Reverse Beachy- Early bird 29 Oct

More excellent mild weather for today's early bird. Joining us for the first time on an 'early bird' was Derek who was worried about keeping up because he is recovering from key hole surgery on his knee. Also present was myself, Paul K, Duncan, Tony, Ade and Joe. After reaching Polegate via the sustans route its uphill past Jevington followed by Beachy Head (Tony left us at this point to view some used cars on Lottbridge Drive). Beachy head felt easier than normal as we had a little tail wind behind us. From this point it was fast flat riding all the way to 'Cafe on the beach' for bacon sandwiches. When we got there there were police officers and 'scenes of crime' officers cordoning off the beach. Apparently someone was viciously attacked there last night and it is possible they may die from their injuries, so this could turn into a murder enquiry.

Derek said he felt done in but did well to complete the ride so soon after his knee op. Hopefully we will see him out again on an early bird or club ride.

Distance 42 miles Average speed 16.7 mph

Western Moves. Chaingang 26th October

23 riders, with 6 or 7 over from Eastbourne & Pevensey. Max and I had a nice chat on front - club run style until Bexhill, where Shaun launched the first attack of many. Small groups and lone riders broke away and reformed several times in a wild west scramble for Pevensey, John Eastbourne showing strong form. After Spooky Hill I was losing touch, and was grateful to Alex and Matt coming thru to close the gap. Finally a half dozen or so regrouped for a lineout to the roundabout.

Matt's first ride on fixed, grumbling about too low a gear, 46x17 or something - I recently changed mine up to 48x15 from 46x15 with a 17 on flip. Nevertheless we were all impressed by Matt's new flashing seatpost.

Swift ride back to Cooden where Matt went clear on the rise with Shaun & Shaun's mate chasing, I thought I was in for a free bus ride back up to Matt who'd now solved his gear problem - spinning off over the horizon, when my bus suddenly stopped and turned back West. Swavek came along in a minute and we had all but closed on Matt by the lights, Stuart from Eastbourne nipping thru to arrive first.

CW

Battery Hill Time Trial Oct 23 2011

Hello Folks

There was a great turn out sunday on Battery Hill. Thanks to all riders plus many supporters who turned up to encourage riders up the hill and have a good chat before and after the event.

I aim to write it up a bit and dig out the table of times from previous years ………

The table below may collapse on e-mailing but the attached document has the times.

Hill climbs are rounded up to the nearest tenth of a second (some provisional results have been rounded up) and for the paper I generally round up again to the nearest second which works for all placings except Joe's coming in just 0.1 seconds ahead of Malcolm Daly.

Thanks to all the Rye riders and Rye supporters, more people out makes it more fun.

I have not looked up the start sheet for next week's CTT National Hill climb in Derbyshire near Buxton but Pete Tadros is on it and will be all out to se if he can better the 7th place he took last year. We wish Pete another great ride and may be even the team gold for In Gear with Hutchinson riding????

Any photos to me and Steve Curtis please.

Seven of us had a lovely ride straight after - what a glorious weekend it was.

How about a good turn out for an autumn club run at 9.00am Sunday 30 October at the Harrow after an extra lie in with the clocks change ? Hope to see lots of you there.

At the bottom of the post is a video that Steve made of the event (the lyrics of the track fit rather well!)

Photos of the day can be obtained from the slide show on the right (thanks to Simon T, and Karin for additional photos)

C.P and S.C

Placing			Time	Club
01	Pete	Tadros	3.46	In Gear
02	Alan	Thynne	4.24	Rye 1
03	Chris	Watson	4.40	H&StL CC 1
04	Steve	Gooch	4.45	R2
05	Nick	Wilson	4.47	R3
06	Bronwen	Ewing	5.02	R4
07	Barry	Goodsell	5.05	R5
08	Simon	Grogan	5.10	H2
09	Monty	Wilson	5.10	R6 1st junior
10	Ivan	Johnson	5.10	H3
11	Joe	Jenner	5.15	H4 2nd junior
12	Malcolm	Daly	5.15	H5
13	Mark	Brittle	5.39	H6
14	Nigel	Fox	5.46	R7
15	Rebecca	Wilson	7.01	R8
16	John	Kelly	7.19	R9
17	Richard	Holtby	7.21	H7

Starry Starry Night

A nice clear evening for the Friday chaingang. While we were waiting for the others, Simon pointed out some objects that could be seen in the night sky. As we were looking up we could see a satellite passing over head. Present were: myself, Simon, Malcolm, Ivan, Duncan and Steve Denny. On the way out Steve's light switched to emergency reserve, he had forgotten to charge it! I thought the reserve might last for an hour but I was wrong as it packed up about a mile from Broadoak. As Steve was at the back of the group at this point no one was aware of his plight, so Steve had to do the last mile up to the meet point in the pitch black! Fortunately I have two of the same lights as Steve and lent him one of them for the final third of the route. Just as well as there were some louts in a car coming down Stonestile lane who left little room for us and shouted some abuse just for good measure.

