chaingang number 3 - some people like to roll

 David and Nick on their first ever chaingang

Two swallows might  not make a summer but you can tell it's about over with all the long sleeves and there's  two black fixed gear bikes with mudguards on the chaingang -  Nathan's Giant  Bowery - & my 1959 Flying Scot. John Cordner brought a proper vintage steel fixed he's just built up as well - converted from an old racer rusting in the shed, nice one. He was finding the fast spinning tough to get used to at first but stick with it - learns ya' ta pedal smoothly and rev fast like a motorbike which is good training for TTs  and  sprints. Back in the day - before my time - cough - I believe everyone rode the same fixed bike for TTs,  track and training.  Road clubbers spun 66" or 72" all winter - not wanting to put strain on the knees in cold weather. Most of the fixeds are  about 81" on chaingang, as there's no real hills and its quite short -  except Max who rides a ridiculously high track sprinters gear of about 100" - must have titanium knees.
Sooooooooooo - eighteen riders, half a dozen regulars missing but  some new and returning faces.  For maybe the first time ever we  got thru and off working all the way out and all the way back as well - so hitting our target there - fast and smooth - proper chaingang.  A group of three on fixed sneaked off early, two more joined, Mark chased all the way solo and caught us with a mile to go - good effort - its OK to join back of chaingang and sit in for a short rest after an epic chase like that but keen as mustard Mark went straight to the front - as Nathan said if you don't do your spell in a real roadrace they shove you in a hedge. At halfway stop some of us were a bit puggled from the last miles, and Eastbourne Rover Svawek (pronounced Swavek) and I tried out a high intensity interval for the last 100 yards. On the return leg we had a tailwind and rolled back swiftly, Ivan led us past Stewart's house then Mark did a strong spell to the next rest stop at Bexhill, all good fun.  A couple of us had some beers at the Anchor after. By the way I've got two drawings in Cycling Weekly on Thursday, see you next week, x.