28/April- On Yer Bike Castle Ride

Paul B Comfortably kept Up With Us On His 29er ,Very Impressive!

Today was the annual 'On Yer Bike' charity ride in aid of the local hospice and Hastings lifeboat. last year the weather was appalling but this year it was chilly but wonderfully sunny with only a light wind. A group of us set out together as a 'team', this included Paul Baxter who was riding his brand new 29er mtb. I never thought for a moment that he would keep up, expecting him to be dropped after a few miles. Also with us for the first time was Matt's next door neighbour Steve,this was also going to be the longest ride he had ever attempted. We set a fast 20 mph + pace on the way out. Despite this, Paul B was keeping up without any problems as was new rider Steve. On the way out we passed a guy riding a Specialized Allez with trainers, only for him to come roaring back at us at a tremendous pace. We had a brief breather at Pevenesey castle where I had a quick chat with the allez rider only to find out that when I looked round, the others had gone without me. Never mind, I am used to riding on my own and it was a glorious day. I couldn't be bothered to pull over and stop at the next two check point whereas the others did, this gave me the chance to catch up with them on Magham Down. Our pace remained pretty relentless across the marsh, finally Steve got dropped a little, so Matt had to wait up for him while the rest of us pressed on. Mike and Alex broke for home at Bexhill leaving just myself, Paul Baxter and Paul Fuller for the final leg along the chaingang route and down to the old town at Hastings. Finally the pace became a little easier and with the wind behind us we had an easier ride over the last 10 miles. Matt and Steve caught up with us as we arrived back at the lifeboat, so Steve had done exceptionally well for his first 'club ' ride.

Last Hastings Wednesday Chaingang till September - So long its been good to know you, gangsters of Sussex.

big turnout of 2 dozen or so, Team Sky have just texted to say "Quick  sign that Reynolds  fella with the nice top before Garmin or the Rovers get him ! "

Pete Tadros on his Sunday best - 6kg!

Chris Parker writes "H&StL CC Wednesday Chain Gang Winter 2012 -2013 has a very fast finish

The 2012-2013 Wednesday evening chain gang ended on a high last night with a big turn out including In Gear's Pete Tadros for the first time this season fresh from Saturday's win in the Catford 10 with a 19.44 on the Tonbridge bypass. With a 30mph TT fresh in his legs the chain was well and truly broken with only Matt Reynolds holding Pete's wheel for the entire ride, Rover John Cordner almost managed it too. Eleven repaired to the Anchor afterwards to celebrate a great winter's gang with many 20 plus turn outs and also a probable last chain gang for Chris Watson who is likely to be back north of the border when the Wednesday gang resumes in September."

 Friday Chaingang meets 7.30 Fairlight Lodge till end May, first Wednesday TT 1st May meet 6.30 at Broad Oak on A28, just past B2089.

Was a quick one, Pete Tadros did a personal TT and few could hold his wheel.  John C stayed on longest and got dropped at Spooky hill, the  last  five or six of us were dropped leaving Bexhill - worked well taking short turns, but couldn't catch.   At the stop Svawek could taste blood, " that was a heart attack" and  I felt a bit ropey like I might lose my dinner for a bit. Malc said we should have worked harder, and Ivan leading a  group  behind us said that he was definitely closing us down. Some small comfort could be taken that Pete admitted in the pub later  he was " really trying" to drop everyone. So well done Matt, have you ever thought about road racing? Team up with Trevor, he's doing the Hove Park Crit this Friday, then there's Lewes crits, Eastbourne GP. Dan Harwood has also road raced before and might be threatening a come back. I'm sure  a good team of six could be mustered and make its mark!

