Tell us about your weekend ride

been looking at your route. Ive ridden to 5 oak green/ Paddock wood before.
I may use your route onwards to Rye in future. ( if that's ok)

I did ruislip to paddock wood via Greenwich / chisielhurst caves / swanley./ tonbridge.
on a geared mountain bike with slicks fitted a few years ago. you've got me thinking about a Ruislip to Rye now. Cheers

Of course. This was my planned and aborted route, it's better because it takes a route down to Rye which has smaller roads, is flatter and generally more pleasant. For some reason I can't remember now I took the B2082 yesterday instead:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2057708

If you do go to Dungeness make sure you check out Derek Jarman's cottage as well as the power station and so on - it's marked on the route!

tricitybendix (post above) has done Peckham - Peckham (Kent) but Peckham Rye - Rye is another option...

Completed my first audax fixed yesterday - The Dorset Coast 200.

Chapeau! I was wondering how this went. Chapeau especially for doing it fixed with so few miles in the legs. I fortunately had visitors staying on Friday night so had a good excuse not to be on that 5.30am train, but hope to join ACH for something when I've got used to long rides again, although I am slightly scared of you :)

Only have the recce as a file, which isn't the route in mind. Once I have ridden it I will share the gpx file with you.

Lovely, ta

Anyone ridden leith hill fixed before, and what gearing?

Anyone ridden leith hill fixed before, and what gearing?

I did it fixed on 42/16 and I'm also a fat fuck with puny legs. It was fine.

Haha wasn't it a bit spinny on the flat though.

I've never known anything other than 42/16 so I'm used to it! I did get dropped pretty early doors by the guys on gears I was riding with, but I was only ever 5-10 minutes or so behind them so I didn't feel too sorry for myself.

I've done it fixed loads, as have plenty of the TNRC crew, and ridden away from geared riders on 59/65/69". If you want to do race pace (~4min) go for the higher end. No idea what (geared) ratios Tejvan used for his 3m33 course record.

Depends on your climbing style though really.

(and his geared bike only weighs 5.8kg, which probably helps too)

Love that dude. Good blog.

I've never known anything other than 42/16 so I'm used to it! I did get dropped pretty early doors by the guys on gears I was riding with, but I was only ever 5-10 minutes or so behind them so I didn't feel too sorry for myself.

5 minutes per mile for six miles, 30 minutes total, is what I am behind Sean Kelly on the Eze, but then he was TTing in spring, while I was on my way to a swim via the Madone in high summer. Mostly 34/28, correct me if that is not the usual compact granny ratio. Sorry, my ride was not on a weekend, but maybe Sean's was?

5 minutes per mile for six miles, 30 minutes total, is what I am behind Sean Kelly on the Eze, but then he was TTing in spring, while I was on my way to a swim via the Madone in high summer. Mostly 34/28, correct me if that is not the usual compact granny ratio. Sorry, my ride was not on a weekend, but maybe Sean's was?

Stop pissing on my parade!

Marco Pinotti beat one of my Strava KOMs by 1 second, but I was on fixed, and he's younger than me; I could clearly be a pro if I wasn't distracted by the glamour of library work.

Haha wasn't it a bit spinny on the flat though.

Go out and test yourself against leith hill, in fact i would recommend you do +20 miles of spinning, just prior to the climb. Then think about descending riding fixed, and tell us how you get on..

Loving spinning down hills on 75" gear at mo, track this year is gonna be soooo good.

Riding fast fixed downhill, Jason was the first person that came to mind :)

Marco Pinotti beat one of my Strava KOMs by 1 second, but I was on fixed, and he's younger than me; I could clearly be a pro if I wasn't distracted by the glamour of library work.

I have no doubt that you could, in all seriousness.

But you have to remember what Paul Köchli said, about how cycling is trying to be what you are not, about how cycling has no relation to reality, and how professional cyclists rarely become adults, develop a real personality or a concept of real life.

Remember what he told Richard Moore: "Today, I understand that I was lucky not to go too far".

You're better off as a librarian :)

Firstly, no. Even if the stars had been aligned, I couldn't have been the lowest of water carriers.

Secondly, I'm not a librarian, and don't want to be either. I'm just your average genius and international playboy.

Aint nothing wrong with being bottle bitch.

Riding fast fixed downhill, Jason was the first person that came to mind :)

pink gotti mobbs(remember him) ----some of the best road spinning Ive ever seen.

^Death TT swains lane / west hill, i presume ;)

5 minutes per mile for six miles, 30 minutes total, is what I am behind Sean Kelly on the Eze, but then he was TTing in spring, while I was on my way to a swim via the Madone in high summer. Mostly 34/28, correct me if that is not the usual compact granny ratio. Sorry, my ride was not on a weekend, but maybe Sean's was?

I am going to defend myself now, in the manner of a fat kid shouting "I'm not fat, I'm big boned!" at his playground tormentors, before a laughing gang of teachers who care nothing of his plight.

I was 5-10 minutes behind my geared co-riders across a 100 mile course through the Surrey Hills that happened to include Leith Hill at around mile 40 and that covered just shy of 6000 feet of elevation. Given that context (not provided earlier), I don't think my result was that shabby, for a fat kid with puny legs.

PS: The descent was grim for both fixed and geared riders, but doubly so for me because I had to navigate my coasting compatriots as they bounced through 694,000 potholes and ridges. HTH.

Climbing is overrated.

Lets drink to that.

You tell me this after I start building a seta...