Tuesday Night Ride Club '09

Awesome night! A very hard pace from the outset, probably one of the quickest and strongest groups to be out on a Tuesday night. So not the ideal time to be out on a folder....

Believe it or not, I completed the route 3 minutes quicker than my fastest time, which was when Zed and I did an evening recce a week before the first run back in May. And that was on gears.

Thanks to Tom - 6pt for keeping me company at the bottom of Exedown, and for the final 5 or so miles back into St Mary Cray.

And BTW, I wasn't even last up Exedown. Nor second last for that matter! Brompton's FTW IMHO!!!!!!!1

two strong debuts in STE5 and 6PT, sean and tom. sean almost took the stage win but i think andyp pipped it.
Pipped it? I attacked hard on the last little hill before St Mary Cray and then held the gap all the way to the line. I know it's dark so it's hard to see but that was a display of, dare I say it, panaché that one Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx would have been proud of!

good roads, good hills, good company, a good ride. purple_mj out descending at a truly frantic rate...made me laugh. legs a blur. Also at one point i looked over to andy and thought 'i didn't think he was SS' only to realise that his chain came off. composure all the way and it seems into the finish line.

and certainly some strong new riders out there.
cheers all.

I'd forgotten the chain incident, hit a bump hard and next thing I know my cadence had increased way beyond what I'd expect for a downhill section. It was making a horrible noise as I freewheeled down to the junction.

I should have added above, what another great TNRC ride with a cohesive group of strong riders. Cheers all, it was a lot of fun.

I should have added above, what another great TNRC ride with a cohesive group of strong riders. Cheers all, it was a lot of fun.

too busy dreaming about your win hey!!? ;)

Excellent ride guys, looking forward to the next one.

Pipped it? I attacked hard on the last little hill before St Mary Cray and then held the gap all the way to the line. I know it's dark so it's hard to see but that was a display of, dare I say it, panaché that one Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx would have been proud of!

sorry andy, i had dropped off the back a little just as we rolled into StMC so couldn't see how the action unfolded, ql. great work dude.

panaché

It's actually just «panache»--no accent aigu.

Sounds like a great ride--I do want to make one of the hilly ones sometime, but was never going to make this one.

i should be thanking sam for keeping me company on the way back to st mary cray, not the other way around. and as for exedown, well, i've learnt my 84 inch lesson. but now i've got the measure of it i should (just about) be able to make it next time. maybe.
just had two hours of standing around at work this morning and my legs are yet to stop complaining.
but yeah, a ride far stronger than i was expecting, and a lovely outing. thanks all.

I'm leaving Shanklin now, so I should be at St Mary Cray within 3 & 1/2hrs (I'm on a 69.6" gear, so will easily average 30mph). I'll do 2 extra ascents of Exedown whilst you lot plod up.

We must of missed you at the start BMMF, im sure if you had run your trusty 71"gear you would of made it in time...

A nice paced ride flying along those kentish lanes on a warm summers/autumn evening, some strong riding by all, hats off to Sam who I thought was brave to roll out with this crew on his trusty and I must say well looked after Brompton.
Nice to meet 6pt and STE5.
See you all in two... (Sam in four)

Pipped it? I attacked hard on the last little hill before St Mary Cray and then held the gap all the way to the line. I know it's dark so it's hard to see but that was a display of, dare I say it, panaché that one Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx would have been proud of!

I am sure they didnt "draught" the last flat before the climb though...
but you were shifting it up that last one, I could tell by the puddle of sweat at your feet in the station!

Ok so instead of reading through all the posts, where does this ride meet and at what time. Im from LA, havent gotten a chance to really RIDE RIDE here in london, which is very disappointing. I desperately need to get back into gear. I haven't ridden in like 3 weeks. I will be here for 4 months so im definitely trying to find good rides and so far this one looks good.

The next ride is likely to be on Tuesday the 6th of October, so watch this thread for details.

Best to point out that the route varies every 2 weeks, although we do repeat some. So, yes, watch the thread.

How was Ikea, Matt?

The FastCat was 20 minutes late, and I hit a bit of rush hour traffic outside Portsmouth. Arrived about 30 minutes after you lot left. I passed you all on Exedown, but decided rather than slowing down to say hello, I'd push on in order to get back to Portsmouth for the last FastCat over the Solent.

Looking great on the folder Sam.

Ikea was fast in, fast out.

Got home and put up two blinds - just about the most stressful thing I've done this year. I was sweating like a dog by the end of it. I am so bad it DIY, it's untrue. Fucking window lintels + total lack of knowledge concerning rawlplugs + fear of power tools = mess.

I then had to remove a door from it's frame (surprisingly easy) and remove a dishwasher from a kitchen cabinet (surprisingly hard).

I almost wish I'd been on Exedown hill and definitely wish I'd been on TNRC.

Sounds like a fun evening.

I must admit, as I was slogging my way up Exedown Hill, I didn't think "I wish I was in Ikea".

Yes, but you can ride up hills without falling off the back of whichever group you happen to be in.

And, you may have been overlooking the swedish meatballs. mmmmm.

Sort of.

Looking forward for the next TNRC......hope in a popular one.

The FastCat was 20 minutes late, and I hit a bit of rush hour traffic outside Portsmouth. Arrived about 30 minutes after you lot left. I passed you all on Exedown, but decided rather than slowing down to say hello, I'd push on in order to get back to Portsmouth for the last FastCat over the Solent.

Looking great on the folder Sam.

You were sorely missed, for no one asked me to "do a fold".

Hope the Isle of Wight was good, used to go there every year as a child, saying in Whitecliff Bay.

Sweet, i definitely will keep an eye out.

=]

You were sorely missed, for no one asked me to "do a fold".

Hope the Isle of Wight was good, used to go there every year as a child, saying in Whitecliff Bay.

It was jonny who coined that one :)

We were quite close to there. We stayed in Shanklin Old Village, but we walked to Brading on one day (few halves at the Yarbridge Inn), so not far from Bembridge/Whitecliff Bay.

We also walked to the Botanic Gardens in Ventnor. The coastal path from Shanklin to Ventnor (via the NT Landslip) is a fantastic walk. Loads of varying terrain/scenery. We even managed it with the buggy - yet again I'm glad we opted for a cheap Mothercare jobby that was the lightest available (~5kg). You wouldn't believe the number of times we've bounded past people off-road with their ostentatious SUV buggies, simply because I can pick the fucker up easily (with or without toddler in place).

Felt vélo-pangs every time I saw a 20% sign though :/