Yes folks it's good night from me as I'm likely to be repatriated to Glasgow before the next Weds Chaingang season begins  in September. They need all the votes for independence they can get and have promised me a fiver and a can of Irn Bru so off I go to cash in. In fact I'm going to really miss all the great riders and enchanting roads of Sussex, a place I grow fonder of every year, so I'll try and make this short - cough, sniff, etc.
  Six years ago Dan Harwood told me about the chaingang.  I hadn't been near a bike club since 1989, but was about  to become a parent. Suddenly a strange urge to get fit and get old before I died came over me not to mention an excuse to get out of the house, to do something fun that wouldn't leave me feeling dehydrated and headachey the next day, well you can't have everything.
  I turned up at the pier on  my Dad's spare 70s Puch, wearing  a white skateboard lid, soft trainer shoes and grey sweatshorts.  I've no idea what the collected hardcore roadies made of this, this vision in a thrift shop,  but Steve Curtis who has been running it since forever, was friendly. Later on he gave me sound advice about what proper gear to get - from lights to SPD pedals and recommended I also get a mountain bike to do the Bewl Water rides on Friday nights in the summer,  first lap in the bunch, second flat out - 24 miles and as exciting  and tough an hour and a half ride as anything - yes so Steve was very welcoming, but I still looked like a total nut. I wonder if the rest tried extra hard to drop me that night, any way I was soon on  my own,  took a wrong turn and was lost deep in a cul de sac estate near Bexhill and had to phone my missus to get the street map out and navigate me back to the coast. Phones have come on a bit since 2006.  Gradually I sorted out my shocking non - kit,  managing to not get dropped for a little longer each week. I even got to know the regulars a little bit, lets be honest, many cyclists are not always the most outgoing souls at first, some of the time they're close to collapse from trying too hard, other times they're self obsessed quiet  loners plotting how  to beat everyone else, but not all of them are. Sometimes they're both. To any newbies reading, don't give up, keep saying hello and smiling, it can take time to become part of a club, but it's worth the effort.
 As time rolled by my motorbike grew rusty in the garage  and all my beer tokens went on bikes, bike clothes,  and bike accessories. After some weeks or months I finally  hung in the bunch all the way to Pevensey and had  a first go at sprinting for the roundabout.  I'll never forget Dave Earle's  shout of encouragement  as I set off in pursuit of the front men "COME ON JAY!" It'd be a while before I began taking turns, mainly because the group was usually led by Ivan or Pete, ace time triallers in training.
 Some nights in bad weather it was just Steve and me, doggedly suffering in the cold wet darkness to  hold onto Ivan's wheel. Sometimes I wondered what the hell am I doing, following a little  yellow pool of light across what seemed like an eternal winter's night, but ultimately I'm very grateful as having my legs torn off 2 or 3 times a week for my first year  or  two eventually brought me up to the dizzy heights of being able to . . . well,  suffer,  to hold onto Pete's wheel.  Pete and Ivan rode heavy old mtbs with flat tyres  then, to slow them down for the rest of us. Others had ride to work hybrids, or fixeds of uncertain age, yep winter bikes were heavy old anchors then, hacks you'd be embarassed to be seen near in broad daylight,  just filthy old rusty gates to be dragged through the wintry muck and salty grit basically. So the chaingang has changed a lot since I started and no doubt will keep evolving - nice to see more younger riders, bigger turnouts, new friends from near and far.  So just to say thanks everyone for letting me play, as a wannabe racer I've enjoyed the chaingang immensely,  look after yourselves and maybe I'll see you out on the road this summer before I go look for another good club in Glasgow.

Chris Watson CTC 1983, Central Scotland Wheelers 1984-1989, Hastings & St Leonard's CC 2006 -

ESCA 25

Another successful club promotion was completed on Sunday with some good rides by club members. Although I haven’t seen the official results yet I did note a great 1.06.34 on the board from Trevor Deeble; his first attempt at the distance I believe. It was a freezing morning and around minus 2 when I started off as first man and although in shorts I sensibly wore arm warmers and woolly gloves although it was my head that froze the most which was a somewhat odd sensation and I did not properly warm up until the Shaw roundabout, more surprisingly I was only caught by one rider before the turn.

