Hard Day in January '18

I wouldn't know. Met him for the first time yesterday.

Hello Zanda!!!! Can understand your envy. Would be ice packs in that car where you are?

I had a hard day today at the beach, the waves were unseasonably rough. Also it was so hot that the asphalt in the carpark was melting and burnt my feet.

Looks like it was a good day out - lots of smiles in the photos and the requisite hardness achieved. Well done all, well done.

This inspired me to go out and do 50 miles this morning...last 45 mins was quite painful

Think I've just about recovered, hope everyone else got back alright. Definitely lived up to the "hard day" billing, solid contender for one of the toughest rides I've ever done. Great to meet some of the forumisti for the first time and also catch up with some I'd met before.

Big thanks to YAL for the organising and keeping things together on the road, Clubman for giving up his day to impart wisdom and provide the support car, Ruserius for the pint and everyone for generally being ace.

Thanks all for a great day yesterday. Nice to see familiar faces and meet new ones. The pint and cup of tea were much appreciated, as was having Chris driving around taking photos and providing support. Very flattered to have been awarded the trophy. My mum is very proud. Thanks for that Dan - especially a little moment where you bigged me up when I was suffering. Can’t actually walk today so think I may be off to the doctors to get looked at. A great and hard day out in January it was.

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That's @clubman 's service car at the top of Christmas Hill I believe.
At his point we had just had a critical puncture, but clubman quickly got the right spare bike off the top of the car, gave the rider a hearty shove, and off we went, no problem, with a bit of sticky bottle thrown in, too.

Hard day, my arse. :)

Too salty - I try to avoid using it in the winter. It does start in cold weather and the heater works.......a bit.

I'm thinking about my report for this ride - I'll post it soon.

Well deserved winner!

Hope you get your niggle sorted. You're a pretty strong rider, hopefully it's nothing serious.

A real gent and nails too, riding a century in the cold and wet with a bad knee.

Report

Hard Day 2018

The Golden Age is an expression now often used in writing about cycling – the ‘golden’ time varies according to the writer’s taste but whenever it was, it isn’t now. However, the 2018 Hard Day seemed to me as though it was indeed from a Golden Age.

In the past, looking at the riders as they assembled for previous HD’s I remember thinking each time that at least one or two didn’t look up to it and would need nursing or sending home early, but when I arrived at Café Nero there was no one who fell into that category. As it turned out we did lose one after the Berinsfield stop but essentially my judgement was correct. On the return the group stayed together remarkably well – almost as if they’d been training and racing together for years.

It should be mentioned that this year’s route was significantly harder than the one used in the past. In fact I would not have dared to include the very harsh climb from Turville to Christmas Common – yes, I’ve done it in the past, but not on fixed and not in January. Also the climb from the Thames at Wallingford via Ipsden to the top of the Chiltern ridge is far harder than the main road route we’ve used previously. Of course, YAL’s route is better than mine – as long as the riders can do it. This year they could!

You all rode so well it was hard to decide on the Most Meritorious Ride award. Traditionally this has gone to the rider who gets to the finish against the greatest odds – a version of the ‘no pain, no gain’ theory. This year there was no one off the back, no one visibly struggling. I considered suggesting Oli, not because he looked weak, but because, in my eyes, he looked the most stylish rider. However, back at the finish it did become clear some one had been suffering more than the rest, he just wasn’t showing it while on the bike, which is highly commendable. In the Old Red Lion it became clear that jaeyukdapbap had been battling against knee pain for miles. So for staying cheerful and continuing to work in the group while in pain the award goes to him.

Not surprisingly, almost everyone looked tired at the finish. The only exception was Thuekr who was clearly the strongest rider. I guess he’s not just fit, but also has a natural gift. As some one who put a lot of effort into racing for a meagre return in successes, I find it a bit shocking that Thuekr does not seem to have any ambition to race. However poor my own record may be, I’ve ridden with enough successful riders to recognise some one who would almost certainly be competitive at national level…at the least.

Actually, I don’t think there was anyone on this ride who would not find success if they raced. It is a puzzling change for some one of my generation, since when we started as young club riders it was a given that we hoped to progress to racing.

I must mention YAL; without him the ride would not have happened. He did a great job of organising beforehand and on the day made extra work for himself by shepherding puncture victims back to the group (eight punctures in all, I think). He is also another stylish rider in his own right. Let’s hope he’s prepared to take this on again next year, which would be the event’s tenth anniversary.
I do have some pictures, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.

Afterthought.

I may rewrite this for publication outside the forum. I’m fairly confident VeloUK would take it, and there may be other possibilities. If I did this I couldn’t use forum names – they’d be meaningless and look weird to non forum readers. I need your guidance here: would you like me to try this, and what (if anything) should I call each of you?

Thanks Chris for the excellent write up, and for the support and advice along the way. I wouldn't be able to add anything with my own report, so I'll just add my thanks for those who came out to ride in some pretty miserable weather. I had a lot of fun, even if I didn't look it at the end. I appreciate the way we worked as a group, and those who took long turns on the front (especially the last 10 miles when I very much needed a wheel). Again @jaeyukdapbap gets the award Most Meritorious Ride for his backstopping, good group communication with pacing and spacing and dealing with the knee pain admirably after also riding out. Well done. Now take some time off the bike!

@clubman I'd be happy for you to do a write up of the ride, but we could ask what the group thinks via PM. I'll send out a message in a bit.

I considered suggesting Oli, not because he looked weak, but because, in my eyes, he looked the most stylish rider.

He's all about the steez

He does have lovely hair

Nice write up Chris, and well done everyone.

Yet another year passes when I say to myself "next year". I was considering taking part in this edition, but a rough cold and achy limbs put paid to this. Next year!

Proper job, well done all of you. Will make sure I'm prepared next year.

Well done all!

Knowing what some of you are like, @Thuekr must be an absolute monster!

@Thuekr must be an absolute monster!

Nominative determinism init

Nice write up Chris, I really enjoyed the bit I did. Thanks YAL for organising and thanks to you other guys for showing me the ropes about group riding.

Some Pictures, one at a time.
The climb from Ipsden towards Stoke Row on the way back

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Look at those flaps. Glorious.

I printed this in black and white and took it to the clubroom last night. I asked in what decade people thought it had been taken and there was a serious shock when I told them it was last Saturday!

Surprisingly cheerful faces

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Another, similar,

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The Peloton:

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And here's one for comparison:

'On Rockingham Hill'

This is a Bernard Thompson picture, and for many reasons it's much better than mine. However there is at least a similarity. I believe this shot dates from 1976, and if so it is (one of) the years that Martyn Roach won the National 12 championship. He is third from the left.
Second left (black and white hat) is Jeff Marshall who some of you met on earlier Hard Days.
Jeff and the rider on the right (Tony Cosstick) are both on gears and light tyres, the others are on single gears with heavy 27 x 1 and a quarter tyres. This picture was taken on Sunday morning - they'd ridden 100 miles on the Saturday and were setting out for another 100 to get home.

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