Early Bird ride - Just The Two Of Us

Nice to Meet You Mark!

Only myself and Ivan were present for this morning's early bird ride, a few others said they were coming but failed to show. Good to see Ivan again , he has been out of action with a dodgy ankle so arrived on his geared bike rather than his fixed wheel with the ankle heavily strapped. The weather was brilliant being cooler than it has been of late with a gentle wind that kept changing direction. This is a great fast route ideal for a quick ride or for the winter. On the road up to Broad Oak we got chatting to another rider named Mark Palmer.Mark lives in London but quite often comes down to Robertsbridge where his nan lives. He is more into mountain biking than road cycling and quite often goes on the south Downs so hopefully he can ride there with us sometime. Today he was just getting used to a second-hand road bike he had just bought from eBay in order to do the 'Ride London' event taking place next weekend. Mark kept up with us for a little while but eventually got dropped as myself and Ivan got into our stride for the long drag all the way up to Cripp's corner. More climbing took us to our highest point at Brightling, from there is was mostly downhill with exhilarating riding all the way back to St leonard's and well deserved coffee and toasted tea cakes at cafe on the beach.

Bewl Water- Singles Hour

Single Or Double?

Steve D Has Gone Full Suss!

Now that we have moved on a month beyond the summer equinox I was happy to use the fading daylight hours as a good excuse to do a single loop rather than a double loop of Bewl. Paul B and Steve D were waiting for me and Derek when we arrived, they had  already done one loop. this was very mild for Paul as the last time he came to Bewl he completed nine laps continuously (that's got to be a record!) . Knowing I only had one lap to do made it much more enjoyable as I could push myself  a bit harder  knowing that I would not have to save energy for the second (endurance lap) . I managed to hold Paul and Steve in sight as far as the halfway road section but they lost me soon after that. Derek was last man home by some margin but this turned out to be caused by his rear hydraulic calliper rubbing badly on the disc. For me, this was the most enjoyable Bewl ride this season, from now on I am a singles man rather than a double.

Ninfield times for Wednesday 24 July

Possible PB For Dave?

What promised to be another fast evening for the Ninfield circuit turned out well, but not as well as last week. In a field of 14 riders there were 5 PBs, 7 had gone quicker this year, Club Chairman Peter Campany has gone quicker in previous years and Malcolm's extended run of woe continued with a mechanical DNF despite wearing the number 23 when setting off at 13.

Stuart Hodd (35:20) won the event with Simon Newell (35:48) coming second with another PB after last week's and many years of riding the circuit. You do not have to be in the flush of youth to keep getting better!

Tim Knocks Almost Two Minutes Off His Time!

Trevor Deeble (35:55 PB) was back from following the Tour de France to take third place ahead of juniors Joe Kingsman (36:12 PB) and Joe Jenner (37:16) in fourth and fifth places.

Sixteen year old Tim Conneally (44:08 PB) had a great ride coming in almost two minutes quicker than last week.

The fastest time was a private time trial by In Gear's Barney Willard (34:12) who was 33 seconds off his PB set last week which suggests the evening was not as fast as last week despite the 5 PBs.

See the attached table of times. Dave Connor is marked as a PB but I do not have times for more than three years back readily to hand so it may not be, but as with Simon you do not have to be a youngster to keep going quicker!

Make sure you turn up next Wednesday (31 July) for the last Ninfield circuit of the year and see if it is going to be another evening with a good number of PBs.  The post event gatherings at the Red Lion, Hooe, have also been rather good these last two weeks

Jon Meets The 'The Badger'

