A Hard Day in January

bigger plans than riding 150 miles in the fecking cold?

that'll do me nicely thanks!

Christmas Common anybody?

^ knees out!

i'm wincing.

bigger plans than riding 150 miles in the fecking cold?

that'll do me nicely thanks!

Well that was the plan. I'd be mega disappointed if one or both of the rides were not doable safely.

As you have noticed the weather forecast for Friday night and Saturday morning is persistent snow and sub zero temperatures.

I know you are all hard men, keen to be out whatever the conditions, but I don’t want to be responsible for deaths from exposure or even a racing season lost through broken bones (I have known this happen – more than once).

So I am postponing the ride.

I hope we can go next Saturday – 26th January. Watch this space.

Bugger. Was looking forward to this.

Guess I can look forward to it for another week now.

Ah! Can't make next week regrettably. Fully understand though Chris.

Yay! Maybe I can do next week. Chances are it will be a blizzard then and sunny this weekend.

I don't care how cold it is as long as the pavement is ridable. I have big plans for this weekend.

If you were planning to ride on the pavement then that could have been tricky in places.

i will be out of the country next weekend.

funnily enough in the icy cold, however i'll have the appropriate vehicle strapped to me feet.

A pair of tennis racquet?

Sensible call. Will be in for the 26th.

A pair of tennis racquet?

how'd you guess....

Understandable but a shame. I will try and get the 26th off work.

Good call clubman.. As I don't want to lose a day to bad weather...
I am going to have a lie in, then take my 29er for a spin across the Heath.

Perfectly understandable Chris, if I was hosting an events, I wouldn't want to have some rider being severely injured during a ride that may turn out to be sketchy.

For some reason the Willy Warmer is still going strong.

regretably this is probably a good call (if that makes sense).
Am still up for Sat 26th.

Suggest anyone who can't make 26th delete themselves from the list
@skive I've taken you off the list

A Hard Day In January
Saturday 26th, 9am — Berinsfield route

1. ian (conker)
   
2. Hairnet
   
3. Katy
   
4. Laner - rollapaluza cc
   
5. tommmmmmm - rollapaluza cc
   
6. steve
   
7. YAL
   
8. AirTime
   
9. 
   
10. Amygdala
    
11. Bernie
    
12. Almac68
    
13. vunugu + RP feeder
    
14. Alex (zanda) + RP feeder
    
15. esstee + RP feeder
    
    

**A Hard Day In January
** Saturday 26th, 10am — Marlow route

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   4.
   

Was looking pretty sketchy, so seems like a very good call. Out for 26th I'm afraid - you can all now go as fast as you like

A Hard Day In January
Saturday 26th, 9am — Berinsfield route

1. ian (conker)
   
2. Hairnet
   
3. 
   
4. Laner - rollapaluza cc
   
5. tommmmmmm - rollapaluza cc
   
6. steve
   
7. YAL
   
8. AirTime
   
9. 
   
10. Amygdala
    
11. Bernie
    
12. Almac68
    
13. vunugu + RP feeder
    
14. Alex (zanda) + RP feeder
    
15. esstee + RP feeder
    
    

A Hard Day In January
Saturday 26th, 10am — Marlow route

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   4.
   

Unfortunately my sister's birthday is 'more important than a bike ride.'

In her eyes anyway......

Oh! Just seen that it's been delayed. Ace! Should be able to make it then.

Sensible call. Will be in for the 26th.

+1. Disappointing, but nothing compared to a broken wrist or collar bone.

Looking to make it out on the 26th if the rest of my mini crew are still interested?

again disappointed but understandable i guess. see you guys on the 26th

postponement understandable. not sure if i can make 26 just yet

This is an anecdote I gathered when I was doing some Hounslow club history research in the 1980’s. Reg Schofield (born about 1915) is the narrator, and I reproduce his words as well as I can remember them. Although today not many current Hounslow members will be able to recall Reg with much clarity he was quite a well known figure in his time, and was given some coverage by ‘Cycling’.

I hope you will be able to see why. Here is his account of a winter Sunday about 1950.

‘The club had arranged to meet at Hampton Court Station to take part in a reliability trial to Brighton. It was a really cold morning – there was light snow, enough to be annoying, but not sufficient to make progress difficult. 

I can’t remember why but I was late leaving home (I lived in Kingston, no distance to the start – I just cut it too fine). When I got to the station it was deserted. Damn, I thought, I’ve missed them. But being a keen young man I wasn’t inclined to give up and I was fairly sure I knew where they would stop on the way down, so there was no problem – I’d catch them up at the café.

It wasn’t really a pleasant ride, with the snow flurrying around, but I stuck to it. By the time I reached the café (which was empty) I was committed, and having failed to find the club in Brighton there was nothing for it but to ride home. I had to admit to myself that it was a bit strange that in all those miles I hadn’t seen any groups of riders, or even any tyre tracks in the snow. I’d have to wait until club night on Wednesday to find out what had happened.

“You didn’t go on your own did you? Blimey, we all thought the weather was too bad to go anywhere!”’

Reg was a polio victim who had no use of one of his lower legs, which was callipered.

The attached picture is nothing to do with this story, it's just something to look at from last weekend.

1 Attachment

Ace story.