2008-10-15 - The Bridges V - East to West

brighton night ride?

London to Brighton in the dark is the FUTURE!!

Actually, there was one just on Friday, organised by the good folks over at CTC Cheam and Morden via ACF:

http://www.anothercyclingforum.com/index.php?topic=51278.0

No way, I mean most people could probably have sprinted large sections of that, but larking about was the fun for me.

I'd love to see 100+ attempting something like Brighton as a pack, that'd be wild.

is stupid, some big fuck-off hills!!

I found it surprisingly manageable, although I rode geared and during the daytime, along the route of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run two weeks ago:

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread12197.html

Only two major uphills and two fast downhills really, and you can always avoid Ditchling Beacon by doing Clayton Hill. This route was mainly fast A roads.

a Brighton ride day or night would be amazing. Think seriously about this Idea. I'll be the first to sign up!

Definitely! Set off during the day walk around Brighton for a bit then head back after dark, this would be a fantastic ride.

+1. The only danger is the more into the countryside you get the more acceptable it is to drive a tracker pissed out of our mind. That said it would be wicked. Quite a few people know the route by now and I recon it would be possible to leave in time to catch the sunrise, and early trains home if the weather stops beach frolics.
Anyone fancy it early Dec?Maybe start a poll for a date?

And start a list for who's keen? I certainly am.

Fantastic night.
Great to see so many old and new faces.
Gutted we missed the Mil Bridge waiting like we were first at Charing X.
Great ride back east too apart from when I crashed from lack of food, lost everyone and had to refil at a dodgy hotdog vendor in Leicester Sq.

Roll on the next...

All I heard was 'Yeah I can make that' then turned round to see Mr Tiles rolling about 5ft along the ground on just his front wheel with that 'Oooooh Shit' look on his face. Classic.

Ahh, so that's what happened. I saw the fallout from it and decided to post myself there sideways as a marshall - sorry to anyone else that fancied having a go at it!

Great ride all round guys, far too many people to thank but here's a few that sttod out:

jonny mack, obviously.
bmmf for being real fast and totally unhipster
ray and pajams for the beer baton fail right in front of me
brm for helping me get stoned as a mofo at kew green
everyone who rode back central from kew - that was some sweet riding and we got some great cheers.
the really pissed up kid at kew who kept shouting "is it some kind of bike party?" before falling over.

Lots more. bright times.

some of the West drinks crew met a guy last Thursday who takes part in the ACF rides to the coast.

they are on hiatus until March 09, but happen on the Friday night closest to a full moon and are set up to be at a leisurely pace arriving by the sea in time to get a cooked breakfast and watch the sunrise.

the guy we met said we should be welcome to join in (though knowing the lfgss more likely gatecrash) their rides.

so many good memories its all got a bit muddled in my head: bagels, hundreds of people asking "are you doing this for charity?", the incredible pleasure of me and finally finding a toilet after two hours of watching men pissing off bridges...

my favourite bit was the tourist couple trapped at the end of the millennium bridge between two never-ending streams of hollering cyclists - they looked like they had never seen anything so exciting :)

thanks jonny, thanks everyone who gave me booze. ace, ace night.

Ahh, so that's what happened. I saw the fallout from it and decided to post myself there sideways as a marshall - sorry to anyone else that fancied having a go at it!

Marshall?
You dared me to try and jump it, when I went past!:)

Good work on the spliffery, Mash/Snowy - I thought I may have gone past the point of no return with the weed at Kew, but I got home, hehe.

Some nice shots by my neigbour Roman (White Blue Red Bob Jackson)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanskyva/sets/72157609273190241/

Some nice shots by my neigbour Roman (White Blue Red Bob Jackson)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanskyva/sets/72157609273190241/

Hey Vinyl...is Roman czech by chance? I know him I think. Tell Him nice pics
(scottish pete) if it is him

some of the West drinks crew met a guy last Thursday who takes part in the ACF rides to the coast.

I went on the one to Whitstable in October.

they are on hiatus until March 09, but happen on the Friday night closest to a full moon and are set up to be at a leisurely pace arriving by the sea in time to get a cooked breakfast and watch the sunrise.

the guy we met said we should be welcome to join in (though knowing the lfgss more likely gatecrash) their rides.