As a finale to my visit to the Tour I met Bernard Hinault a true cycling legend. Just as I thought that my cheeky jump onto the podium couldn't be topped I
happened upon a meet and greet with Bernard Hinault 5 time Tour winner and Christian Prudhomme the Tour director in a swanky shopping centre in Paris. I
knew this was a never to be repeated opportunity and duly joined the queue before it got too long. He was very gracious and I summoned up my best french to
tell him it was an honour to meet him. We shook hands and posed for the photo. I left with a signed photo card for the scrapbook. I cannot imagine that you could
get so involved with another sport at the top level and this made my whole Tour experience extra special. I take away memories of Froome attacking on Ventoux,
stunning scenery, passionate fans, the party on Dutch corner, riding Ventoux with my son as the sun crested the summit, the impromptu use of the display tent at
Decathlon in Gap, watching the Sky team load Froomes bike into the boot like it was the most precious thing ever, seeing the mechanics strip down Cavs bike
and leave it within touching distance of the fans,and so much more.

Jon Stainsbury

Froome brings it home and I nearly made off with the podium sign!

John Stainsby reports from the last day of Le Tour.

Couldn't resist jumping onto the podium it was just there in front of me. I tried to blag the sign but the minder was having none of it despite me name dropping
Chris Parker! The final was electric with the riders coming round the Arc de Triomphe just in front of me. I climbed up the large TV screen to join an American
who insisted on giving me beer all afternoon. Who was I to refuse. This vantage point gave me a birds eye view as the peleton came around. David Millar put in a
valiant breakaway before being swallowed up as the pace increased. There was a fly past with coloured smoke trailing and everywhere union jacks flew over the
crowds. As the sun went down Froome pushed his glasses to the back of his helmet and came round alongside Cav. The crowds cheered and people scrambled
up trees,lamposts and craned necks for a glimpse of the action. It did not disappoint and all were witness to a finale to the greatest sporting spectacle on the
planet (ignoring all other lesser sports of course). Around me the beer flowed and people swayed but the good nature was abundant with no trouble. As the riders
flew past on the final lap towards the finish line I joined the masses squeezed in front of the tv screen to witness the drama and roar Cav on. Alas this was not his
day and it was left to Froome to satisfy the fans. The Arc de Triomph was illuminated and on the podium Froome fought back the emotion and almost shed a tear
before regaining his composure.The whole spectacle in Paris was worth the trip alone and I found getting to the stages easy and had no problem with camping
both rough and at sites. If you do one thing visit the Tour and get to Dutch corner on L'Alpe d'Huez and witness the passion of the orange fans. You will see the
drama and the passion that makes this race so epic.

Early Bird- Return To Shadoxhurst

Reaching The Fabled Shadoxhurst- Time To head South

Having really enjoyed the new Shadoxhurst circular a few months back I decided it was well worth a return trip. Despite the good weather there were only three of us, myself, Paul K and Steve D. This route took a direct journey to Rye before heading North on fabulous quiet and wide roads towards the fabled Shadoxhurst near to Ashford. Despite all the roads being 'yellow' C roads they a are wider than most C roads and with only a few climbs this made for fast riding. I felt like I was riding fairly close to flat out on my recently acquired Giant Defy and that I must be breaking lots of Strava segments so I was surprised that I only managed to beat half the segments set last time on my old Rayleigh, so maybe the old girl is not as bad as I thought? Despite having done two hard mtb laps of Bewl the night before, Steve was riding significantly faster than myself, the only time I could get ahead of him was when he had to shift about to give his groin a rest. Paul has been putting in 150 miles a week recently since getting back to road riding and he was also really flying. On the way back we had to slow down for a few 'traditional' Sussex lanes that could do with a big sweeping to remove all the accumulated muck and gravel in the middle of the road. We were now only six miles from the cafe, but to get there we had to climb up Doleham hill and then Peter James lane. these didn't seem quite as hard as last time and I managed a second best on Doleham and a pb on Peter James. As most of the road surface is so good on this route, we will ride this classic route once more in the autumn before the year is out.

H&StL CC Ninfield 10 times

It was a superb evening on Wednesday for the Club TT on the Ninfield circuit.  There were some great times for the field of 15 starters

7  PBs
2 SBs
1 first time ever
4 have been quicker
1 DNF

So make sure you all turn up next week if these fine conditions continue, turn up anyway since we will probably have several returners from following the Tour de France back to tell tales of what they got up to.  See the great write up by Jon Stainsby posted on the BLOG.

