Essex Afterworkers

This does not bode well for my idea of gentle spins after work with my colleagues.

Your mileage may vary! Your constitution might be stronger than mine, and your colleagues might enjoy looking out for each other. I just found looking after my lot mentally and physically draining and I haven't got the experience or the authority to try to order them about when leading by example doesn't work. Which it didn't. A familiar feeling for anybody who has sat proudly at a traffic light in primary position while scores of people undertake the bus directly in front of you :(

I do have quite a few Germans in the office, and they love a bit of strict authority, so that might be OK.

Are there any ride leading training courses? It'd be interesting to see what the "proper" etiquette is.

1930 at cafe St germain on CP parade? Probably about 40 miles from there. Can tailor the route depending on who turns up.

Sounds good to me. I'll be fixed.

Awesome. I have to go home first as I'm wearing entirely inappropriate clothes for a 40 mile ride so I'll make a decision about which bike then.

Might come and wave you off.

19.30 at CSG is good for me. I will also be fixed.

*i realise this is quite defeatist but there's not much point in trying to persuade people to do tings they don't want to do innit

True, people are often surprisingly resistant to using bicycle bells.

I'm going out to enjoy my bicycle with people who are not trying to kill me*.

I've made a terrible error of judgement.

bothwell,
ready for knackers yard thanks to hill-loving sadists / attempted murderers

^^ So you enjoyed the ride?

Thanks for the ride yesterday, there really is some lovely scenery amazingly close to London.

Highlights: seeing a plane in someones garden and also a tiny little owl.

Lowlights: hills. Less of those, please.

I did enjoy it, yes. Didn't see any planes or any owls, though?!

Thought I'd take my geared bike into work today to give my knees a bit of a rest but it had mysteriously acquired a flat tyre in the night so had to go fixed again. Curses.

That was good, thanks for leading Oli. Beautiful scenery lit by the evening sun was lovely.

The owl was awesome. I think it was either a tawny (more common) or a little owl (rare).

If you click here there is a tawny on the left and a little owl on the right. I reckon it was a tawny judging by the size and the shape of the face - although it looked small I think a little owl would be even smaller.

I rode into work on my Colnago, freewheeling all the way - for some reason sprint intervals between the red traffic lights in the city/Hackney seemed like a good idea last night!

The little owl is super cute! Want!!

Owl thread >>>>>>

I thought the route was pretty hill free. Admittedly there is the odd steep bit but there were no long steep hills on the route.
For future reference, most rides in Kent or Surrey will feature the odd hill. Have you looked at the terrain? The view we got going down Clark's lane gives you some idea....

Anyway, it was a nice evening for a ride, topped off with the owl and views of smog-laden bromley.

I thought the route was pretty hill free.

You would think that, you whippet! I notice tiny uphill gradients more than you lot because my physique is somewhat less than 'ideal cyclist'.

Tbh I think I did myself in trying to keep pace with you and Fox for the first 15 miles and leaving nothing in the tank for the bumpy bits. Rookie errors innit. Lovely lanes, though -- never been that way before so will definitely need to do further exploration.

Fair enough, the layhams lane drag out of west wickham was probably a bit of a shock. But look at it this way - you're now better prepared for when you tackle it next time, right?

Exactly. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. Can't guarantee it'll make me any faster, though! Thanks all for putting up with me :)

I think you did very well, you were never far behind. You need to remember that Corlis rides a lot more than us mere mortals, and is used to riding such undulating terrain.

Summer is nearly over so it's time to start afterworkers again! I will be going to play in Kent on Monday if anyone would care to join me.

I will be in for a few of these soon. Probably on gears as I my fixie wixie is a bit ropey at the moment.

ace. I'm planning rides on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday too though not afterwork (Thursday probably leaving about 2/3pm for a century, probably dinner in a pub in Maldon or something; Saturday/Sunday Kent/Surrey) if anyone fancies those.

Where would you meet for these rides? (I'm way out west, just trying to get my head around distances) but will probably try and jump on some

Where would you meet for these rides? (I'm way out west, just trying to get my head around distances) but will probably try and jump on some

Afterworker ones usually leave 6pm from Osborne Street/Whitechapel Rd but usually with a pickup point if heading south (7pm from top of Crystal Palace if Kent, Tooting Bec station if Surrey).