My mileage this year had consisted of a round trip to deliver Jay’s Hard Riders entry to Peter Moon in Eastbourne, plus turbo sessions a few times a week. Jay had managed even less than that but had at least recently run the Hastings half Marathon in a decent time. Nevertheless despite it being my first 25 for nearly a year I really enjoyed the stint out to the turn. Coming back was another matter when lack of miles took their toll and I cursed myself for missing the Wednesday chain gangs. I rode entirely on “feel” and was not too unhappy when a 1.13 was posted on the board, only to be told later that the time keeper had made a mistake and added a couple of minutes on, not that it made much difference. In contrast Chris Parker breezed round mid field checking all was going well and made it look easy, no doubt as a direct result of his recent sojourn in Crete.

Chris had to jump in as event secretary when Chris Chapman who had been running the event for the past few years decided somewhat selfishly to go and live in Portugal. Without an secretary there can be no event, at least not one run by this club, so now could be a good time to see if someone else is willing to take on the role next year. We cannot always rely on Chris to save the day and he already does more than enough and I know prefers not to be the event secretary as he is far too busy organising everything else. Strangely the road signs, volunteers and food do not weirdly appear as if by magic on the day.

Having been event secretary myself in the past for a number of years I know just what’s involved, but it more or less boils down to being the focal point for receipt of entries, preparing the start sheet and sending it out. Virtually everything else is handled by ESCA and now we don’t seem to have to worry about the result board on the day. When I did it I had to produce a hand drawn board with everyone’s name on it, find a suitable structure to fix it to and then work out the results on paper as they came in including handicap and age related times. Now it’s all done on a laptop and it will be even easier if we can accept internet entries next year.

If nothing else being event sec does give you an insight into how our sport is organised. You could even include it on your CV: “National Cycling Event Organiser” or similar? We only have this one event, unlike some clubs and perhaps now would be a good time to get the ball rolling for 2014?  Whoever volunteers can be guaranteed plenty of help and advice. 

Tim Miles

The Grogans visit La Doyenne

Took M. over to Belgium last weekend for the  Liège Bastogne Liège race and the challenge the day before.
What a week end and where to start?  The Belgians - so friendly,  Hotel - very helpful with bike.
Beautiful countryside, being the lone Englishman flying along in a large group with a tail wind,
Mavic man who saved my day, the climbs like I've never known before, the real buzz at the depart / arrivee with beer tents, music, massage, food and dry weather. Everything seemed to make sense, all he club runs, chain gangs, lone rides in filthy weather, the puncheur, it all seemed to come together to get me round that amazing ride.
I'm thinking about doing the Paris-Roubaix challenge or Tour of Flanders next year but I might well come back and do this again.
Sunday saw us at Place St Lambert for the depart and all that goes with it then after lunch up to Ans  watching the race unfold on a massive screen then finishing in front of us, superb.

Simon Grogan   

Nice one Simon! Here's a link to Rabobank pro Laurens Ten Dam's Strava log of the race
  

19/4 Fri Chaingang- Night Of The Tumbling PBs

Good Turnout For a Friday

Despite some Friday regulars saving themselves for the ESCA time trial on Sat/Sun we had a good turn out of riders. Good to see both Derek and Ivan back again after long absence. Now we have full light , going down  Battery Hill is much safer and Trevor managed to make a new (shared) KOM for its descent. On coming into the nature reserve we were stopped by two young women on dog scooters pulled by huskies. They weren't sure how far the nature reserve  trail went so we told them but had to laugh as when we asked  'your not local then' they replied 'no we're from Hastings', and then when we suggested a good place to take the Huskies would be the south downs, they hadn't a clue what we were talking about, talk about Hastings folk being insular! One thing they did get right though was to warn us that the path was blocked further on. Sure enough, the very section where I had come out last Sunday to clear away the dumped pebbles that caused Steve D to fall off had all been dug up , presumably for resurfacing. Perhaps this is because the nature reserve path is now part of Sustrans? If so, this is good news, as hopefully the path will be maintained to a higher standard.A little detour around the barriers soon had us back on good tarmac. On the subject of tarmac, the entire route from Rye to Broad Oak is now lovely and smooth, helping both myself and Trevor to get personal bests on this segment. On nearing Westfield, I suggested to Trevor that this would be a good night for a PB on stonestile but he wasn't so sure as it could be a bit damp causing back wheel spin. Everyone took it easy on the approach to stonestile, I was just behind Trevor and Chris W. I knew the pair would soon be racing to the top. Who would get there first, would it be the younger smaller framed Trevor or would it be the more experienced more powerful Chris W. In the end, Trevor arrived first with Chris 40 seconds behind, but both had achieved personal bests, to give Trevor 4th fastest ascent of all time and Chris W the 10th.

