26-27 July - SDW epic

Every year one or two HSLCC members do the South Down Way (SDW) offroad (100 miles) in a day. This is an incredibly hard thing to do. For lesser mortals such as myself it is more than enough just to do it over two days with a camp at roughly the halfway point. Up for this ride were myself, Derek, Ivan, Jon S and Nigel . For Nigel this was going to be a brand new experience as he had never been on the Downs before. The rail companies will not let you book a place for a bike on board the train which caused me some anxiety but in the end the train journey to Winchester went without a hitch and for just £13.50 we arrived at the start of the SDW after a three hour journey.

Arrival In Winchester!

 Feeling peckish we decided to get a snack but made the mistake of choosing a tea shop where we paid for our food but then had to wait what seemed ages for it to arrive.This delayed our start of the ride by at lest half an hour. Eventually we set off for the SDW which was picked up straight away by the GPS  and before long we were out of Winchester and enjoying easy riding through the undulating western end of the route.

Thank Goodness We Have Escaped That cafe!

The last time I did the  whole SDW  I was 30 years old and it used to start at Petersfield but a few years later the powers that be decided to extend it to Winchester, adding an extra 20 miles to the route. This SDW extension is a little more broken up than the rest of the route with a few road sections to make it work but we all found it very pleasant easy riding , I cant recall seeing a single car on any of the short road sections, the biggest hazard we faced was another off roader hurting down a hill at great speed towards us dragging an off road trailer behind him! Once we reached the impressive Queen Elizabeth park ( a giant and better maintained version of Friston forest!) we were now on the original route of the SDW and  any road sections were few and far between. We noticed a field full of many large green army tents and wondered what that was all for, we would find out later! I have been on the South Downs hundreds of times but only at the Eastern half, I must say that I prefer the terrain on this Western half, as the climbs are less severe and the ground less rocky, which suits an overweight rider like myself. By now the sun was directly overhead and it was turning out to be one of the hottest days of the year. Foolishly I had chosen a cycle jersey with only a short zip, but found that tucking away the straps on my bib shorts and removing my bandana (usually worn to protect my bald spots from the sun) helped me to just about cope with  the searing heat.We were all well aware of the need to keep drinking to avoid dehydration, filling our bottles back up at every opportunity.

South Downs Selfie!

In the hope of avoiding a headache (successfully achieved), I was also popping in an electrolyte tablet in every refill (zero tablets). By 3:00 pm the temperature was reaching its peak, Derek in particular was suffering and struggling to keep up with us. With about 25 miles left to get to our campsite at Washington, he told us he would prefer to ride at his own pace and would meet us at the there. Eventually we reluctantly agreed and
pressed on without him. Nigel was enjoying his off-road experience a lot more than he expected but due to all his road riding this year had never had the chance to fully test his brakes. This turned out to be a big mistake as basically the calliper/ lever combination didn't work and they were barely powerful enough to stop the bike on the flat let alone on some of the steep down hill sections.This meant he had to take great care downhill, sometimes using his feet to scrub off some speed , somehow he avoided any mishaps except for on one particularly steep section where to avoid knocking down some walkers at the bottom he had to crash his bike instead, luckily rider and machine survived intact while the walkers seemed completely oblivious to how close they had come to being human skittles in a bowling alley.

We Are Happy Riders With Working Brakes!

Look Out These Brakes Don't Work !

