25/5 HSLCC Friday Night Ride- Easy rider

Still Just About Light At Doleham Hill!

Just five of us were up for the Friday night ride this week, perhaps the earlier rain had put riders off? Good to see Nick there again, Nick has definitely got the bug for the Friday night ride and despite his epic charity ride last week was determined to get in some more exercise. Apart from Malcolm who disappeared off at the front before waiting for us to catch up, none of the rest of us were in the mood for pushing hard and it was nice steady riding all the way up to broad oak. I am glad to report no incidence with any dangerous car drivers this week and once we reached the top of Doleham lane it was still just about light. The light had gone by the time we reached the foot of Stonestile lane which was a little bit slippery due to the earlier weather but this didn't stop Nick who managed to pull off a new PR for Stonestile , up to a creditable 29th best of all time.

23/4 HSLCC Chaingang- The Hastings Express!

A change in the weather and back to more 'traditional' chain gang conditions - 17 riders set out into a south-westerly breeze that was carrying some light rain. We moaned about it; how quickly some good weather spoils us! Kie and I thought we were in for a cold soaking as we had stubbornly dressed for a dry ride, but the rain never really came to anything and it stayed quite warm.

I ended up leading out with Joe Kingsman again (no, I don't know why) but I felt crap. I think some shouts came my way, encouraging me to up the pace, but I didn't have the gas to increase speed. Too much food eaten in the afternoon? Not enough rest? Just a bit rubbish? Frustrating, whatever the cause.

The fast group did their thing, sweeping by and steaming off. The level crossing didn't hold them this week, so no cheeky overtakes were possible. A small group formed including Simon, John and eventually Kie. It was pointed out to me that I should've eased the pace slightly when taking the lead, allowing the next rider a chance to overtake, so I think I made things a bit uncomfortable for the group. I caused further distress when I got carried away on Spooky Hill, skipping past two riders and ending up three abreast. I was soon told the error of my ways! Oh dear, really not a great ride to this point. Two of the group broke away on the west slope, so the three of us rotated the lead to the roundabout without further drama or breaches of group etiquette.

The return leg was quick, with some wind assistance. I rode hard, the breeze helping me feel lighter and faster, just hanging on to the tail of the 'Hastings Express' until past the Star Inn when the speed went up a notch. I was soon riding alone, head down and trying to stay clear of a small group creeping up behind me on Herbrand Walk, and then along Cooden Drive. I didn't want to be caught but inevitably I was, so I tagged on the back, riding again with Simon, John and another.

The group gave me some respite and we made a big effort towards the end of the park, building up a good speed with more in the tank. This was spoilt by car pulling out in front of us, even though the two occupants must've seen us. Still, it's as well to expect the unexpected on the roads and whilst no harm was done, I felt it was one of those nights when nothing was going to go quite right. Simon said 'I bet you were pleased we caught you' and though I had wanted to stay ahead of them, he was right. I should've used my head earlier and waited for them. The one silver lining of the evening for me was an unexpected PR on the west-east slope of Spooky Hill, largely due to being in the group's slipstream.

It was good to see a new rider turn out, and a lady rider at that - welcome Jo. Seems Jo really enjoyed the chain gang 'buzz', so it's a shame that the last ride (until autumn) is next week. I hope we have a good turnout!



Regards, Neil

Nick And others Complete 900 mile Epic!

Myself and 35 riders, support trucks and drivers have just arrived back from a 900 mile ride in 3.5 days visiting the twin towns of Hastings and 5 countries to raise money for a super local charity www.charityforkids.com

We managed this by splitting into 3 teams and riding constantly day and night.

Day 1, We all met outside the Hastings town hall where we met the Mayor and had photographs taken. After that we all took off cycled to Dover where we caught the ferry to Calais. On arrival at Calais one team rode to the first twin town in France to Bethune to meet the Mayor whilst the remaining riders drove/slept.