Distance 22.5 miles Av speed 17.1 mph

Through and off, Chaingang 19th Oct

Great to see another big turnout of 27 riders, on the coldest night of the season so far, tho' hardy Joe Jenner still wore shorts. Experienced 1st Cat road racer Shaun Reed coached us in some through and off riding, also known as a chaingang, two lines, or in USA , a paceline s'il vous plait. It's standard on chaingang training rides like ours, a great way to ride fast in a group sharing the work and saving energy, teams in Tour De France do it to catch breakaways and so on.

Man on front rides smoothly for 20 seconds, then moves steadily over and eases up by 1 mph to allow next man through, like a big chain. Line coming forward rides 1mph quicker than the line going back so you get a rest after your 20 second spell. Line going back can be on the left or right depending on wind direction, but for us on narrow roads at night I think its safer and makes sense for us to have slower lane on the right (outside) of bunch. It was working well along Bexhill until someone sprinted off the front instead of doing their spell and broke it up, tho' we got it back together later.

here's some more info on the subject:

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/02/rolling-turns-pacelining-echeloning/
http://pdxcyclingonline.com/paceline-riding-tips-00194/
http://bianchista.blogspot.com/2011/01/chaingang-noob.html

Averages - out 21.5 mph, back 22.5mph. From a front group of about 8 riders, Shaun reached roundabout first and also Bexhill lights, the rest of us hanging onto his wheel. Stuart had the chequered board outside his house for an intermediate prime after Cooden which I sneaked off to get, Shaun said Malcolm boxed him in and praised his skilful team tactics , ta Malc!
C.W.

Quick reminder that we meet 9.00am sharp in the public car park near Fairlight church to sign on for the climb of Battery Hill, Rye Wheelers and Pete Tadros will be competing.We usually have a good crowd of people come along to chat at the sign on, watch in the lay bay half way up the hill, then come back to the car park for another chat then some of us will go for a short club run looping back to Hastings no doubt.
C.P.

Hill Hunter (early bird report 16 Oct)

What fantastic weather we had today! As the weather was so good and the weather so dry we decided to do one our hilliest routes'The Ticehurst circular', this twisty route is normally only done in the summer. Present were myself, Paul, Ivan, Ade, Duncan and Tony. There are very few straight sections on this route which prompted Tony to call give me a new name of 'Hill Hunter' which I quite enjoyed. Having not ridden hard since Wednesday I must say it was nice not riding with stiff legs for once and none of the hills bothered me, not even the long drag (4 miles) up Witherenden Hill (Stonegate to Burwash). Tony coped much better with the hills today, these sort of rides are just what he needs to improve his climbing, although he was completely done in at the end. We had a few mechanicals on our journey: the cables on Paul's dérailleur kept seizing up, Duncan had a puncture, I toppled over on some gravel and broke the little cap on top of one of my shifters.

Total distance 49.4 miles, average speed 13.6 mph

S.C

Simon Tyler at the Marmotte

just got this email from chain-ganger Simon Tyler, get the full story and photos at saltedmackerel.cc

"Hi Chris,

Work and small child have conspired to make chaingangs and similar tricky to fit around other commitments, but will hopefully get out a bit more regularly next year.

Catching up on the recent blog posts - I reckon I did a noteworthy number of Alpine hills this summer!

Glandon / Telegraph / Galibier / Alpe d'Huez in a day

The Glandon was psychologically tough being the first of four. When I got to the base of the Telegraph I felt much happier about it all, and span my way past a good few hundred riders, and the same on the Galibier.

On the descent of the Galibier one of my contact lenses fell out just as I was entering the first big and very dark tunnel. I stuck my sunglasses back on to stop the other one falling out too (quite dry eyes by that point) - the sensation of hurtling through a pitch black road tunnel with the blur of headlights coming towards you and a distant light at the other end being the only things giving you any idea where to steer was not very pleasant.

The Alpe was a b****** too, for obviously reasons. I actually think it's a pretty ugly and uninspiring climb - the only reason it's featured so much in racing is the infrastructure at the top which means it works well as a race finish.

Ventoux - Classic route from Bedoin, then again from Sault the following day.

Ventoux was tough too, but the experience made up for that many times over.

Aravis from Flumet, then

Colombiere / Croix Fry / Aravis / Saisies the next day.

Not bad at all.

Next year I want to try the Ventoux triple (or Cingles) - Ventoux from all three routes (Bedoin / Malaucene / Sault) in a day.

Also working on a Zurich - Venice tour, via Fluela Pass / Stelvio / Gavia / Monte Grappa, etc. Quite a tough week that might turn out to be.

Simon"

C.W.

