2011-08-07 - Herne Bay

Thanks for a most memorable day, that was tremendous fun, such a great atmosphere, well thought out route and sound organisation from MA3K. Those coast line stretches towards the end were what it was all about, loved it -

got a massive farmer's tan though :)

some pics here:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvApSKF

I'm sure Rowhan's will surpass them, but they're a little taster.

N

‪Muppet Show - Mahna Mahna...m HD 720p bacco... Original!‬‏ - YouTube

Bah...gutted to have missed this. Ho hum.

Just to echo the above sentiments, big props to Ma3k for leading and ensuring no one was left behind, it was a lovely route. Had a great time in great company, lots of punctures but they did'nt detract from the fun and all passed with good humour. Lovely country lanes and the hills were steeper than I was expecting but I managed to get up them on my hefty gear inches without coughing up a bollock.

Lovely tail wind all the way made us fly, especially the last bit along the coast from Herne Bay to Margate. Thanks to Katie for the chips, they tasted good. The smell along the coast was a bit ripe though, does every poo in London end up in Margate?

Rowhan will be along later with his proper camera photos but here's some I took for now. And yes free travel back made the day cheaper than if I'd stayed at home, result. LFGSS summer rides, full of win.

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and a couple more....

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Love the shot of the monastery

Awesom ride everyone! Such a great day.
Sorting some pics now and will post the link later on :)

This was such a great ride! The roads were sweet and as we got further out, pretty traffic-free as well. Beautiful spinning particularly through Graveney to Seasalter and crossing the last stretch of coastal path to Margate. The scenery was spectacular the whole way - overall, an amazing route! Big thanks to everyone who made it, it was great riding with you all.

...bike skillz:

'Twas indeed a great ride, sorry I had to bail. My Knees are getting old and I was just getting slower and slower.
Glad I had rim tape though ;)

superb day, thanks to john for leading and john and chris for scouting the route. it was a great route, pretty and flatter than the last time i went out to the medway. thanks to everyone for the company, quite a few of you on you first forum ride - hope you'll be back.

loved the extra bit to margate with the comedy climb straight after food, the obstacle course through the woods, the green matting under the grass (FTW) and the monastery

loved the free train :)

jaitch, sorry we only had you so briefly.

^great photos everyone, i didn't notice many cameras at the time!

there are lots of happy sunny pics but truth be told, this one is the motif for the first half of the ride:

and i call this one "Never lean"

Gutted I missed this, looks like you had a rad time. Less boozy do's, more long rides.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/45082800

Not sure if you guys will be able to see this ^ but I thought if any of you use MapMyRide you can use this to add to your workouts :)

152km total for me yesterday! Very happy!!

Hey Everyone,
Got some pics for you to enjoy:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvMKCrC

just to echo all of the thanks and kudos raining down on these fair pages. was great to meet a lot of you for the first time for what was just the right combination of company, scenery, and heavy breathing (you know who you are). would be hard pressed to think of a better way to spend a sunday (especially as i ended up spending much more of it than i first intimated to the missus....but the last 10 miles to margate, for all the reasons noted above, more than made up for it.)

here's some garmin goodness (aside from the long straight line across chatham, where i forgot to turn it back on)/
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104867251

p.s who knew that we were sat beneath either the world's or the country's first freestanding clocktower (depending on which article you read) while gorging ourselve on fish, chips, beer, seagulls and barspins? culture - tick!

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Thanks for all the pics. I am wrecked today. The start was a bit frustrating with the punctures, but what can you do, it happens. People do need to check their tyres have a good bit of life in them before heading off on a long trip though. One of the tyres I saw was smooth and about the thickness of an inner tube. Rim tape also helps!!
The later parts of the trip where it was long and straight were good fun, you could pick your own pace and tear along on it. That last car free section was really nice to Margate, cheers to the local lads who showed us along.
Me, ms.chris, tudor badger, anton and citygent had a couple of pints in Margate - apologies for shooting off from H Bay a bit early but several of us wanted to push on, and personally after beer at the end of a long trip, getting back on the bike is horrible.
Got the train to Victoria, cycled home, had a shower, turned on the internet - and then went straight back out the door on the bike again down the road to the looting chaos in Brixton, didnt get to bed until 3am, soaked to the skin, exhausted. Long day.

man, it was a glorious ride - my first with the forum.

thank you so much for the guidance - it makes it so much easier when someone takes care of the navigation.

the pace was leisurely punctuated [sic!] by the pit stops, which made it much easier for me. although the next to last leg to herne bay with all the wind was a trialing one. somehow i regained all the strength after the fish and the beer, and the ride to margate was joyous.

the locals were endearing and quite helpful, and "deliverance" premonition has soon subsided. i will not mention the sing-along to 80s rock anthems nor the anthropological delights at margate proper.

i had my reservations about the size of the group (was it going to be too many people to self-organize?), but the atmosphere was great and i chatted to quite a few - it really made a big difference.

England's a splendid fellow

Looked a great day out, gutted I missed out on this, hopefully it'll be repeated next summer :0)

Thanks MA3K! superb ride!
Here some pictures
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvMLNUy

^

beauty

The Peleton approaches!

Gahhh, gutted I missed this...

thats oright .it was a great ride even though we only rode from hernebay , when will there be another ride like this ????

Well, what can I add to what's be said already? (Certainly not my Garmin data as I can't work out how to embed it - @shambolic - how do you do that?)

+1 to what everyone's said about the company, route, chips, views, and local guides. Great work on the hills, and good calling out of cars, potholes ... run-over foxes, weather, cricket matches ...