Day 2, This was my teams turn to ride to Schoten and take in some very famous cobbled hill climbs. This was an interesting day with 4 crashes, first Luca trying to negotiate an unmade path hit a hole and went over the handle bars, luckily he was ok except a grazed face and bruising. One of the riders ahead (Phil) decided to turn back and see if everyone was ok, he drew up along side Luca laying in the dirt and forgot to unclip and promptly disappeared down into a ditch beyond sight.  We all rushed over to see if he was ok and saw him lying on his back, in a mud filled ditch with his bike on top on him, we all erupted in fits of laughter for ages, that was number two crash!

The cobbled hill climbs were very testing with very little or no grip if you got out of the seat, this is where Gary went over, thankfully no damage. Finally yours truly had an off!

Gaining speed down a hill, I didn't see a lorry coming up the lane as I was picking my line round the corner. Upon meeting the beast head on I had 3 choices, hit it head on, try to get by on its left hand side or go right into a field.  Right it was and off I came without damage thankfully.

When we arrived at Schoten  another team took over and headed of to Nijmegon and then another onto Schwerte while we took in food and slept before driving support/campers to Schwerte.

At all the twin towns our mayor met his counterpart for photos and food ETC.

Day 3. My team again and we had to ride to Mol. Only one crash today! Luca again! The old fella put his front wheel in a tram track doing 20+ and came off very badly. After a few minutes he managed to get back on and carried onwards cut, bruised and hurting but managed to complete the whole ride.

Upon reaching Mol we were able to rest/sleep and eat while the other teams rode to Kortemark and then Calais.

We all rode back from Dover to a fantastic reception in Hastings, met by family, friends, supporters and of course the mayor.

We had so far raised over £20,000!!!!!!

What a ride and experience, ITS NOT TO LATE TO STILL DONATE log onto the website.


Nick (no punctures, but a broken front wheel thanks to the cobbles) Sargant

21/4 HSLCC Early Bird- Heathfield 50

new Slimline david!

Steel Is Real baby!

After the disappointment of wimping out of the 'Tour Of The Weald' due to rain, I was determined to get out for a decent ride on the bank holiday Monday which had a forecast of sunny weather. As Ivan said he had to be back early, I quickly mapped out a simple 'up across and down' fifty mile loop to Heathfield and back.The spreadsheet calculated a 'medium' hill density ride, so  I expected it to be quite an easy ride (this was a mistake as almost all the ascent was crammed into the first 35 miles). Ivan couldn't make it in the end as he felt ill (self inflicted?) but as well as Malcolm and Lee, I was joined by John V on his brand new 'Genesis Crois De Fer' as well as a rare appearance from David ( looking slimmer than last time I rode with him). Things got off to a tough start with pretty much non stop climbing through Crowhurst and up to Brightling. Despite being in a happy mood with all the sunshine, my legs felt quite stodgy and were slow to really get going, so as usual I ended up falling a little way back from the group as we continued the relentless roller-coaster of poorly maintained roads leading up to Burwash. The countryside in this area is fantastic and this early on a bank holiday, traffic was very sparse. Our furthest point north was Mayfield (maybe I should have called it the Mayfield 50?). From here I knew that geographically there had to be more down than up but we still had some tough climbs as we dropped down into the Burwash valley only to have to climb out again. At least by now my muscles were fully warmed up and I was really enjoying this ride, this simple route had turned out to be an excellent one only marred by some terrible road maintenance. Eventually we reached sea level and it was a fast easy ride home with enough time for a quick bacon butty at Pevenesey. John's verdict on the genesis is that its a super comfy bike that feels well planted on the road. Next weekend John intends giving it a real workout as him and Nigel are tackling a 300K audax (crazy fools).

20/4 Only Two HSLCC Riders Complete Tour Of The Weald This year Due To Weather Forecast!

Despite the forecast I  made the  right choice and did tour of Weald  today. Although it was raining when left Hastings it was dry at Staplehurst as the rain had not got there. numbers down due to the rain and i thought only me and Nick B from cycle club, but I see from strava that James Cornford also did it with a good time.
We had no rain for the first hour then a shower . After that some rain but not enough to worry about and felt comfortable whole way.

Derek And Pals Chance the Wet Weather!

