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Second ride out on the Rotta today with Howard, Dave, Matt & the Mrs.
Little chilly early on but overall a really nice day out- spotted AndyP heading out as we were coming back in.
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Getting back into training mode so two hours today through S Cambs up to Six Mile Bottom & back. Bit windy but the weather was good.
Decided to epilate my legs when I got back in prep for serious training and a bit of Newport track league. Legs red raw now, daughter disgusted and wife quietly chuckling
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Obviously not true^
I did a solo century today, but my Garmin died at 94 miles in so I had to record the last bit on my phone. I was worried that it wouldn't have auto saved before it died but luckily it did.
Not many riders out today at all in and around Surrey..
Here's the bit before the garmin died anyway, nothing special though:
https://www.strava.com/activities/99236504
Edit: I meant not true about you being slow!
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This was the North Road section’s ride, starting from Letchworth and going by quiet lanes and paths to a member’s house for refreshment and to inspect his super collection of old stuff, which included not just bikes but four beautifully maintained pre-war Vauxhalls. Then on to a pub lunch at The Cock in Broom, Bedfordshire, which itself is well worth a visit:
http://www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/national-inventory-entry.asp?PubID=2.
However I would not have troubled you with a post just about these matters – it was the afternoon ride which may be of more interest.
The Veteran-Cycle Club is an excellent organisation in many ways, but it is not generally known for its hard riding activities: it’s definitely not a racing club and it does not have those early season 100 mile training rides once favoured by the Calleva and many other sporting clubs. The above mentioned pootle to a pub lunch is far more typical.
As we left the pub I said I wanted to get a few more miles in rather than going straight back to Letchworth and one member, whom I had not met before this Sunday, suggested I rode with him to start with, since he was going northwards. He was riding a machine which to most people would have seemed a hopeless wreck, although an acute observer might have realised just from the fact that it looked so well used that its owner was not an ill prepared novice. The bike was an uncompromising roadster (i.e. upturned bars, rod brakes, Westwood rims and no concessions to lightness, with a fixed gear in the mid sixties) which the owner thought dated from about 1910. We set off at a brisk pace, and I was soon aware that although I wasn’t uncomfortable at this speed on my old but efficient lightweight, if we had exchanged machines I would have been struggling to keep up with my new companion.
This V-CC hardman’s name is Ray Miller, a longstanding member who told me that he would regularly do big distances on this machine, but that it was really his hack, since he also owns another better (i.e. older) roadster, used in the same way in more clement weather. For him a V-CC ride would often amount to a hundred or more miles in a day as he would ride out to distant meeting points. Ray is no younger than me, possibly even a little older.
As you may know, I have an interest in doing long rides on old bikes and before we parted we agreed that we would think about doing a long distance roadster ride next year.
And this question, really, is the reason for my post: is there anyone out there who might like to join us?
N.B. for further reading have a look at this:
http://www.shirebooks.co.uk/store/The-Modern-Cyclist,-1923%20_9781908402622 -
nice write up clubman (captain)
^^^ Nice report, clubman. Do write up more like this.
For the first time I serviced a bike yesterday with rod brakes. The mechanism is pleasing but it's so cumbersome to remove wheels!
Thanks for your comments, both of you.
As to more reports, not every weekend ride has anything worth reporting.
Servicing rod brakes: This is quite a skilled job - it can be difficult to get the brake blocks correctly positioned, and if the rims are not in good condition (e.g. not perfectly round) the brakes will never work well. With the right skill and tools it is often possible to cure flats in these rims.
I spoke to Ray Miller this evening and as I suspected he is a former racing man. He was very modest about his racing career which he said was the best part of forty years ago, but 'admitted' to having won a number of hill climbs and riding a 238 mile twelve. So racing improves the breed, and its effects can be very long lasting.
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I used to live in those parts, it gets very, very repetitive after a while and you crave hills.
I can identify with that. Most of my training repeats the same few roads (partly due to time constraints) and it all gets very, very samey.
But spend a winter cycling around Cambridge and you crave hills and hedgerows.
Not if you're a flatland tester, surely?
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Oliver Schick-
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Tell us about your weekend ride
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I fly back from Oz in a couple of days, so I've been getting some sunny miles in while I can.
A head wind for the first 40 miles wasn't the most pleasant start to the ride. I was aiming for a century, but work finished late meaning the end of the ride was in the blazing mid day heat. I was cooked through by the end, so called it quits with 5 miles to go.
http://www.strava.com/activities/98998999
Then had a café ride yesterday that ended up being a bit longer than it was meant to be. The legs were still a bit tender from the day before, but it was a lovely ride none the less with good coffee and company.
http://www.strava.com/activities/98999092
It'll be my last morning ride tomorrow, so am planning a gentle 40 miles with my head up, making sure to soak in all of the sounds of the rain forest. I am missing the Kent lanes though.