With Trevor away Stuart Hodd (35:11 PB) bagged another win to consolidate his second place in the Points Table behind Malcolm whose run of woe continued with a puncture and DNF.

Simon Newell (36:23) took another second place with an all time PB after many seasons riding the circuit, a very good indication of how good the evening was and also how Simon has kept on improving over many years.

Juniors Joe Jenner (37:03) PB and Joe Kingsman (37:38) took third and fourth place, might it have been different if JK had been on his TT bike?

After helping out time keeping John Vidler (39:27) was back racing for fifth place and a  PB.

Stu Bags Another Win!

Note that Greg Blackwell's time has been revised after checking post event, but he still did a SB.  There is one other query by someone who did a PB, I am inclined to leave the time as is since he will no doubt do a PB next time on the course.  My records indicate that the given time is OK but there is a possibility the time is one minute out.  Had the stop watch with a memory of 100 times not failed after setting riders off the query could have been resolved for sure, the back up watch does not have a memory.  A new 100 memory stop watch has been ordered!

And what made it an even better evening was a good gathering in the balmy evening for rehydration at the Red Lion, not that time keeping had dehydrated me that much ……..

Could have written more but lunch time is over.

CLUB EVENTS:  Wednesday 17/7 we are back at Ninfield with an 18:30 sharp sign on time

Wed.    24 July Ninfield 14                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00
Wed.    31 July Ninfield 14                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00
Wed.    7 Aug   Broad Oak 8                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Sign on for Ninfield is in Downs View (TN33 9JF) off Church Lane i.e. 200 yards south of the main road.  Please sign on ASAP.  Most weeks after the Ninfield 14 we will go in the Red Lion Hooe for a chat, if not riding some turn up at the finish just for this!

    Chris Parker

Jon Reports From Mont Ventoux At Le Tour

I'm out with my son following the Tour. Saw Froome storm up Ventoux and watched the finish on the in car tv courtesy of the Leopard Trek team car. We rose at
5am the next day to take on the mountain ourselves and as the sun was starting to turn the top of the peak pink we crept out of Bedoin to start our challenge.
Starting early was worth it as the sun chased us up through the trees on 12% climbs and we were cheered on by the die hard camper vans still on the hill. It was
humbling to remember how fast the peleton had passed and as the trees thinned the rocks beckoned like a moonscape. We took a few breaks and were tested
on hill starts. Onwards and upwards the summit taunted us and the heat was on our backs like a monkey. There was no relief from the incline and below us jets

were wheeling and breaking the sound of our breathing. Past the memorial with a nod to Tom Simpson and then it was there the top and glory. To share this
experience with my son was unforgettable and will be a memory to treasure. The hard slog over we drank in the view and took the photos. Now the descent aah
the speed and my hands! We swept past the hoards who had slept in and had that extra croissant and were now suffering in the heat. Overtaking cars and not
daring to look down as each bend rushed towards us we left the mountain. Left Ventoux that day and stopped in Gap to see the finish. We missed the campsite
and then came across a Decathlon car park full of campers. This was right on the finish straight and we bagged a space. Not wanting to waste the opportunity
we made use of a display tent for the night and left before opening. We claimed our spot at the 100m marker and settled in for the day. It was a long wait but we
had the stage on a large screen to watch opposite and after the madness of the publicity caravan the riders flashed past in a blur. I managed to move along to
catch the podium and snap a few photos of Froome. The crowds were ok and I was pleased to be tall. After we got to get close up at the OMPL bus and see
Cavs bike close up. The speed of the mechanics was amazing. Couldn't find the Sky bus as it was hidden away. Froome was swifted into a media scrum and
later emerged to be taken away in the Sky Jaguar with his bike gently placed in the boot like the Crown Jewels. We're now at Chorges to see the TT and then off
to L'Alpe d'Heuz and Dutch corner for the party! Will round off with the finish in Paris and then home for a rest!