let's Hope This Is repaired For Next Friday!

 . Despite my legs feeling tired and my crappy gator skin rear tyre slipping several times (as Trevor feared) , I also managed a PB and closed the gap on Dave HH.

Warm WSW Chaingang April 17

Howard S

Slawomir G

Only one more chaingang to go before our evening club time trial series begins at Broad Oak!  - see earlier post for details. What a treat to ride on dry roads for a change - so brought best bike - changing the racing wheels for  some strong training wheels meant I arrived just in time for the depart. Turnout was 16 - 19 ish, missing some regulars, but nice to see  Dan H back on the road after a winter of training on foot for a 1:31 in Hastings half marathon - next up the Bexhill duathlon.

Quite a swift run out - our own fixed Ivan J back on form and doing much of the  leading with John C and the rest of us doing some bits too. In an ideal world we'd all rotate short turns however into teeth of a Westerly wind pace changes became quite sharp at front  and less smooth than ideal for team riding,  many of us just hanging on to the strongest riders.  I'm sure  everyone knows by now that it's good etiquette to do your turn, unless your really hanging. Coming from nowhere in last yards without doing a turn is considered bad etiquette - unless your name is Cavendish. Howard S was on the pace and often at the front on his first chaingang - half a mile from the stop  Paul H-H went forth so I got in his wheel past the nose of the bunch  and then gave it the big ring - had to change up a gear  to hold off John C with Howard hot on his wheel, felt it after -  but spirits were high, warm chat and laughter filled the air.

Trevor D is back from a ride out to Roubaix where he not only watched Cancellara win the classic race in the velodrome, but rode his bike  on the famous track as well. New signing Svawek G's clicking bottom bracket reminded us of the ticking crocodile that hunts down Captain Hook in Peter Pan. Way back was more of the same, Stu H hit a bad pothole but skilfully held his line and stayed upright. Some of us enjoyed a pint or three - OK one was water - at the anchor after.

All speed to Malc, Simon N and all our clubmates preparing to ride the ESCA 25 TT this Sunday.
 

14 April- Hell Of Asdown

At last we were back to Ashdown again to complete the GPS route for the famous 'Hell Of Asdown' route. It seems longer than a year ago that we did this route for the first time. Sad to think that Anthony and Paul K who were with us last year, no longer ride with us but on the plus side we had the pleasure of Dan and Trevor riding the route for the first time. After yesterday's prolonged heavy rain we were all pinning our hopes on the weather forecasts which predicted dry sunny conditions from about 9:00 onwards. At 8:45 it didn't look like that was going to happen as it was cold windy and raining. Dave HH was not happy and no sooner had he taken his bike out of the car before he decided the weather was no good and abandoned the ride before it started. The rest of us had more faith in the forecasts and sure enough within the next 20 minutes the rain had petered out.

