Ride of the Falling Leaves

chapeau illy

• did you see desi and the other grupettos? I got wet enough doing richmond park
  

How lovely!

Sounds like a horror tale... :(

Well done Illy! How many people showed up?

There was a really good turnout all things considered, must have been well over a hundred people there.

Yep, bumped into Desi and Tom on one of the hills, and a bit further up the road fixedwheelnut - who is certainly nuts doing that fixed.

How lovely!

Sounds like a horror tale... :(

Well done Illy! How many people showed up?

Dude you should have come. You'd have loved it - just like cyclo-cross. :)

There was a really good turnout all things considered, must have been well over a hundred people there.

Yep, bumped into Desi and Tom on one of the hills, and a bit further up the road fixedwheelnut - who is certainly nuts doing that fixed.

Desi found me down near Markbeech and Tom who was riding with him.

"nuts eh?" how do you think I got my forum name :)

Those descents were dodgy, it certainly lived up to it's name today, fallen leaves every where.

I should have flipped my wheel this morning and rode 68" instead of 72" that was hard towards the end, I had to walk the last 100yards of Toys Hill to the turn and the first steep bit of Sundridge, I climbed back on for the second half.

Oh and who else wore Sealskinz socks that filled up inside? I felt like I was pedalling with buckets of water on the end of my feet.

Oh and who else wore Sealskinz socks that filled up inside? I felt like I was pedalling with buckets of water on the end of my feet.

I had some Berghaus Gore-tex socks on that did exactly the same. I amused another rider at the end as I was literally pouring water out of them outside the Dulwich Sports Club.

Chapeau to you though - doing that on 72" must've been tough.

Yeah I do ache, I haven't done any Audax rides this year and that was 91 miles door to door my longest ride this year :(

what tyres did you use for that monsterous ride then?

the only thing that would worry me about it would be losing grip on a descent and cacking it

I still had Vittoria Rubino's 23C on and they are slippy in the wet, I was getting wheelspin on some hills.
I have started using Vredstein Fortezza's on my other bikes and they are far better grip wise.

yeah, I like the fortezzas for grip, they will puncture on occasion (well, more than the bonty shitcases I used)

fixedwheelnut is a tough nut. puts us roadies to shame. nice to meet ya mate!

roberto, it was def not a day for carbon wheels. scary enough on bog standard alloy rims. fast steep descents, narrow lanes, leaves everywhere, gravel and muddy sections.

it was a tough day. practically rode blind from 30km onwards. combination of road grit/sweat in my eyes and rain acting like spears on my eyeballs. good route tho im sure, but on a clear day! that rain was relentless.

worst bits: climbing up that last hill @ crystal palace. and leaving the club for the freezing ride home in drenched clothes.

"worst bits: climbing up that last hill @ crystal palace." Do it every day, but in the dry though!

Results are up now;

http://www.dulwichparagon.com/

ill be doing this every year until i get under that 4hr mark. just need clear weather and a fast group i can latch on to

I did it in 4 hours exactly yesterday but most of the time I was riding on my own. Last year I think I did it in around 3:50 but was in a good group so it definitely makes a difference.

good time andy. need to improve on my climbing if im to go anywhere near that time.

i let a couple of fast groups go, which i know i wouldve been able to keep pace with, but i stayed back cos my mate was struggling. anyway, til next year.

219 riders in total! excellent turn out despite the shtty weather.

good times guys - well done.

am going to try and get in on this action next year.

Anyone else doing this this year?
It's on the 4 October 2009 BTW!

I am. Surrounded by a domestique gang of VCL riders.

Wish i could be doing it!

But anyway, if you are based in SW London and want to get more into track/road/CX racing i would strongly recommend to join the Dulwich Paragon - great atmosphere, and very friendly to newbies!

Wish i could be doing it!

But anyway, if you are based in SW London and want to get more into track/road/CX racing i would strongly recommend to join the Dulwich Paragon - great atmosphere, and very friendly to newbies!

Thanks for the info, Roberto. But I am a north London lad. DP does look excellent though.

he's alive!

Wish i could be doing it!

But anyway, if you are based in SW London and want to get more into track/road/CX racing i would strongly recommend to join the Dulwich Paragon - great atmosphere, and very friendly to newbies!

I'm in W. Norwood and been looking to go along to one of their Sat. morning rides to have a go at road riding in a group...

Who did this then?

I was at the track for our usual sunday training session, just waited until all the riders had done their lap and gone. The funniest thing was the Dulwich paragon rider managing to crash into his mate, despite them being the only people on the track, and with brakes. I fear for them in a road bunch!

Then all the wallys who kept coming back to the velodrome thinking the ride ended there too, despite the signs down the road for the sports club, bloody roadies!

Phew that was tough. Really felt it today. lack of preparation = weak legs. no excuses either all though with three speedometer magnets on my front wheel i was feeling a pull to the north which couldn't have helped on that first 30 miles. well done Andyp for a PB and the rest of you who soon put the distance between us. Similar to how you feel in early feb trying to get the legs in tune for the season...only it is oct and they should be strong after months of riding! Ha!
good ride though. thanks to the organisers etc etc. really well sign posted and everything and all that.
special mention to the two women and their little kids who shouted support half way round! (we need more women with babies on these rides)

stats: 4hrs 46 mins