My useless garmin did not lock on till east peckham so did not record whole route . Course same as last year with the testing hill at 3 miles with several getting off on that .
Funny moment when Nicks rear drailieur locked going up hill and he stopped dead , someone was on his wheel and had nowhere to go so fell in the hedge.
There was six of us from the tri club and we stayed together till about half way then stronger riders pulled away. I took up my usual position at the back .
Everyone tried the timed hill sprint which is at about 58 miles and is a good way to deal with that last climb as its all downhill after that
Derek M

18/4 HSLCC Fri Night Ride- Cold Blip

Jon Wrapped Up Against The Cold!

The lovely warm spell was well and truly over as we stood waiting for the 7:35 start in a cold easterly wind. Despite the imperfect weather we had a solid turnout of seven riders including a rare appearance from Barney, his partner Susan and son Cameron. As usual I allowed myself to get dropped down Battery Hill but soon managed to catch up with the others along the sea defences. The nature reserve is now completely free of pebbles except for the right angled turn where some care is needed. Feeling stronger than normal I got my second fastest Strava time on the long drag to Broadoak. With Barney's guidance young Cameron rode really well up this never ending stretch catching me up on the  steeper sections only losing me on my gravity assisted downhill sections. I was surprised to see Mark at  Broad Oak as I hadn't noticed that he had tagged on at Rye to ride up with Malcolm on the front. It was too cold for much chat and we set off down the hill. Some complete t**t in a fast car shot past us at a great speed leaving only a couple of feet between the riders and total catastrophe, trying not to think about it, we rode on , only letting off a few expletives once we reached the top of Doleham Hill. Dodging all the Stonestile potholes has become something of a pastime before we made it to  the climb itself.  I made a concious effort to remain seated for longer than normal and found the hill relatively easily with Simon commenting that he couldn't remember me cycling up there so quickly before (although Starva says otherwise). I put this down to my Mavic Asium rear wheel which is so much stiffer than my old 36 spoke hand built 105 plus my wonderful new carbon specialised shoes.

Rare Appearance From Barney And Family!

16/4 HSLCC Chaingang- A Beautiful Day!

Another beautiful spring day and another swift and smooth-running chain gang, ridden in near perfect conditions. As in previous weeks, 20 riders set off, picking up speed towards the end of Bexhill 'prom' and riding hard up South Cliff. Nippy Joe Kingsman set the early pace with me tucked in just behind. That wasn't because I'm as fast as him...

Joe and the other strong riders soon sped ahead, leaving a straggle of smaller groups, but same as last week they were held at the Cooden level crossing. The timing worked just right for Tom and myself to steal a cheeky lead, without having to slow. The natural order was, of course, soon restored as the larger group ripped up Spooky Hill and on to Pevensey. Tom, I and one other rotated the lead and I was pleased to find I'd set a PR on the outward leg and for the overall chain gang route.

With the large, dark orange sun just ducking below the horizon, we began the return leg into a light east wind. I tucked in behind the fast boys as they whizzed through the reed-lined marsh lanes, hanging on until the descent from Spooky Hill. I settled into uneasy cooperation with a larger rider, then Kie joined us and we worked our way along Cooden Drive until they pressed on from the bump and dropped me.

It was such a pleasant evening that I decided to keep riding - east to Galley Hill, then west as far as the Cooden Beach Hotel, finally back and forth around Collington before dodging home. I got off the bike really buzzing from a great evening ride, but I also felt strangely dissatisfied. I'd hoped for, well, revenge frankly, for last week's mountain bike humiliation. But I was denied the opportunity as Paul didn't show. It would be nice to imagine that was because he knew I'd catch him this week, but in reality it probably saved me from double-humiliation!

It's been lovely riding in shorts again, but my feet have got cold in the cool morning and evening air without overshoes. Last night I rode with toe covers and they were perfect - toes nicely insulated but without the foot overheating. Recommended. As previously reported, my Giant wheels and tyres are proving very good, with the tyres in particular providing excellent comfort, grip & speed. And no punctures yet!

Remember, there are just two Wednesday chain gang rides left; the last one is on 30th April.

Neil Smith