Twenty Minutes Later This Cold Wet Weather Was  A Distant memory

For the next 10 miles we had to have regular stops to shed more and more layers of clothing until most of us ended up in just shorts and jersey. Derek was reaping the benefit of fitting a 30 tooth cassette at the back and was performing much better than at the 'Tour Of the Weald' from a few weeks ago. Before long our first proper hill appeared, Bayley's Hill. This is my favorite hill of the whole route as despite gaining over 700 feet, the elevation never goes above 8% and there are great views into the valley.Award for the tallest hill of the day goes to Toy's Hill which we came to about half way through the ride  (altitude of over 800 feet) but again this hill has a moderate gradient (up to 9%) and so is nothing more than a very long drag. By the time we reached Hever (of Anne  Boleyn fame), Derek was feeling worse for wear. Fortunately this is where we stopped last year for refreshment at the local village pub. Sitting in the garden in the sunshine sipping our drinks and munching chocolate bars, we could feel our pasty complexions reddening in the sun, best weather day of the year so far, by a mile. Leaving the pub we had just 15 miles to go and this section contains some of my favourite riding around Hindleep Warren where there are very long slightly down hill sections that seem to go on forever.All the time I was on the look out for the 'Hatch Inn' which marks the start of the decent down to the bottom of Kidd's hill, aka 'The Wall'. Being the first one to arrive, I stopped to let Trevor know we were about to arrive at the 'The wall'  and then watched as he and  Malcolm set off at their own pace to best the climb. Trevor went on to achieve the 86th best ride of all time out of 1541 riders which is impressive for a first ever ride up this famed climb. For myself, I was content just to plod up there and achieve a not so impressive 1388th best ride of all time, LOL. I was worried about Derek managing to get up the climb but thanks to Dan's encouragement he was only a little way behind me.

Refreshment Time At Hever

Another Hell Of Ashdown completed in excellent weather, we will be back for more punishment
 next year.

April 12 Friday Chaingang- Stuart Soaked Again

Tadros Knocks Everyone Down a Place!

Thank goodness that's over!

Weather forecast said

You would not believe its only 8:00 pm

light showers petering out so despite a shower just having passed I was confident of a mainly dry ride. At the last minute I fortuitously  grabbed a packable water proof just in case.First rider to show up was Malcolm but he said he was going to have to go home as he had forgotten to put his lights on. Fortunately I have two front and two back lights and so was able to give him half of mine. By 7:35 no one else had arrived, we assumed the showers had put people off, than at the last moment Chris W and Stuart appeared. With the wind behind us it was a very easy ride along the sea defences and through the reserve, I was moving at around 25 mph with no real effort. As we pressed on through the reserve it became very dark and ahead of us the sky was full of black clouds. Malcolm agreed with me that this looked to be more than a light shower. Sure enough it soon started to rain heavily so we pulled over at the 'Kettle of fish chip shop' so that myself and Malcolm could pull on our rain proofs while Chris seemed to be OK with the jacket he already had on. Poor old Stuart only had an ordinary jersey and was soaked thorough, he was beginning to suffer the cold and needed to get going. Unfortunately the road into Rye was being re surfaced so we had to walk along the pavement a short way to get around all the heavy machinery. Malcolm, Chris and Stuart accelerated away from me up the Udimore road but as usual I quite enjoy the solitude of this long drag. At Broad Oak we discussed whether we would do Stonestile or stick to the main road. Often when the road is wet we give it a miss but with all the talk of Pete Tadros finally joining starva and claiming the KOM for stonestile we thought we would give it a go, although Chris wasn't sure he could get up there with his high geared fixie. On the approach to Stonestile it was clear that Stuart was getting colder and colder , this was not a night when he was going to improve his PB and try to catch Matt on the stonestile rankings. Chris bravely battled his way up the first incline but when his foot came out of the pedal it was game over and he had to walk the rest of the climb.Award of the week must go to Stuart for being the wettest (and coldest) rider having been soaked through on both the Wednesday and Friday chaingangs. Looking ahead, the weather is finally going to warm up (if you can trust the weather forecasts!)

A very proud gang indeed

Lance Armstrong says that one of the proudest feelings he has on a bike is when he's out training in weather no one else dares go out in. Every mile is a mile gained on those who chose to stay at home. Every turn of the pedals a break away. Tonight the depleted chain-gang of six were a very proud gang indeed.

