A Hard Day in January

Actually that bit was pretty horrible, still snowy and very slippery. It felt pretty hard all in all but was great fun. Beautiful countryside for riding and lovely weather for it.

wish I checked this thread before...

Should it still retain its hard day in January title?

Yes

I can recall a harder ride but it was on overnight century with lots of hills on nearly constant rain.

gutted to miss this, i had to work

Should it still retain its hard day in January title?

Yes

Yes

Sweet ride home Tim and Al.
I think what guy with the yellow jacket had the time of his life!

Also - Thanks again to Chris for his organising and commitment to see the day through. It really was an enjoyable outing. And hard.
Thanks to Andrew for a gentlemanly effort through the whole day and for representing the host club with aplomb.
Thanks to John for making a smashing cuppa (or two).

^Thanks to you for setting a brutal pace for the first half of the ride.

Absolute locomotive of a rider, and then riding home as well, respect.

You should have seen him riding home! I was on the front, pushing reasonably hard, then whoosh he goes, and I'm riding at the same effort to keep up, in his slipstream.

A huge thanks to Chris for organising and being (psychological) support, was really great to see you along the route - can't wait to see the pics!

I must also add my thanks to Chris. Really well-organised day, and as Tim says, the psychological support was invaluable, as well as the 2CV giving a great 1960s French Belleville Rendezvous vibe.

I must also add my thanks to Chris. Really well-organised day, and as Tim says, the psychological support was invaluable, as well as the 2CV giving a great 1960s French Belleville Rendezvous vibe.

Yeah great work Chris, it was good to see you a few times on the road. Thanks to the hounslow helpers too. Good route out, nice roads all the way, cool cut through Windsor, and we saw the red kites more than other rides I've made through the area

Lovely weather out there. Should it still retain its hard day in January title?

Yes

Yes

Yes.

It was tough. Even in perfect conditions. Must be the time of year when no one has any riding in their legs.

Almost 17mph average on that ride is pretty fucking good. I'm impressed. Gutted to miss out though.

@dimi3
where did the 17mph figure come from?

Simon and I turned up at the clubhouse after everyone else so I can't be sure, but while I was waiting around in A&E tonight, I worked out my average to be about 13

@clubman
Thanks Chris for a good ride, well organised. I suppose with the weather being so clement it could have been a lot tougher, but as others have said, it's still quite tough doing 85 miles at this time of year!

Oh yes, and well done to the 'fast group' who managed to get to the cafe a whole 3 minutes before us using their advanced leg power and navigation skills (7 riders/4 Garmins)

With the Garmins comes an accurate measure of average speed...only counting riding time and with every pause/break/traffic light wiped off, we did it in 4:55 at 16.7mph. Obviously time elapsed was much more than five hours though.

More importantly though, how are you and what did A&E say?

This was brutal. Lack of riding since September meant I struggled the whole. Thank for waiting for me. See you next year.

^must spread rep. laner made it up till 7 this mornig. defs a win

in uxbridge even.

#youcantexplainthat

@dimi3
where did the 17mph figure come from?

Simon and I turned up at the clubhouse after everyone else so I can't be sure, but while I was waiting around in A&E tonight, I worked out my average to be about 13

That's distance over time spent though. The higher figure is from a garmin that ignores all stops.

A&E shed any light on your episode? You finished the ride strong anyway, from around Fifield

Must admit to feeling a bit sore today but that was a great ride. Even weirdly enjoyed picking my way through the ice and snow. The view from the top of that hill was worth the effort I reckon. Didn't enjoy being passed by the brompton however briefly not long after we passed the shooting party. Oh the shame.

Cheers to all for the company and the effort.

Thanks for organising Chris. Can't wait to see some of the shots you took, it was a cheering sight seeing you snapping away out the door of that 2CV.

Big thanks to Alex for punching a big hole in the air for such a long time. Especially on the way home. And Tim for same as well. It was all I could do to stay on the back of you guys.

Ian, hope you're ok mate.

Oh and well done to the Rollapaluza "club" for taking the trophy. Pics or it didn't happen.

Sounds like a great day just gutted I couldn't come in the end. Can definitely agree with comments re zanda and the frightening pace he can keep up. Absolute beast!

Well done to clubman for organising the event too.

Hope ur alright Ian

I can recall a harder ride but it was on overnight century with lots of hills on nearly constant rain.

EE?

...as well as the 2CV giving a great 1960s French Belleville Rendezvous vibe.

This.

Oh and well done to the Rollapaluza "club" for taking the trophy. Pics or it didn't happen.

Thanks for the compliments guys, buy the parkour suited me - I'm really just a flat track bully. I'll be looking for a tow next time, as soon as it hits >10%. Possibly with an actual tow bar.

As regards to the size of the hole I was punching (euph), please refer above.

Almost 17mph average on that ride is pretty [good].

Each man shall set his Garmin up differently, but I'd dispute this figure somewhat. I don't think it was quite that quick.
I would, however, say that the pace was (generally much) higher than most forum rides - especially for predominantly fixed riders, which probably contributed to the "hardness" most riders felt.

A brief review of gearing at the clubhouse revealed that (by lfgss standards), most riders were on reasonably big GI, with pretty much everyone >70", I think. Quite fitting for the gradients and weather conditions, but not quite TT setups either.

Suffice to say, that Andrew seemed a pretty strong rider (and the only actual club rider amongst our motley crew), and he was considering "making today a rest day".

So not a bad report card, and a good 85+ miles worth a pat on the back.