 With around 10 miles to go, the temperature had at last dropped a few degrees but fatigue was beginning to creep in. The reason for the mystery army tents now became apparent as there were hundreds of walkers taking part in the Gurkha organised 'Trailwalker Challenge' where people have to walk 100 Km across the SDW (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/trailwalker/the-challenge) , if any of you boys want a new challenge next year, there it is.The walkers looked really tired already with many sporting bandages around knees and ankles, but with so many of them doing it they must have enjoyed a great feeling of camaraderie and mutual support. Unfortunately having to constantly ask people to let us get past slowed us down a great deal and by the time we approached Washington the light was just beginning to fade. The campsite we were heading to was in a perfect location as not only was it about half way on the SDW it was also almost next door to a pub (Frankland arms).The publicans are used to riders stopping by and were very welcoming, the first two pints barely touched the sides,the food here was also excellent. Our thoughts now turned to Derek, how was he getting on? A phone call by the ever thoughtful Nigel  revealed that he had got lost and didn't feel he could could go on. Luckily by sheer fluke he had ended up at Amberley where there is a pub, so we advised him to stay there, order some food and Nigel's girlfriend Lucy would pick him up after dumping our camping gear at the campsite.The campsite owner was so old and laid back that he was almost horizontal and there seemed to be no fixed price for camping, he just plucked a random number out of thin air and charged us the incredibly cheap price of £35 for all of us! The three pints Ivan had drunk effected his coordination quite badly and we watched with amusement as he got more and more worked up trying to erect his tent, only assistance from Jon managed to get the thing erected in time to go to the pub for more beers.

This was One Hill We Didn't Have To get Up!

After a surprisingly refreshing sleep we were up and ready to set off again for the last 45 miles. Derek had decided to abandon and would get a lift home with Lucy in the car. After giving our farewells to Derek  and many thanks to Lucy, without whom this trip could not have happened, we were off for the home leg. We were now on familiar territory with the Downs becoming more severe and rocky. Straight out of Washington was a climb so steep that neither myself or Jon could keep our front wheels down and we had to walk up (not easy to do with look delta cleats on carbon shoes), Nigel and Ivan had no such problem and were climbing even the steepest hills, this would be a repeating pattern . We were feeling peckish but with it being so early nothing was open for food, although we did enjoy some tea and coffee at the Hikers Rest at the bottom of Devil's Dyke. At this point even the normally superhuman Nigel was feeling tired but Ivan having now recovered from his five pints of beer the night before was now in full  'Ivan Power' mode and so bade us farewell as he set off for home at a fast pace. All along I had planned on leaving the SDW at lewes and getting a train back, deciding that 80 miles was enough for me. Nigel was also feeling tired and agreed to do the same but Jon was determined to complete the whole route and so would have to do this on his own. Not long after getting off the train a storm suddenly blew in, the heavens opened and for several hours there was hard rain and flash flooding on the roads, so I was grateful to be off the Downs but did have some concern for Jon who would still have been up there at this point.

This turned out to be a great trip and something we are sure to do again in the future. Many thanks again to Lucy for taking all our kit over and rescuing Derek from Amberly



Steve C

Dunwhich Dynamo 10 memorable Moments!

No 1 - The Apparition

The Start!

Puncturing whilst still in site of the 'Pub on the Green', the 'Angel' who appeared in front of me, offering me a Track Pump when I needed it most.

No 2 - Epping Forest

Feeling the warm, night-time breeze on my face and fueled by adrenalin we 'steamed' through Epping Forest overtaking massed groups of other cyclists.

No 3 - First Pub Stop

Being amazed at the number of cyclist who were drinking pints (some accompanying the beer with a 'fag') at the first pub stop (35 miles into the ride) - the place was absolutely 'heaving'!, I took a sip of water, 'tut-tutted' and pushed on.

No 4 - The Good Samaritan

The pure joy I felt when, after puncturing for the second time and standing alone in a dark lane, I realised the cyclist that passed me, did a 'U-turn' and offered his help, was Nigel!

No 5 - Finding The Source of my Punctures

Ten Miles To Go!

After the fourth puncture (I actually had 5, but the slime tube in the rear tyre fixed the problem after releasing a few PSIs.) a fellow cyclist helped me find the cause of my punctures - a piece of flint 2 atoms wide!. I Thanked him by paying his take-it-or-leave-it price of £8 for a tube - which didn't inflate!, luckily I called him back just in time to ask for a replacement.

No 6 - Boom Boxes

The humerous and quirky musical accompaniment from pannier-mounted 'boom-boxes'.  Loving the pure irony of the guy who had S&Gs 'Sound of Silence' blaring out as we passed through a village at 2am! (not making this up.)

