey to join up with David R, Sophie D, Martin S, Ian W, Zoe C, Al N, Graeme H, Rob W, Edwin R, Charles R and Tony R. The skills spectrum was wide from serious Audaxers and long-distance talent to some of us whose recent riding experience has been limited to pootling round a well known park in London. With this ride it’s easy to accommodate all tastes since the route is straightforward. Straight down the A4 and keep going forward. Kindly, Graeme had bought his recumbent which gave some of us a bit of relief when hanging onto his wheel.
The prologue was to run the gauntlet of night-life in Reading town centre which entertained some. A wiggle through town to the Bath Road, across the M4 and beyond Theale and we were off into the dark and quiet...except around Thatcham and Newbury where the incessant wagons delivering urgent internet shopping swarmed for a while.
But after Newbury it calmed down superbly. We had a clear sky with mists in the hollows, few of us had anticipated such low temperatures. Nick’s Garmin and mine continually disagreed about the temperature with his recording a record low of –0.9 degrees centigrade whilst mine was a balmy 1.9. Neither reading bothered the market-stall holders setting up in Marlborough at 3.30 am (yep same time as last year) whilst we all watched Tony and Al fix Charles’ puncture.
And then, Avebury. An absolute oversight on my part from last year’s route. With dawn breaking, the up-lifting song from the bird-chorus and the stones standing resplendent we absorbed the splendour.
However with the field full of slumbering sheep there probably was only one outcome.
We’ve all been there. New bike, shiny and clean. If only it could stay that way. Careful to avoid scratches from careless locking up with others we expend a great deal of energy to ensure our newly beloved keeps its sheen.
Sophie has a new bike. It was shiny and clean until Avebury. By the time we’d made it to Melksham for a re-grouping before the final stretch to Bath it wasn’t so much. Merde was a word I knew from O level French which together with the inspired suggestion from Tony of a brown jersey award suggested that walking around a field full of sheep with cleats meant you would be lucky to come out unscathed.
But the last bit is magnificent. A descent down Bathford and then on the flat through Bath Easton (via a path suggested by a newcomer local called Nick) and following the canal path alongside Bathampton is a wonderful entry into Bath via the Poultney Bridge.
And closed roads! With the Tour Series to be run on that Saturday we had a clear run through the city to breakfast at the Weatherspoons. Cyclists definitely welcome.
With Ian, Graeme and Al riding back there was only the 10 of us that needed train and bike space. Simple really. I’d managed this bit quite well. With a stack of tickets in my hand dispensed evenly to ensure all had a train seat and bike space home I was confident my plan was ending its execution well. Somehow though I’d left the Spoons without my jacket and despite some reckless and furious cycling from the pub to the station and then back to the pub and back to the station I could only watch my fellow cyclists wave as the train departed without me. Happily the IT systems at GWR have caught up with their renewed policy so I was able to book a place on the next train.
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Yesterday was historic in more than one aspect, lots of old but also very young guys and some lasses on racing bikes in the Brabant countryside. Great turnout for the 6th edition of this Moergestel Retro tour, even the original team car of Peter Post's Raleigh team made an appearance. Not exactly l'eroica but great fun and there were free beers, Tom D's giro win and prosecco to finish off this grand day out :-)
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My first ride out into Kent since the birth of my second daughter in December. Only been commuting to work so far this year. Rode with a fellow NCT dad and finished at the pub. Felt really good to be back out in the Kentish lanes. Short 53 km's but necessary to get my fitness back first.
https://www.relive.cc/view/1009873576
https://www.strava.com/activities/1009873576/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US&v=1495982948 -
I entered my first 400k rando this weekend. Started off at 11pm on friday evening. High pace from the beginning but I was feeling quite alright so I almost accidentally joined a group of riders that I know are stronger than me. So we are 5km in and I already know that just keeping up is gonna be tough.
12 degrees was the forecast for the night. Turned out to be 6 degrees and rain. At first just damp roads, then it got worse and worse. I just had a gilet and arm warmers. The group broke up in the rain, people stopping to put on clothes and mess about. At this point I was so cold there was nothing that could make me stop riding so I pushed on. I was riding alone for some time before a small group was formed.
My feet were numb and I was shivering when we reached the halfway point. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was coming up. I was feeling tired but still decided to rejoin the big group when they rolled in not far behind us. We were early at the next control, McDonalds was still closed so only took I quick photo and continued on. The pace still high but I was feeling alot better now and my feet was almost dry again. One more control goes by at about 280k. I try to eat as much as I can.
Now we are closing in on the goal. Temp is rising quick. By noon its crazy hot at almost 30 degrees and I'm really suffering at the back of the group. I loose them with about 30 km to go, they are really nice and wait for me a couple of times but there´s just nothing left in me and I tell them to go on. I count km's till the very end when I stumble in at the last control in just under 15 hrs.
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Micro-tour to Minsmere for some extended bank holibob fun times
Did some cyclings
Saw some birbs
Camped in a lovely little glade. Forgot to bring any spoons so ate our porridge using empty chocolate energy block packets.
Navigated down some alternative roads
Made friends
Found some sweet jumps (had to have a go)
Second breakfast (not the dog)
More alternative roads
Stumbled across a brewery. One of the good ones too.
Made it home, and so did the eggs.
Butt hurts. Need to do some bike adjustments
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Is the landscape that bad that you have to race it?
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Heh. The landscape was really nice actually, one of the best rides I've had in that perspective. Dunno why I seem to always end up in these (too) fast groups. All I can say is it felt like a good idea at the start of it. We had favorable winds the whole way too so that upped the avg speed a bit ofc. For most of these guys I reckon it was just another nice day out.
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Did some hundreds of k's in Finland during the weekend
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Tell us about your weekend ride
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Did that the day after