John Stainsby

Great Cheese Scone Run Saturday 13 July , although Sue goes AWOL !!!!

I was down for the Early Bird meet at 08:00 to chat to the early bird lads before they set off to leave me for a peaceful  read of the papers and a bacon butty.  Back home to get a bike and return to the Bridge Café for coffee and toast and chat with those having a cuppa before the Bacon Butty Run set off at 10:00.  A good group of nine set off, three regulars, three occasionals and three first timers, a nice mix.  These rides are great for those loosening legs before a hard ride on Sunday (ESCA 50 mile TT for me) and are suitable for those not used to club runs and interested in seeing what they might be like.  Barney and Sue made a rare appearance having an easy ride (very easy for them!) before starting an 8 day Strava challenge on Sunday: 8000m of climbing in 8 days.  Both are well in to road racing etc so great to have them along to chat and share their knowledge, particularly with new comers to club cycling.

We did the usual route with me riding and chatting with the back markers after Whydown as some went ahead, no problem when you reassemble at set points.  Sue had been chatting to me then set off to catch those ahead.  When we regrouped at Kiln Lane Sue was missing!!!!  This is a classic when someone not familiar with a route leaves people behind and sets off to catch an out of sight front group without knowing a turn, but normally someone should wait at any turn to direct those who are out of sight, a system that has worked very well for over a century. Usually we regroup at the T junction before we get in to Hooe since as a rule we fork left to go past the Red Lion to get off the rat run, newbies would not know that, so that would have prevented Sue going awol.  Barney set off to find her and the rest of us continued and regrouped in the car park of the Lamb Wartling after the tough little ascent of Horsewalk.

As we chatted Barney and Sue reappeared!  One of our first timers had to get back to work in the afternoon so we decided to stick as a group going directly back via Normans Bay and have coffee in Bexhill for a change.  Eight of us ended up in a prime position in the sun on the sea front outside the Sovereign Cafe, which does some of the very best cheese scones around.  First timer Rob joined me in sampling the top class cheese scones with Tim on his first every club run being true to brand having a bacon butty. We heard all about Peter's training camp in Majorca, he is a regular visitor out there and now he is in to cycling had hired a very well equipped carbon framed bike to get some sunny miles in.  Majorca is always very busy with cycle training camps in the early part of the year as Brits in particular escape our winter to get pre season miles in.  Now it is racing season the number of cyclists is probably down, so does that mean more good quality bikes available to hire?

Had we gone to Chilley Farm, top class cheese straws for those not in to bacon, we may well have met up with the returning early birders as we have done in the past, but obviously not this week as we changed plans to suit the group.

With racing and other things on I cannot do regular Saturday morning Bacon Butty / Cheese Scone Runs but there is no reason why others cannot get together.  A designated leader would be ideal if any one was prepared to commit but some weeks several have met and done their own thing together.  When I am not out if I know early enough I can try and put anyone who wants to ride in touch with each other.

Chris Parker

Early Bird Road Ride- Heathfield Circular

Paul And Colin, Worse For Wear!