The Finish!

No 7 - First Light

Feeling bewitched by the magic of dawn and watching as sillouhetted trees began filling with colour.  Not knowing, or caring what the time was, where I was , or how much further to go just added to 'the moment'.

No 8 - Arriving at The Ship Pub, Dunwich

Being met by Jon Stainsby whose first words were ' Well done, my dad's doing you a bacon sarnie'.

No 9 - The Bacon Sarnie

Diego!

The Sarnie!

Jon's dad Alan is a 'legend'.  The bacon had just the right amount of crispiness, and was, without doubt, the best sandwich I have ever eaten.

No 10 - The Other Legend

Mid-sandwich I watched in amazement as the guy on the 'Boris Bike' pulled into 'town' - the look on his face said it all - "Top that!" (although the guy on the BMX might well have!)

Peter Buss

19/7 Post Storm Bacon Butty

Following the tremendous storm last night and the threat of some heavy showers, I wasn't too surprised to see only Chris at the Bridge cafe but before too long we were joined by regulars: Matt S, Malc C, Stuart, Peter B and on his first ever HSLCC ride Greg kemble. When Greg had left Westfield it had been raining hard and so he had swapped his light weight Trek Domane for a converted hub geared On-One. This would put him at some disadvantage to the rest of us, although Chris was only on his trusty SCR with flatties and toe clips.

Managing To Lose Greg Has Not Put Him Off Future Rides With Us!

Good steady riding took us through Bexhill where we were to suffer our one and only puncture. With last night's rain some of minor lanes such as Horse walk were slippery and great care was needed. Despite only taking up cycling recently (from a background of fell running and climbing), Greg showed what a strong rider he already is and made  a fast ascent of the climb up to the Lamb Inn. After regrouping we set off at a brisk pace towards windmill hill and as fast as we dared down the various slippery minor lanes leading to Rickney. The road here is closed for bridge repairs but it only took a short dismount to cross over the river with the thoughtfully provided temporary pedestrian bridge. At last , we had arrived at bacon butty heaven (Chile farm). Chris arrived a good five minutes after us, but was surprised to see that Greg was not with us, we were equally surprised to see Chris without Greg. We soon worked out that Greg
must have got stuck in the gap between the main group and Chris (struggling with a bit of a hangover) and must have taken a wrong turn. Oh dear, we felt a bit bad about this but a later email from Greg reassuringly says he is keen to come out with us again!

18/7 Bewl Water- Outpacing The Storm

Chris, Tim And Matt Helped Make A Big Turnout!

Our biggest turnout of the year (eight riders) for Bewl Water including for the first time ever, Bacon Butty regular Matt Shubert. Also there was Chris Heal who we haven't seen for a couple of years and his son Tim. The weather was exceptionally hot and the trail bone dry. Swooping round bends and enjoying the plush ride from the big 29er tyres and suspension post I was soon reminded why mountain biking is so much fun. We set off together with Paul,Malc, Matt and Josef leading. I was hanging off the back together with Chris but once we got to the tough road section I was able to leave Derek and Tim behind. I didn't think I would see the other four again but Matt had waited near the end of the road section, his legs beginning to tyre having come straight to Bewl from a fast lap of the Bedgebury trail. We rode together for the rest of the route, this helped me to get a PB for the whole circuit and the eight fastest recorded Strava lap ever (Matt had forgotten to start his garmin!) Within a few minutes of our return there was a dramatic change in the weather. It became very dark and the strangest cloud formations I had ever seen soon appeared, looking like a massive wall of ice stretching from West to East. Before too long there were flashes of lightening, some serious rain was on its way. By the time we were safely in the pub, the heavens  had opened , leading to flash floods. What a contrast to thirty minutes earlier and what a relief that we had cancelled our planned two day route across the South Downs Way.

