You are reading a single comment by @clubman and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@clubman
I hope the expression ‘better late than never’ can be applied to this post, and I can only hope that by now you haven’t all lost interest in this ride.
Well done to all of you for sticking to it after a difficult start, and especially to Sam who must have showed excellent leadership qualities to keep things together
When we reached Alton at about 1.30 pm I calculated that the group would not reach its destination before dark – as it turned out I was wrong, but not by much. I never liked riding on unlit roads in the dark, even when I was young – one of the scars is still visible on my arm. Now, nearing senility, I’m just not prepared to do it, and so the choice was between facing an unacceptable risk or failing to do what I’d set out to do. I believed, correctly, that I could arrive in daylight on my own and so it seemed best to slip away causing as little disruption to the group as possible.
I had a feeling there was a café in Four Marks, and I was right. It’s on a little industrial estate. About a mile over the top of the climb there is a right turn to a village called Medstead, take this, and it’s on the left just after you’ve gone under the railway bridge. It might well be useful to any future rides on this route – it always seems better to stop at the top of a climb rather than at the bottom.
After a fairly long stop I felt almost recovered from the morning’s exertions and pushed on through Winchester, arriving without too much distress at my B and B (just) without needing lights – so I don’t think I was really any quicker than the rest of the group.
My overnight stay cost £32 – how does that compare with the rail fare?
In the morning I felt slightly jaded at first, but once I was warmed up I found I was going reasonably well. I had a café stop in Winchester and then had a real struggle with the one way system, possibly losing as much as half an hour. Apparently I’m not the first person who has had this problem. After Winchester I used a really attractive road (B3046) from Kingsworthy towards Basingstoke, and from there used the A 30 to Hounslow and then the Great West Road to Acton. The A30 is usually relatively quiet, but on Sunday afternoon it was almost deserted; we could have ridden two abreast most of the way with being obstructive. I left just after 10 and arrived at 9 pm, so I could hardly claim any record for speed, but at least it has given me confidence that I am still capable of achieving my objective for this season which is to ride a 12.
Ray – I really hope you will not be discouraged by Saturday. I don’t think anyone could do what you set out to do – to complete that ride on an 84” gear without proper braking, it’s just too much to ask.
Celeste Green – What a ride! – although you had a more reasonable gear than Ray, you still had it really tough.
Hope to see you all on the road sometime soon.