Great to get Paul k back out again with us after nearly a year. Paul had made a special effort to join us even though he was nursing a bad hangover as indeed  was Colin (but that's not so unusual!). Also great to see Metin, Mike and Nathan. Paul asked me not to do a ride with any more than 50 miles but what I hadn't told him was that this ride had almost three and a half thousand feet of climbing! Despite their hangovers, Paul, and Colin set a rapid pace up Harley chute with me falling some way back from everyone else despite me setting a strava pb for this segment. Lots of climbing followed through Crowhurst and on to Penshurst where we all safely negotiated the famous 'dogs leg'  by the tower.I was nicely warmed up by now and enjoying riding my recently acquired Giant Defy. Paul was still suffering from his hangover but you wouldn't know if from how well he was riding. There was a fabulous two mile decent down into Burwash which would have been even better had the road surface on this lane not been in such a terrible state, the council really should be ashamed.Heading west we soon reached Heathfield before heading south for home. This meant we were were cycling parallel to the way we had rode up and would now have to climb up the Burwash valley. This wasn't as bad as we expected and we made good time to Chilley farm and a rendezvous with bacon sarnies. Parked outside the farm was a Giant Defy almost identical to mine, I was just wondering who it belonged to when out popped our very own Joe Jenner. He had missed the departure of the bacon butty boys and said he would tag along with us on the way back.All that was left was the ride back along the Weds chaingang route. Everyone except Paul (who was happy to ride with me and have a chat), shot off at their own pace and were soon gone and out of sight. It felt strange but enjoyable being back on a long road ride again after all the recent mtb riding, Paul has persuaded me to do another (longer) one next week.

H&StL CC Pevensey 10 results Wednesday 10 July

Times and positions were impacted for some by the erection of traffic lights after the event had started …….  Many thanks to Ollie's Mum Angela for stepping in and taking over the start timekeeper duties with Stuart Crabb pushing off, hopefully every week from now on!

Simon Newell (24:54) won the event after his third place (*) last week with Joe Jenner (25:03) getting faster and just taking second place now his exams are over.  Joe Kingsman and Stuart Hodd tied (25:05) for third place with Malcolm Daly (25:06) fifth, there just being four seconds between the four riders, with Simon only 9 seconds clear of them!

Ollie Chapman (27:00) set an excellent PB by over a minute bettering his PB set on Saturday which was a PB by two minutes from two weeks earlier, at this rate he will be sub 24 minutes in a month ……..!!!!!

(*) Last week's time for Simon Newell was wrong - his finish position not his start position had been subtracted from the stop watch time and I had not realised until after this week's event when wondering why Simon had gone so much quicker than last week.  He had in fact gone slower than the correct time of 24:28 when he came in ahead of Trevor Deeble (missing in France watching the Tour for a few days, as other members are) but a fraction behind Stuart Hodd.  Sometimes there are simple maths errors which are readily resolved if the time keeper is queried when they have finished their business.  But one query this week did not stand! If all else fails the time keeper is always right……..

CLUB EVENTS:  Wednesday 17/7 we are back at Ninfield with an 18:30 sharp sign on time

Wed.    17 July Ninfield 14                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00 
Wed.    24 July Ninfield 14                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00 
Wed.    31 July Ninfield 14                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00 
Wed.    7 Aug   Broad Oak 8                             Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Sign on for Ninfield is in Downs View (TN33 9JF) off Church Lane i.e. 200 yards south of the main road.  Please sign on ASAP.  Most weeks after the Ninfield 14 we will go in the Red Lion Hooe for a chat, if not riding some turn up at the finish just for 

Reigate Rouleur sportive

Cycling my first sportive with the club, the Tour of the Weald, back in April in near-freezing conditions was a great learning experience. I rode it too conservatively on the day, and would have enjoyed it far more if I had had the confidence to go a bit harder. With this in mind I picked out the Reigate Rouleur on the first weekend of July to have another go at a sportive. The course looked really good – a combination of lanes around Surrey I’d never ridden, a grand loop around the Sevenoaks Weald going past some fancy country houses, pretty villages and a reservoir.

Myself, Steve Denny, and my friend Scott who I’d ridden the Tour of the Weald with, all arrived at the start with the same thought: it’s only 8:30 and it’s intensely hot. Steve said the sweat was already running down his back. Scott wasn’t too worried about the sun, being a tough Scot and all, but thought having only one water bottle on the bike wasn’t ideal.