Ninfield TT 16 July

There was a good turnout for last night's Ninfield circuit TT, a field of 18 riders and a good number of people at the meet just to chat and Ivan turning up to marshal and keep an eye on the left turn at Pevensey roundabout, many thanks. It also was very pleasant in the garden of the Red Lion rehydrating after the event.
Seventeen year old Joe Kingsman (32.49 PB) had another storming ride to take almost four minutes off his PB from last year and win the event. After a fantastic debut 50 on Sunday of 2.08.10 without ever having ridden a 25 Lee Smith (34.50) came in second at his first attempt on the course.
Stuart Hodd (35.17) was very game to be back riding after a horrendous high speed "Cavendish" style crash in the recent road race on the excellent Fowlmead circuit when eye balls out at around 35mph going for a £500 prize (I believe) only to be heavily leant on and go down to slide along the tarmac for a long way and be relieved to come out of it without any broken bones. Perversely it can be the slow crashes that you come off worse when you hit the deck direct rather than a high speed slide along the road picking up a lot of road rash. See the club BLOG or Facebook write up.
Stuart was only one second ahead of Mark Brittle (35.16) who was only one second ahead of Malcolm Daly (35.17) with Marcus Machell (35.29 PB) in sixth place also breaking 36 minutes.

Jolly Japes At The Ninfield TT!

Storming performance From Joe!

There were a number of season bests and close shaves for SBs on a glorious sunny and warm evening with a bit of a head wind on the run across Pevensey Marsh to the roundabout and a bit of assist on the main road stretch to the Lamb on the Marsh. See the attached table for a full list of times for 2014 and SBs for 2013. After the table is a list of local Open TTs some of us may ride – the Eastbourne Rovers 25 on Sunday 17 August has not been cancelled but will be on another course TBD if the London South CTT District Committee / Officials approve any suggested variant with the A22 between The Shaw and Halland out of action, leaving the East Hoathly 10 course unaffected.

Stu's Road rash Is healing Slowly!

We would have had 19 riders but for an Ollie Chapman equipment mishap as he warmed up when his rear wheel collapsed, looking as if the rim weld joint failed by cracking nearly all the way across the rim. No one could remember seeing a wheel fail like that before, and Ollie was just riding gently along Church Lane and did not even hit a pot hole. It was quite different on Sunday when it all came together for Ollie to record a superb 2.20.30 in his first 50 mile TT. See the Hastings Observer for our sports report, and please keep me informed of all results so we have material to submit to our local paper.

We have two more weeks at Ninfield before returning to Broad Oak on 6th August.


The intention is to have an end of summer TT series meal at The Rainbow Trout on Wednesday 20th August after the last Broad Oak Circuit TT, unless there is strong demand to do it one week earlier if a lot of regulars are away on holiday. What do people think, shall we make it easy by asking for a limited set menu e.g. of curries? Anyway please book the date in your diaries. We had a well supported  (24 of us from memory?) Curry Evening last year in The Plough but it will be easier if we revert to the traditional Trout Gathering but without going for A La Carte which can make things a rush for a large number.


Chris Parker

Another Account Of The Dunwhich Dynamo

Dunwich Dynamo 2014- Sometimes you just need to get on your bike and smile at the sky