We pushed out along Bexhill promenade and very soon I found it difficult to keep my eyes open. It was as if I had dustbin lids for eyes. It seemed not a single icy rain coated lump of grit wasn't destined for my retinas. Scything straight through my corneas at great velocity off the wheel in front. Stuart Hodd, Barny Willard, Simon Newall, myself and (apologies) a couple of Eastbourners whose names I missed, made good time along to Cooden and were surprised and pleased to find Herbrand Walk has had a little new tarmac laid. Stuart exorcising his demons having impact punctured on this very patch before the repair a couple of weeks ago.

With six very evenly paced riders we made a very efficient six man break away. Each man came through strong and took his turn at the front as we made our way to Pevensey, aided by a slight tailwind. We reached the roundabout together and said farewell to our Eastbourne comrades. I recounted tales of cobbles, Cancellara and riding the famous concrete velodrome as the hazy sun came up on my recent trip to Roubaix. Barny amazed us with his seventh place overall in his recent Tour of Crete, elbowing Italians over dusty mountain passes. And with those heady clement moments now seeming but distant memories we performed a hasty turnaround and headed back into the fierce night towards Cooden before we took on any more water.

Into a stiff headwind and driving rain the four of us again showed good pace and rotation. The wind was brutal and stopped me in my tracks on a couple of occasions when taking my turn at the sharp end of our plucky quartet. Soaked to the skin we were soon onto the final sprint to the lights. Barny pulled alongside me at the head of bunch, and it seemed the group was stalling, preparing for the sprint, positioning, breaking ranks. Having toiled like a band of brothers along the marsh road now we were about to betray and deceive our own kin. Stuart went first, closely followed by Simon, Barny and I responded. We regrouped. Barny attacked and I just managed to hold his wheel, as he seemed to fade I tried to capitalise and went myself. As Stuart and Simon came back at me, Barny launched another surprise attack shooting past us all and opening a bit of a gap. My lungs burst to stay in touch. As we neared the lights Stuart came through strong with Simon tucked in behind.

We didn't hang around and headed straight back to Hastings as the weather seemed to deteriorate further, giving us a good hiding up and over Galley Hill. Stuart and I who are suckers for an incline had a nice tussle up the slope, to keep warm if nothing else. Along St. Leonards sea front I took my final turn up front, using the last fumes of energy I had in my legs to give my team a little tow before I peeled off up Maze Hill. As I heard them hiss and slice off into the night my steaming breath bellowed from my lungs.

A very proud gang indeed.       

Trevor Deeble.

 

Club Run 7/4- Wittersham Wonder

Finally Arriving At Lydd- Glad to get Out Of The Wind

For todays club run I had mapped out a new ride over the marsh called the 'Wittersham Wonder'. Light winds are essential for any Romney Marsh riding and today's did not disappoint with only light easterly winds and the promise of lots of sunshine. Ivan and Malcolm just made it to the Harrow as we left bang on 9:10, Malcolm had a good excuse in that there was a tiny leak in his front tub that would require a pump up every 30 minutes or so.The ride out across the Marsh on the main road to Lydd was hard as even a light easterly wind gets to be a drag after 15 miles and we didn't work together very well being all strung out along the road in about 4 separate groups. Turning north West from Lydd onto the maze of marsh roads was a great relief and we could enjoy the wind shelter from the hedgerows. The route through these very quiet lanes free from potholes was very pleasant and we made very good time arriving at Ruckinge where we had to ride along a fast B road before turning off for Appledore heath. Ivan had dropped a little bit behind us at this point, we all turned right to head towards Wittersham but he missed the turn and ended up going straight over the road junction for Appledore.When myself and Paul B realised he was missing we rung him up  to find out where he was but Ivan told us his legs were blown and he was going home along the direct route via Appledore. We set off after the others who had not realised there had been a problem. From here a few more hills started to appear and with just the two of us there was no chance for much drafting. The old legs started to feel tired. Despite this I really enjoyed this lumpy section riding through Wittersham and onto Peasmarsh. Myself and Paul had given up hope of ever seeing the others when the familiar appearance of a HSCC top appeared with Malcolm waiting at the side of the road. He told us the others were only just ahead and that he had stopped to shed some excess clothing. Before too long we were all together except for John and Andy who had set off on a more direct route home, anxious to get back to see Rugby/Roubaix on the telly.Malcolm's leak seemed to have got a little bit worse as we were having to stop about every 20 mins to pump it up, Malcolm was apologetic about the hold ups but I was secretly glad as it gave me a bit of time to flush out some lactic acid from the old legs. Simon left us at this point as he needed to get back home but he had a rough idea of the route and said he would complete it by riding up battery Hill.Going down the Udimore road instead of up (Fri chain) was a treat but once we got to Winchelsea the easy riding was well and truly over and more work was going to be demanded of our tired legs. First obstacle was the 8% climb up the Winchelsea ramp. Next up was negotiating the ups and downs of Wickham rock lane.Then, rather than continue along panel lane (as I was expecting) the route took us along watermill lane. This is a lovely piece of road with a roller coaster profile i.e you are either going up or going down. Normally I would have really enjoyed this segment but all I could think of was getting up to the coastguard cafe and stuffing my face with coffee and cake. The final hurdle before this dream could be realised was Peter James lane which brought us halfway up battery hill. It was all I could do to keep moving and had to slump over the handlebars at the end for a few seconds to let my heart rate drop down to something near normal before finishing the climb and into the delights of the cafe.At the cafe I got a text from Simon who had just got back home telling that he had never gone up battery Hill so slowly, so its good to know that I wasn't the only one with tired legs, however by the time he got back he had done 88 miles, lol.