I’d hoped for dry, warm weather, but riding 85 miles – the longest distance I’d attempted – on what was forecast to be the hottest day of the year was going to be a real challenge. Steve Denny was in great form, regularly doing personal bests in the club time trials and getting the miles in in preparation for the London 100. He set off just ahead of Scott and me, and after just 10 minutes he was out of sight, not seen again until after we’d finished. Scott and I rode together as planned, rolling effortlessly along lovely quiet and flat country roads, enjoying the sunshine, and lamenting the fact that there weren’t more hill-free, sheltered areas like this around Hastings.

The route was really well signposted, with orange ribbons tied to trees and bushes to indicate you were still on the right road. There was a pretty wide mix of riders taking part. We rode past a ladies-only cycle club all wearing the same purple and black kit, and there were quite a few other female riders doing the full distance. The Redhill Cycling Club were there in large numbers, storming through to the front early on. We also passed a dad riding with his teenaged son who had a one of those cool looking junior-size racers.

Scott and I had reached the first feed station feeling pretty good, if a bit hot, having got through most of the water we had in a surprisingly short amount of time. There was 1,250 metres of climbing on the route, which it didn’t really seem like we’d covered any of. I was about to find out why - as we came into the Sevenoaks Weald we hit the biggest climb of the sportive which took us over a bridge over a motorway and up into a forest. It was a similar gradient to Battery Hill, and just as tough. It was shortly followed by another long ascent up through more forest and up into a village. Scott is a quick and steady climber so went on ahead on each hill, overtaking riders as if they were stationary. It was impressive to see, and I only managed reach the top with him on one of the three big climbs. I did pass a lot of other riders though, so I knew I wasn’t doing badly!

By the time we got to Toys Hill - the last big climb of the day - I was feeling pretty spent, and was keen to get to the feeding station. Most other riders were feeling the same - I remember slowly crawling past a guy that had decided to walk his nice-looking road bike up. Scott had run out of water by this point, and wasn’t keen on the caffeinated energy drink I had, after seeing the effect it had on me. I was five-espressos-in-a-row kind of wired. When we eventually saw the feed station in the distance I let out an overexcited cheer. Scott said, he was feeling pretty rough now that we’d stopped, but strangely enough not while he was riding. With a bit of water he was back to his usual self though.

Everyone seemed to suffering in the heat, and the only thing to do was just keep squirting water over yourself. I took to doing this almost every mile of the final part of the course – a fast, mostly flat 19 miles. It was a great finale to what was an excellent sportive. We caught up with Steve Denny at the car park. He’d ridden with the Redhill riders over the first half of the course, before they took the mid-route split, and he managed to yo-yo between different groups over the rest of the course. He got a well-deserved silver time band, clocking 135K in 5h 35mins including stops. Scott and I crossed the line in 6h 10mins, just missing the bronze time band by 4 minutes. I will definitely be pencilling it in for 2014, and will push to hit the silver time.

Metin

Jack And Jill West - Off Road

Go West (Not So) Young Men!

We started at the jack and Jill windmills car park again like last week, but this time we were heading west instead of east. This route provided fabulous riding with hot dry weather and over three thousand feet of climbing. It took in what is probably the most impressive part of the whole South Downs Way with three massive hills that had to be ridden over in both directions :Devils Dyke, Edburton Hill, and Truleigh Hill. It wasn't until a place called Annington Hill that we finally came off the SDW to head south on a new loop we had never done before. This turned out to be an excellent diversion as it took us down some nice fast wide tracks past Lancing college before some a gentle road section that took us back to the bottom of Truleigh Hill. The first section of Truleigh Hill is really tough, being steep, long and worse of all  full of loose rubble. I was worried that my front wheel would lift up , cause me to lose momentum and then I would have to walk all the way up. However, the flat bars I had fitted to lower my centre of gravity did the trick and I managed to stay in the saddle all the way. After this, the long grind up the road section of the hill seemed easy. After getting past Devils Dyke , we had a choice. We could either be lazy and just keep going on the SDW all the way back to the start or we could do the big loop around the downs called the Sussex Downs path. We all felt good so left the downs to do the loop. At first this didn't look too promising as it was a bit over grown and full of dry brown loose soil but before too long the surface became firmer, the tracks wider and this turned out to be an excellent diversion from the SDW which took us back to the windmills (I should have more faith in the guide book!) We all really enjoyed this ride and agreed its the best off roader we have done this year. We award it 5 stars.