This event despite its popularity (up to 2000 riders) remains virtually unknown to many cyclists. With its deliberate lack of organisation and the turn up on any bike and go when you want ethos, it retains an underground and slightly subversive feel to it. The origins go back to 2002 when some courier riders decided to keep riding to the coast overnight because they could and the rest is history as the event has grown to become a Mecca for all that is great about the eccentricities of cycling. Taking place every year around the full moon in July it attracts riders from far and wide who just get the challenge of riding all night for around 160 km. There is a steady stream of riders leaving from early evening heading east for the Suffolk coast like bats into the night. Starting from London Fields Hackney the first section getting out of London is busy but straight forward and quickly you are out through Epping where the main roads are left behind for quiet lanes. There are some pinch points around the pubs as some think beer and riding is a good idea! Riders soon string out and you follow a line of red lights snaking into the night. The route is marked in places with tea lights but mostly you follow the masses on the magical mystery tour heading east for the coast. At about halfway there is a feed/water stop if you want it. This gets busy but gives a welcome break for tired legs and you get a snap shot of the variety and numbers of riders/bikes. Back on the road you roll on through sleeping villages and it becomes strung out again. There are small groups of unfortunate people fixing punctures at various points and you hope you are not next. Some ride at a pace and others do their own thing content to just be there in the moment. Although the profile is relatively flat there are rolling hills which seem to grow before your eyes as the legs get tired. If Boris bikes, recumbents, tandems, a BMX, and Bromptons can do it any bike can. One year a Penny Farthing even completed it. Check out the YouTube video. http://m.youtube.com/watch?
v=91PBQUWZCp8 . So how did the Hastings CC riders fair? We met at the start as some came up by train and I joined them with my brother who lives in London and has done the
ride several times. It was my second ride and I had wanted to share the magic of the event with the club. Those who took up the challenge were Nigel Tamplin, Peter Buss and Diego. Steve Butcher had decided the weather forecast was not for him and cried off. He need not have worried as we dodged the rain all night save for a brief downpour and soon dried off. There was a lot of surface water in places but the cycling gods smiled on us and we avoided the worst showers. It was a warm night and short sleeves were the order. The pace from the off was high and pushed around 30 km through Epping! This could not last but it remained high as Nigel powered on like a demon. Peter was dropped and we decided to regroup at the feed stop. Before there we dropped Diego and Peter did not show. It turned out both had continued past the stop. Later Nigel spotted Peter on the side with a puncture (he had five during the night and had to buy tubes off people) We decided that a combination of soft tyres and probably not removing the flint or thorn was the likely route of the problem. This made his ride extra tough and was not the best experience for his first century plus ride. Still he remained smiling and wants to ride it again! Diego had arrived first riding alone but hitching a tow from a group of Dulwich Paragon club riders. Next in was Nigel 'the gorilla' Greipel who put on an endless show of power to drop us. I came in with my brother just after 5am. Peter appeared around 6am. At the end the car park was littered with bikes as riders took stock of their achievement. Whether ridden at pace or just ridden to get there, all had a shared experience and the buzz was palpable. Queues snaked out of the cafe and the beach beckoned for others to simply lie and recover or for the hardy to take a dip.The swim for me is the reward for the effort and a fitting end to a special ride. I stayed in for 20mins letting the cool water ease my muscles. Looking back, the beach was littered with bikes and the chatter of individual stories floated across the water. Now refreshed with bacon butties and coffee my body still running on adrenaline started to crave sleep and it was time to leave with another DD in the bag. I cannot recommend this ride enough. If people can arrange the logistics it has to be done but be warned you will want to come back for more.

Jon S

Dunwhich Dynamo

Well what an evening for the brave few that made the arduous trip to London to ride in this years 114 mile London - Dunwich overnight cycle ride.

With Diego, Nigel and Peter meeting at London Bridge and making the perilous ride to London Fields we were met with John and his brother, Matt where after a few brief exchanges of past experiences of previous experiences we made the push off at 9pm, it is to be said that we were some of the last riders to leave, as most riders opt to leave like a bunch of Swallows at 8pm. We only managed to get 150 yards and suffered our first mechanical of the evening, a dreaded puncture and after much huffing and puffing with a small pump a local man kindly donated a track pump to ensure pressures were up to the recommended 120psi.

After this minor setback we were off, winding through the streets of Clapton, East London and then out to Walthamstow all the time avoiding the perils of Addison Lee and red buses, the saving grace of all 5 is the simple single file follow the leader style and strictly no overtaking. After our journey through the fringes of London we up to Epping forest and following the recent Tour de France route, it was at this time that the club really started to show its pace and we were reeling in riders that had left at the earlier time of 8pm, it is to be noted that you all you could hear were the loud shouts of "on your right, on your left" as the keen club cyclists were overtaking a large amount of nervous cyclists who probably hadn't ventured further than the comfort of the Barclays cycle lanes and at times there were a few misses as lesser confident cyclists were pulling out left right and centre!