Malcolm's Tub Trouble Allows Me A Much Needed breather

Everyone really seemed to enjoy this new route, I would definitely say its one of my better ones and it has acted  as  good training for the far harder 'Hell of Ashdown' next Sunday (5,675 feet of climbing as opposed to just 2,580 feet on this ride, yikes!)
  I just hope my fitness level increases in time otherwise I will suffer even more.

5/4- Fri Chaingang: Stuart Storms Stonestile

Stuart Hodd- First Time Friday Chainganger

After many weeks of disruption to the Friday chaingang due to bad weather and Saturday riding commitments, I had made a special effort to encourage riders to turnout this week. Yet again it was cold and this time there was a strong easterly wind to make riding unpleasant. I was concerned that only one or two of us would show up but in the end the only a few  regulars were missing (still no Ivan!). There on his first ever Friday chaingang was Stuart Hodd, one of the fastest riders from the Wednesday chaingang. This gave us a total of seven riders which is not a bad turnout . Now the clocks have gone forward , the descent of battery Hill felt a lot safer in the light and we were easily able to avoid the potholes. On reaching the sea wall we were battered by the cold head wind, causing the gang to quickly fragment into three small groups. I was thankful that I had put a T shirt on under my jersey for extra insulation as there was a large windchill factor .For a while I sheltered behind the two riders in the slow group but felt strong enough to go past them and try to leapfrog onto the back of the second group but couldn't quite make it and ended up in no man's land for the rest of the sea wall.

Third Fastest Ascent Of All Time, On His first Ever Climb!!!!

 On entering the reserve we slowed the pace down and gingerly crossed over the area of the path with the dumped pebbles. On regrouping at Rye we realised that Steve D was no where in sight, perhaps he had punctured? We waited quite a while and were about to phone him when he finally appeared. He told us he had not seen the pebbles and had hit them head on, losing the front wheel and falling off on his shoulder which felt stiff and  painful. Steve D decided to carry so we all headed up the long drag towards Broad Oak.This is where its every man for himself and the others soon disappeared from sight leaving me at the back but steve D with his painful shoulder some way behind me. I wasn't too concerned at being dropped and just decided to plod up the 5 mile drag at my own pace. Much to my surprise Strava later informed me later that this was a PB for me on this section! On regrouping at Broad Oak we expected to have a long wait for the injured Steve D but in the event he was only a few minutes behind me and sailed past us, thanking us for waiting. On the approach to Stonestile, Stuart was getting anxious about the climb as he had never done it before. We rode in front of the others and I told him I would point out where it starts. As we past the final bend of the approach Stuart was unleashed and with the most incredible acceleration up a hill I have seen for a long time, he was gone and round the first bend of the hill while myself and the others were still labouring up the initial 18% slope. Feeling slightly over geared, I struggled up the hill arriving breathless at the top (but surprisingly gaining another PB) meeting up with Stuart who scarcely seemed out of breath. Stuart said he would treat this first ascent as a reconnaissance as he didn't know where to really push himself, I told him I reckoned his effort would definitely be a top ten ascent as I had never seen anyone accelerate up Stonestile like that before. I turned out to be correct, as Stuart's climb was actually the third fastest of all time with only the unknown rider Matt Hull and Weds chaingang hard man Matt Reynolds above him. Stuart really enjoyed the Friday chaingang (a very different beast to the weds one) and intends to come again, it was great having him ride with us, there is good a chance that Matt R will lose this particular KOM by the end of the season, lol.