Duncan Rolling Past Lancing College

First of 2 Wednesday evening Pevensey 10s

Riders that did not turn up missed out on the opportunity of a good 10 time last night on the revised Pevensey course. Malcolm Daly (23.52) recorded only his third sub 24 (second in 10 days) to win with excellent times from second and third placed Stuart Hodd (24.24) and Trevor Deeble (24.33), both surely being PBs (cycling stats are hard work to keep track of, not a like simple sport like football !) ? It was great to see Mr B turn up, it must have been a warm evening for Mark Brittle (25.03) to dust off one of his racing irons and take fourth place. Joe Jenner (25.44) came in fifth.  Joe Kingsman (26.27) was on his road bike whilst the glue was setting on the tubs of his TT bike ready for the under 17s GHS National SE District heat on Saturday.

It was great to see the TT debut of 16 year old Tim Conneally (30.02) who was agonisingly close to breaking evens. Tim had been out on one chain gang with his friend Martyn Matt (where are you and why are you not turning up to ride, Jack Heyes and other youngsters too!  Exams must be over now) in the dead of winter but had the misfortune of hitting one of the bad potholes on Spooky Hill to puncture both tyres and damage a wheel rim, so Dad's sag wagon had to be called out.

Many thanks to John Vidler for stopping by on the way back from work and digging us out of a hole by being trained up and acting as a start timekeeper on the night.  The finish timekeeper has to set off early to get to the finish which although, as per regs, is within a mile of the start as the crow flies is a pain to get to.  It was great to have Stuart come and push off, Connie still has a way to go for full recovery but things are improving. And a big thank you to Derek Millgate for offering days in advance to marshal at Little Common.

Please bring your £3 / £1 entry fee on the night - or else you may find yourself e.g. pushing off or marshalling!!!!  Others have to remember the stop watches, signing on sheets, warning signs, chequer board  etc etc so it not much to ask for every rider to bring their entry fee each week …...

Chris Parker

Friday Chaingang 28 June- Twinkle Toes

Tank And Big Andy

Another three man gang this week gathered at Fairlight on a damp winter’s… I mean summer’s evening. Big Andy Foster and myself met in Battle and rode to Fairlight together where we waited for a while before Steve “tank engine“ Denny joined us to make it 3. No sign again this week of retro brothers Deeble and Watson. Deeble I know was headlining Glastonbury with the rolling stones further compounding my theory that in his world it is still the 1970’s and Watson was probably out on his chopper!
No sign either this week of regular Simon “wobbly” Grogen or Steve “long distance” Butcher.
The three of us headed out for a steady descent of a damp battery hill before stretching our legs a bit along the levels. “Tank engine” pulled away on the stretch to Rye past Camber as big Andy and I got chatting about time trials.
We decided to stay together for a while from Rye to Broad Oak but after about a mile “tank engine” waved big Andy and I on. We stayed together for quite a distance with the big man doing some good work on the front for which I repaid by dropping him like a stone for the last half mile!

PB For Dancing Queen

On regrouping at Broad Oak the big fella and “tank engine” agreed not to do the delightful little climb of Stonestile as big Andy had a tt on Sunday and “tank engine” just didn’t fancy it.
I waved goodbye to my two comrades at Westfield and headed for a one man assault on Stonestile! Feeling good and having watched a youtude video about how Contador dances on his peddles when he climbs I came over all Saturday night fever and made like John Travolta up the hill!
This actually worked and to my surprise resulted in a pb!
Next weeks ride… and dance class will be at the same time and place ( Fairlight lodge 7:30 meet. Leave at 7:35). Look forward to seeing more people