And so this continued for a relentless 55 miles, a quick pace of 30kph led by Nigel and Johnathon, sadly for the me I couldn't keep the pace up and so started to wind down, partly because I knew that we hadn't reached the halfway mark and I am not Vincenzo NIbali!

As the evening progresses the number of amateur cyclists decreased and what I consider keen club riders increased, to the extent I was passed by a peloton of around 30 riders made up primarily of Dunwhich Paragon came past a rate of knots and knowing what I know I saw my golden opportunity to jump on the back of this and save my legs and this. Is what I did for around 30 miles, until they hit the last food stop at 90 miles and I continued on only to hit the wall at 100 miles.

By this time it was a round 3 in the morning and I had ridden through countless groups of riders mending punctures, wet weather crashes and broken bikes but ironically at a time when your body wants to stop and sleep (I did pass a lovely looking travelodge which seemed very appealing) you just keep going, fuelled by the knowledge that there simply isn't any alternative, Ipswhich is 30 miles away and the Suffolk countryside is pretty empty of places to stop and rest.

And so the last 14 miles are the hardest and the hilliest (I'm sure they aren't it just seems like that) and inevitably you end up riding with people sharing the same pain and cadence as yourself each asking for direction and morale support, hoping each corner you will see the converted signs showing you that the end is in sight and then at 4am I reached it, 7 hours in the saddle (beating my previous time by 1 hour) with Nigel and Johnathon coming in at 5 after a pit stop at 85miles and Peter coming in at 6 after suffering a disastrous 5 punctures and being ripped off for 8 pounds for a dodgy tube.

The ironic thing is arriving early and seeing the faces of joy that everyone has when they finish the ride, not one complains but is overwhelmed by a sense of achievement that they completed one of hardest rides.

The point is that it puts it all into perspective, after spending all day sleeping on Sunday I am not sure I ready to do that distance again, our friends on the the Tour De France complete that distance in around 4 hours and are ready to do it the next day.

Diego

11/7 HSLCC Fri Night Ride- Strength In Numbers

Muddy conditions at Bewl helped boost the Friday night ride count to a much more respectable nine riders including prospective new young (Andy Schleck lookalike) member Michael M. It had been raining most of the day and there was still a little dampness in the air but it was pleasantly warm as we headed off down battery hill. Malcolm went unusually slowly down the descent using his 'air brake' system of legs wide apart although John V just thought he was using this to cool his balls down. Our progress through the reserve was initially hampered by dozens of runners taking part in some sort of race . They were heading in both directions so we had to carefully weave our way between them . I know we sometimes suffer for our sport but judging by the amount of groaning and ragged deep breathing, some of these runners suffer more! On starting the Broad Oak drag, progress was temporarily halted by Kie picking up a puncture, but this was soon fixed with a carbon dioxide cylinder.Most of the riders soon disappeared into the distance but Malcolm was content to take it easy to save his legs for the 50 mile TT on Sunday and John V wanted to help me up the drag , so following in their draft I had  soon managed to reel in Steve D. With it being unusually dark I

Super first ever ascent for young Michael!

missed a small but deep pothole ( despite a warning from Steve) , and rode straight into it. No damage was done to man or machine but the dreaded hissing sound informed us I had given myself a nice pinch puncture.I soon had a replacement tube installed but couldn't get the tyre inflated, it turned out to be a dud tube. Picking out another from my saddle bag I noticed a split , luckily Malcolm had a spare for me to use and at last we were back on the road to catch up with most of the others who were left wondering what was was going on. There was no time for explanations so I shot off down the descent wishing I had put  a little more air into the squishy front tyre. On passing through Westfield at some speed, Kie and myself had a heart stopping moment went a car began pulling out of a blind drive way into our path. As we we moving at about 25mph at the time, this would have been a catastrophe, fortunately he must have seen the flash of our lights and quickly stopped moving forward (lesson to be learnt here, make sure you ride with powerful lights on this ride even in the summer and keep them on flashing mode as long as possible). Despite the squishy front tyre the adrenalin of our near miss must have given me a boost as I managed my second fastest ever 'stonestile approach' although this was nowhere near enough to keep me in plain sight of young Michael and the other fast ones as they accelerated up the initial slopes of our beloved stonestile . This was a first ever ascent for Michael who is bound to rapidly move up the stonestile rankings for this climb. Stu had better get ready to lose his fifth all-time place?