Greetings From Chris C and Chris P In Cyprus

Chris P and Chris C are out in Crete at the moment cycling with some friends.

They send us their regards and tell of the glorious sunshine they are enjoying! A bit different to the weather conditions here, LOL

leaving Bexhill our faces were shotblasted by spiky balls of ice . . . chaingang of Belgian proportion 3/4/13

Flurries of snowflakes  danced up the street as I set off, keen to burn off some Easter chocolate and break the seal on zero miles for nearly two weeks. Good rest is just as crucial as hard efforts, think about it.  Actually I was feeling crap with a bit of a cold, anyway as snow increased I wasn't about to turn back, partly from  sheer momentum of 20 minutes spent getting ready,  whatsmore the forecast said no snow, ergo, this snow was surely a mistake and must soon stop, the phone weather app said so. The evidence of my eyes contradicted; a looming great dark gray cloud blotted out the western sky.  Along the seafront Joggers , pedestrians scurrying for shelter,  all stared at me as I passed by , I grinned back - they couldn't believe what they were seeing - a man - on a racing bike - in the snow? 

At the meet we chatted about new bikes, the Paris Roubaix and I kept an eye out for a mooted guest appearance of a certain local TT ace  but given the inclemency I was surprised that anyone came out at all.  In fact we had a very good turnout - a half dozen or so of our amigos came west from  Eastbourne and surrounds , and another dozen or so from the usual places. Hastings own fitter than a butchers dog er, hard man Matt R seemed to be doing most of the  pace making. Speaking of which, I shudder to think the hours I've sliced off my life whizzing my heart to the limit, just to hang in the wheels of stronger riders, such is the lot of a wily old wolf with one maybe, two half decent sprints left in him. Anyway -as we left Bexhill, a blast of sleet opened up in our faces, temporarily blinding those with no eye protection and fogging those with. Someone cried out in pain and for a split second as we all slowed  in reaction to this barrage I thought we'd stop, but no, a new brave soul went on the front and we rode through, sometimes its the best thing to do with storms. It was ragged for a while, but as we squinted and slowly became numbed by this icy assault, easing right up on the slippery corners with a thin layer of slush, then cranking up the pace again. As we got a strong rhythm going I heard experienced road racer Shaun R shout with a smile "Looking Good !" and then exclaim appropriately  "just like BELGIUM!" and he was spot on - Belgians are the primo cycling hardmen, all cobbles and mud and pain and sleet and storms as any fule kno.


Chaingang chief Steve C was good to his word and filmed us ascending Spooky Hill, how he didn't freeze to the spot I dont know! Putting on some speed for Steve I blew myself  up seconds  later  and was dropped by Matt and the others. Soon Nick W came along tho' pulling a  small group and I sat in grateful for a tow. Nick's face, eyes blitzed,  ice dripping off his chin, no goggles, was a grim, grainy black and white picture, straight out of the Belgian book of pain.

 We said goodbye to our western friends and return journey was more of the same, this time I stayed on Matt's wheel when he went off the front,  Stuart H and a small group worked together effectively chasing.  More Belgians trooped in in twos and threes.

See you all next week for more adventures.

chris w