Fogbound Spinheads. Chaingang Report Feb 23rd

Five of us left fogbound Hastings for clearer Western skies. Weather looked terrible but turned out OK, forecast was right this time. Welcome back to Pete Tadros returning after his wife had a baby recently. Pete set off at 22-23mph. We zipped past Paul our sixth man riding the other direction outside Bexhill. I held on grimly to Pete's wheel as far as the Star Inn, where I found I'd used up my whole box of mental tricks to fool my body into continuing beyond its reasonable limit. We slowed down to pass a car on the bridge. When Pete sped up again, my legs wouldn't so I dropped off, glad of a chance to recover for the return bout.
At the halfway stop Pete revealed he's been speed training - 30 miles a day, every day this week in order to get race fit and beat his turbo training rivals. The return with a bit of a tailie was led off around 25mph, I was delayed wiping oily hands from flipping my wheel for the big gear and chased hard but couldn't catch Pete. Finally caught him at Bulverhythe and pointlessly sent my heart spinning into orbit pipping him to the lights at Harley Shute, I think he might have already started his warm-down. Five minutes later the burning in my chest had subsided and I was able to talk again.

I've got an idea for a racing series, first rule is: you can only train one and a half hours per week. It's a league for old chancers, young slackers and proper amateurs in the traditional sense of hopelessly ill prepared yet keen as mustard. Now who's up for it - Contenders ready, Defribillators ready, Go!

Chris Watson

PS I heard a couple of riders did last Friday's chain gang as well, dig in lads!