Gas And Air- The joys of racing!

It Was All Going So Well...!

Today I raced at Fowlmead in Kent. Last minute decision as mum and dad said they would have the boy and dog. It was a cat3/4 race so I was in with a chance of some points and with a £500.00 1st prize I thought what the hell... There was several teams there that had targeted the 1st place so as I was on my own I was always going to find it hard but what the hell, always up for a challenge! I kept near the front of the race for most of it with a couple of attacks to get things going but with the massive wind it was always going to end with a bunch sprint to the line. One of the teams went with 1/2 a lap to go and took the rest of the field by surprise so they lead out there man to win and we were left to battle it out for the points that were left on offer. the pace was fast with 1 km to go so I picked a wheel to draft then unleashed my massive power (hahaha) this was going well as I started my sprint with 100 meters to go until a rider appeared to my left and leaned towards me... I knew this was going to end badly so I immediately started to swear... Then I hit the tarmac at about 37mph and this made me swear more! I skidded along ruining my expensive race kit as i went for what seemed like a couple of hours shifting my position a bit to try to make it more comfy but alas this didn't work so I swore some more! then the pain happened... So I laid there for a while to check my body was not broken and then swore at whoever was there... Nothing broken but massive road rash and bruising so after apologizing for my potty mouthed antics I began the somewhat painful journey home as I had to get the boy and dog from mum and dad before I could go to A&E. After waiting for 3 years I was seen and braced myself for more pain but to my delight the nurse cleaning my wounds offered me some gas and air!.... man alive that shit is good! It used to cost a lot of money and a meeting with some dodgy but 'safe man' geezers to feel that good! Now i'm home and drinking beer which I haven't done for months but am sure will help me rest.
My thanks to all who helped at the circuit, my son Flynn for his support at the hospital, Barny Willard and Suze, Pual butler and Nathan Fletcher. Race hard or go home!!

Stuart Hodd

9 July Pevensey Time Trial Times

I am just getting out the times quickly.  There was superb winning PB by Joe Kingsman who is the fastest 10 miler in the club this season.  Will any of the seniors go better in 2014?!!?  I think there were several other PBs but did not have time to quiz all riders, who often do not seem to know their own PBs so I am not sure how I am supposed to !!!!  For standard distances like the 10 you should know your all time PB for any course, your course PBs are something that you can keep track of.  Please keep me informed of PBs and confirm or correct my assumptions. Chris Parker

6/7- HSLCC Club Ride, Wet Wittersham

Stuart Tries Unsuccessfully To Free up the Gear Cable!

With met office forecasting rain all morning it wasn't a surprise that only four riders showed up for the club ride from the Harrow. There was just myself, Lee, Malc C and Stuart. There was no way we were going to do the originally planned 'Mad jack' ride as it would be far too dangerous. Despite the rain there wasn't much wind so we decided to head out in the direction of the marshes instead. By the time we reached Ore I realised that Malcolm wasn't with us, thinking he had had a puncture I rung him up only to find out that somehow he had got dropped and thinking we had taken a turn off the ridge was now at the bottom of stonestile lane!  Malc decided to head off and do his own ride and so that just left the three of us. Stuart was having increasing problems with his gears jumping, myself and Lee diagnosed a sticking gear cable but despite our best efforts to improve it, nothing worked and Stuart had to abandon at Rye. This left just myself and Lee. Despite the rain increasing it didn't seem to bother us, as long as we stuck to non technical roads it was fine, in some ways I found I rather liked it as I am not overly fond of hot summer weather. We decided to do a mixture of the old Heidi memorial ride, the Jack frost ride with an extension over Wittersham thrown in for good measure. I was glad to have my flashing front light on as it was surprisingly dark at times and felt more like an autumn ride rather than high summer. Arriving at Staplecross we went our separate ways with lee heading up Marley lane to Battle while I had the trickier way back up to Westfield, Three oaks and Rock lane. This made a decent length ride of about 50 miles. It just goes to show that riding in persistent rain is fine as long as the route is safe enough and you have a waterproof. I will add this ride to my collection and leave it on the gps as a wet weather backup.

