2012-09-09 - Lavenham Century Ride

Eyko Sioux, it's up to the ride leader, but it's a little hard to say as we don't know you--you might be a novice but also super-fast. Unless you're really slow, there shouldn't normally too great an incompatibility. I'm not very quick at the moment and would expect to hold Stu back a bit, having ridden with him before. The best thing is to just come along and find out; if it really won't work, we'll know within a couple of miles. We'll be a small group whatever the weather, so expect the ride to be less anonymous and a lot more relaxed than many large group rides.

hey guys, very tempted by this.
what kind of pace will this ride be? cheers

we will be staying as a group waiting for anybody who falls behind and checking the pace is OK as we go along. On most forum rides I have been on the pace is about 15-20mph but it varies a lot, especially after a pub lunch and a pint!

especially after a pub lunch and 4 pints!

ffy :P

important to keep those fluids topped up!

You'll be fine, AirTime. You're certainly faster than me!

Please add your name to the list if you intend to come. We need to know who to wait for

1. Stu F
   
2. Oliver Schick
   
3. 
   4.
   
   

Forecast for Sunday is looking bang tidy!

Please add your name to the list if you intend to come. We need to know who to wait for

1. Stu F
   
2. Oliver Schick
   
3. Joe.S
   4.
   
   

If it is OK with you chaps, I'll tag along. I feel that I am currently far from the peak physical condition that I might aspire to, so will play it by ear as to whether to bail at Sudbury on the return.

Oliver, are you planning on the train to Shenfield or riding out?

Thinking of riding out. Not 100% sure yet, but do you want to meet up somewhere?

Riding out adds another 27 miles from sunny SE London. I was planning on jumping on the 09:18 from Liverpool St. If you're riding out, I'll meet you there.

How hard is this for a novice? In terms of elevation and pace… I'd like to join :)

Hey as a relative newby myself my suggestion is to just turn up prepared; water/food and not half a ton of luggage. If it is too pacey there are ample places to bail and hit up a train station.

Have you ridden 100 miles before? 50 miles? Generally people are happy to wait for the guys at the back but it's your responsibility to get yourself home if need be!

None of this is to put you off, but to encourage just turning up and having a go!

Pretty much anyone who has a reasonable level of fitness and their position set up to be comfortable (i.e. their saddle is the right height and their frame isn't completely the wrong size) can do 50-60 miles easy on gears

Cue sheet:

You'll notice there is a farm track. This may involve a bit of riding over rough ground, but as I didn't get out to do a reccy on Bank Holiday monday because of rain I'm not sure. If we get there and it's full of mud (unlikely due to recent weather) there is another route that I have planned, although the farm track will be more fun!

Good sheet, Stu, although a little too verbose to be easily readable while riding along--it's best to stick to abbreviations like those used in this one (to pick a random example). Also, it's best to have it foldable to keep it small(ish)--the one I just linked to would be A5, and I like to keep mine A6.

It's similar to the one I used to get us to Clacton, so should be fine. I've folded it concertina-style so it's only just bigger than a king size Rizla

Not sure if either of you or anyone else who is riding would like one, but I've just done a few colour copies of the routesheet onto nevertear waterproof paper (if I'm being prepared, it's great for ride notes / route sheets as they can get wet and be sweated on etc and still be perfect). Will bring them along. The weather is looking good, so hopefully the waterproofing won't be needed.

Just seen you guys are doing this... will be riding out from Brixton so will only go as far as Lavenham then train back from Sudbury. If I see you I'll give you a wave... weather looks great - and a tail wind going out :-)

Are you going to meet us at Shenfield, or will you be arriving after 10?

Will be joining the route around Ongar so more likely to bump into you sitting outside a pub on the way. If our paths meet would be great to hook up though...

Stu, I'll be slightly late.

That was a cracking day out. Great to meet everyone and thanks again to Stu for organising.

Lovely route Stu - really enjoyed that... thanks for letting me and Bill tag along! First time I've walked through a ploughed field in road shoes ;-)

Oliver, that was a brutal head wind on the way back - hope your Teutonic awesomeness got you back OK?

Just had a wonderfully refreshing cold shower--got back at around 10.

The headwind was actually OK until after Ongar, when it turned into a bit of a joke. No issues from Abridge to Chigwell, where the road was sheltered, but a determined resumption of hostilities on the exposed A104.

I'll have a go at mapping my total route, as my computer wasn't working well. Should be around 120 miles or so.

Bumped into another rider on the B184 who said he was trying an out-and-back '10' course. When I first saw him, he was flying northbound, and a little while later I saw him coming past just as I was finishing up a pint outside the Axe & Compasses. He stopped a little further on and we had a quick chat. Not many other riders around--a slow couple outside Great Bardfield, a mystery rider going north along the A113 Ongar Road (couldn't really see him, but his bike looked like a mountain bike), and then, as the icing on the cake, just as I was crawling up the last incline to the Lea Bridge roundabout (I was really finished by that time), I got overtaken by a young woman in a red frock on a Plug (who was herself going quite slowly, just not quite as slowly as I was). :)

Good to find a food shop open just north of the Ongar roundabout--got some nice spring rolls there. The actual reason why I'd stopped had been that I needed new batteries for my front light. The old ones were still OK and giving enough light, but weren't bright enough to get drivers going the opposite way to dip their lights. Drivers not dipping their lights is a pet hate of mine and the only thing I don't like about night riding. Following a battery swap, it was mostly OK as they could see me more easily.

Not much else to report--daylight until the Axe & Compasses, and then quite a nice night ride. I wouldn't have complained had it been five miles shorter, but it was OK in the end.

Great to ride with you all today! Good to see rab and Stu again and to meet Joe and Bill.

Right, I'll map this now quickly before going to bed.

[ame]http://www.bikemap.net/route/1827351[/ame]

122 miles.

I'll write some more tomorrow.

Yeah, was a great ride. Chapeau Oli! Sorry I bailed at Sudbury, I just didn't fancy getting back that late and having to get up for work today. If the weather is half decent next weekend I'm keen to try again on my own making a much earlier start