Yes, there is a winter break now, I should have mentioned that.

Actually, Simon Legg (organiser) will require you to register with him beforehand, and I think you do have to be an LCC or CTC member (not sure I remember that right, though). This is to some extent to assist with marshalling and to ensure the ride doesn't lose anyone. The group stays together, not all the time, but there are regular waiting stops to allow slower riders and the backmarker to catch up. Very unlike Dunwich Dynamo or Exmouth Exodus. Ad hoc marshals mark every junction turn-off. It made for very slow progress to Whitstable but worked very well.

And start a list for who's keen? I certainly am.

I'm down with whatever rides involve night time and a bit of distance.

And start a list for who's keen? I certainly am.

Someone say list? =D

1.mmccarthy

Thanks to everyone who organised this. So fun!

I got hit by a limo, had a puncture (fastest tube change ever!), and had an epic sideways beer fail! The sprint to Kew was hella good...

Thanks to the dude with the front aerospoke and tonite cap who cleverly had a pump...

I actually had fun doing that repair! the one I had later didn't go so smooth. brand new tube exploded after installation and so had to repair my battered up old tube! loving your argos man. I really don't remember being on my phone?? beer, fixed gear, bad idea. panda shandy for the next ride I think!

Ahh, so that's what happened. I saw the fallout from it and decided to post myself there sideways as a marshall - sorry to anyone else that fancied having a go at it!

FT made it but I think it was Slamm who came a cropper.
Nice work tho Marshall Mashton!

FT made it...

But what we're all asking ourselves is how?

Divine intervention?

slamm wasn't riding.. don't get me started again on poor slamm's Saturday night...

sniff

Tynane intervention?

Fixed!

slamm wasn't riding.. don't get me started again on poor slamm's Saturday night...

sniff

yep I was gonna say he wasn't there... why Jamas, what happened to him?

But what we're all asking ourselves is how?

heres a how to vid from some mad Italian roadies

http://www.magicotempe.com/video.asp?ID_VIDEO=8

I actually had fun doing that repair! the one I had later didn't go so smooth. brand new tube exploded after installation and so had to repair my battered up old tube! loving your argos man. I really don't remember being on my phone?? beer, fixed gear, bad idea. panda shandy for the next ride I think!

That was an impressive tube change. DVDA indeed! Haha.

yep I was gonna say he wasn't there... why Jamas, what happened to him?

i've heard rumors of a broken lo-pro.

Brilliant ride - the sea of twinkling lights through central London and an almost wobbling bridge won't be forgotten in a hurry. Thanks to whoever organised it. I'm the guy who bumped into a few of you at the Crabtree the other night so thought I had to come along after such a sociable introduction. The Friday Brighton night ride, Ditchling at 6am and no sleep wasn't the ideal preparation though. There were only two of us fixed on that ride, so walking the Beacon wasn't an option in terms of credibility. By coincidence, the other was a veteran of a couple of previous LFGSS rides who was gutted at missing out on the Bridges foray, but had a pre-booked ticket to Hull for Saturday afternoon.

A night ride to Brighton wouldn't be that difficult to manage, Even Rapha managed it (sort of). The key seems to be to have a few people who know the route, use back and front markers and stop every now and then to regroup. Not that different from Saturday. An easy pace is best as nothing is open for breakfast until about 7am anyway. With a midnight start the timing is about right. We also did a half way coffee stop at Gatwick which gets you out of the cold for a bit. I'm in for the first one - hills are way easier at night

You are meant to register for the monthly Friday rides, but you don't have to be a member of anything. Its just to make sure he doesn't lose anyone in the middle of nowhere which seems fair enough. Apparently they have been running for 3 years, I've done about five this year, and the numbers have hit 60 or 70 a couple of times with no problems regrouping and keeping it together. Maybe worth signing up for the March ride to see how they go.

balmain the clothes company or balmain the suburb of sydney?

DVDA it was!!
I think beer and bikes is a dram combo.. although a 4 hour 40K might be at odds with that statement.

Balmain the Sydney suburb - lived there for four years, still not sure why I left.