H&StL CC Pevensey 10 Report - Pevensey TT next Wednesday‏

There were fine conditions for the first of two Hastings Pevensey Club 10s with a number of PBs set on a warm evening with just a light wind and occasional gust. Most impressive ride of the night was PB by 12 year old Fabien Large on his third ride at the distance after a 35:02 at Tenterden six weeks ago and 32:01 at Fowlmead a week and a half ago. He broke evens for the first time with a further massive improvement in PB of 2:24 to record  29:37. He is one of three 12 year olds on the start sheet for Saturday's SE heats on the Fowlmead Cycle Park closed road circuit to qualify for the GHS National Under-17s final in September. The fastest boy and girl from each year group qualifies for the final. Fabien will face competition from a 4T+ (!) Velo Club junior and Hastings junior Finlay Pritchard-Brady who will be making his TT debut after just a couple of Bacon Butty Runs.


Event winner Stuart Hodd (22:59) must have been a PB by a large margin and I am pretty sure second placed Trevor Deeble (23.38) was also a PB. The only other Hastings rider to break evens was third placed Malcolm Daly (23:59) who has severAfrom his very successful 2012 season, but watch this space!


Making up the top five places were Mark Brittle  (24:06) who his having a good season in Rovers and Lewes club tens but not yet ready to knock out the sort of times he could a few years ago (21s and 55s) and Lee Smith (24:28 PB) riding Tri bars in anger for the first time


Simon Newell (25:07) and Nigel Tamplin (25:42 PB) broke the 26 minute mark but no one else from the club broke the 27 minute mark.  Seven broke the 28 minute mark with what proved to be the most popular time of the evening: a 27:**. Neil Smith (27:28) rode a ten for the first time, having had a few Ninfield 14s under this belt but it was Stewart Buckland's (27:36)  TT debut. I am pretty sure Jon Stainsby's 27:05 was a PB (but it may have been his first 10?) in a dead heat with Greg Blackwell.


Note that it is impossible for me to keep a record of everyone's times. It is up to individuals to record their times in their training / racing diaries or whatever and inform me of results and PB improvements.


Note that evens is 20mph, which was more significant many years ago. It is not that long (50 or so years!) since the first man to break evens in a 100 mile TT died. He broke 4 hours on a fixed gear, I did calculate his cadence once and it would have put today's big gear grinders to shame! And of course 20mph is now pretty routine for the 12 hour and even 24 hour TTs !!!!


Epsom CC's Bob Coleman, who lives in Eastbourne and often rides private TTs with local clubs, came off his bike about 100 yards after exiting Pevensey roundabout on his way to Little Common. No car was involved and  Bob was fortunate a nurse driving behind him saw it happen, stopped and soon flagged down a passing ambulance who looked after him and got control to send another ambulance to their call.  He was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure since he had landed very heavily on his back on the near side of road verge in the brambles and after a thorough check up was released to go home soon after midnight. Stuart called round to see him in the morning and I have spoken to Bob who is bruised and sore on his left side and has a broken finger so taking it easy for a few days.


Club TTs are on the Pevensey course next week then we move back to the Ninfield circuit with an earlier sign on time:


Wed       09 July   Pevensey 10    G10/83                    Meet 7.00 first rider off 7.30 late

Wed.     16 July   Ninfield 14                                        Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Wed.     23 July   Ninfield 14                                        Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Wed.     30 July   Ninfield 14                                        Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00



Chris Parker