Chaingang report weds 12 oct

A fantastic turnout for the weds chaingang tonight with 27 riders which equals our previous best. Present on his first chaingang of the season was our best rider 'Pete Tadros'. Pete was on his new carbon fixed wheeled bike so was expected to be even faster than normal. Max was worried that with so many riders we could come a cropper racing up Galley hill, so the word was passed round that we should stick together until we got to the De la Warr Pavillion. Predictably, although some people did try to follow Max's advice, others started fanning out as soon as we got to galley hill which caused others to do their own thing etc. Pete led out the fast riders on the way to Pevenesey with Sean following his wheel. At one point a landrover decided to pull out in front of the leading group, only Pete and Sean managed to get in front of it, the others had to wait behind it. Despite a valiant chase led by Ivan and others, no one could close the gap between Pete and Sean. On the return leg Pete went off at the front and no one was able to keep with him (not even Sean) leaving the others to follow some way back. Weather wise it was a perfect evening with a mild temperature and light winds. For me it was the fastest chaingang of the season so the weather must have been good

S.C

Rollapaluza Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhct3Wb3jFQ

This link is the Rollapaluza in Eastbourne in January this year--I worked out I was doing over 200rpm. and ended up 5th in the competition--not bad for 54

David H-H

Early Bird Report Oct 8

We decided to repeat the Doleham 30 miler from two weeks ago. Present were early bird regulars: myself, Paul K, Doug, Adrian and Duncan. We were also pleasantly surprised when Matt, Alex and Mike turned up. Sadly, Matt's group only stayed with us for the first 5 miles to Battle while the rest of us continued the route. This route has got some great climbs including the climb up Doleham hill, The climb from Sedlescombe to Westfield and ends with the climb up Battery Hill.Having ridden the Friday chaingang I found that my legs were completely done in by the time I reached the start of the climb up battery hill, so had to grovel my way up there. Looking forward to a complete day off the bike on Sunday.

S.C

New Record for The Friday Chaingang Oct 7

A new record for the Friday chaingang with 9 riders. This included newbie Charlie Carder. Charlie was on an old flat barred bike that he picked up for £40, despite this he managed to keep up with the group. Hopefully, he will become another regular.
S.C

lantern jawed heroes / brain on shuffle chaingang 5th October 2011

Sometimes when I'm plugging along on my own, a bit of music I've heard recently will drift into my head l and I'll replay it on a loop for a few minutes, to sustain a rhythm in a difficult spot, like last night grovelling overgeared into the dark against a strong headwind on my own, having missed the start and wondering if I'd ever catch up with the others, it was only the " I like it I'm not gonna crack" chorus from this that stopped me from turning round and quitting.
Its not all good tho', after a gluttonous xmas hols, out of shape from a months layup because of icy roads I couldnt get the bump and grind, ridiculous "La di da di da" chorus from this out of my head.
Then again one evening when I was feeling stronger and tearing it up I got some of this hypnotic stuff, ideal for a turbo.

One advantage of random imaginary music vs an ipod is I still get to hear all the fast cars and slow tractors approaching round the next bend, not to mention spokes snapping, tyres deflating and other more pleasant things.
so thats my first half, a couple of lads punctured, if anyone wants to email me more info I'll post it here.

At half way I was releived to see a bunch of riders sheltering from the rain under a tree.

Simon Newell and Max I think got an excellent 6th in the 2 up TT at weekend.

Number of riders- not sure less than 20 more than 12.

Speed out for front group - 16mph, Swavek and Joe punctured. I was overgeared for headwind of 14mph gusting 29mph, felt like grinding along at 10 mph. Rain threatened a bit and wet the road but never got heavy

Back avg 26mph, maxing at 29s and 32s for our lantern jawed heroes who'd braved the fierce gusts in the face to ride the wind back again like happy surfers.

Matt and Swavek shot clear at top of spooky hill like flaming rockets, Malc and Alex chasing, then me on me own, undergeared now . Adrian caught me before Bexhill with tribars & gears, friends. Duncan, Tony and others in hot pursuit.

By the way some handy info for fixed gearheads and insomniacs here, like "32 mph on 84inches is nearly 130 revs per minute" what larks.
Now thats fast for an old lag like me but check this guy, 247 rpm!

Plumpton Sportive

This was our second year of doing the Evans Plumpton Sportive. There were fewer of us this year with just myself, Paul K and Duncan doing it. The weather was fantastic with 27 degree heat, no wind and wall to wall sunlight.The start of this sportive (at Plumpton college) couldn't be more spectacular with the massive green hillside of Ditchling Beacon staring straight at you. Luckily we had about 5 miles of straight roads before the route took us up the beacon.The beacon is tough but never becomes over steep,to me if feels like you are going round and round a merry go round. After the climb comes the fantastic drop down towards Sussex university. The beacon turned out to be the only major hill of the whole route, with the rest of it, rolling hills (next time we ascend the beacon will be in November when we do the Brighton hack ride). For much of the 60 mile route we got to ride with the same group of riders, it was a shame that none of them were from our local area. This was Paul's third attempt to complete a sportive (first time his wheel broke up, second time we followed the wrong set of arrows) and he really enjoyed it, as did myself and Duncan. We all decided that we will try to increase the number of sportives we do, and will definitely be back for the Plumpton sportive next year.
S.C

old iron

old lightweight steel racing bikes make great training bikes/ winter / chaingang hacks -

here's a couple reasonably priced ones quite nearby - this first one actually has regular 700c wheels and maybe a 22 or 23 inch frame.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110752469000

14 speed nigel dean lightweight racing bike 20 inch frame & 25 inch wheels in Sporting Goods , Cycling , Bikes |eBay

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1982-claud-butler-reynolds-531-touring-bicycle/88602347

C.W.