8/11 Saturday Early Bird- Benenden Buster

After several days of heavy rain it was pure luck that it had stopped just in time for this Saturday early bird. A good turnout of five riders were at the Harrow but we knew we would also gain another rider at Pett Level (peter B)  As is often the case, Steve D set out too fast and we were very spread out along the ridge with Derek struggling to keep up, fortunately this time Steve did slow down and we were all back together by the steep descent of Chick Hill. Passing by the Smugglers pub Peter B tagged onto the group.

Mark's 'Suffolk'  received many Admiring Glances!

Another rider, Mark was also waiting for us, this time on the harbour road, which took our numbers up to a pleasing seven. Mark was on his brand new steed, a Whyte Suffolk. This is a new kind of road bike , having cable activated hydraulic brakes, a sturdy alloy frame with lots of clearance, rear rack mounts, cyclocross style straight bladed forks, taller than normal head tube and super comfortable flattened handlebars http://whyte.bike/2014/product.php?xProd=116
These bikes are selling as fast as they can be made and Mark was very fortunate to get hold of one. He much prefers this for general winter riding than his Giant defy which he finds flexes too much (this is going up for sale), despite being alloy its a comfy  frame and the disc brakes are far better than rim brakes for the winter.With JV having purchased a fairly similar bike in the form of a Genesis Croix De fer, could a new trend of disc braked durable Winter bikes be upon us? While the rest of us had to endure the expensive rasping sound of grit wearing out our rims, Mark had the benefit of superior stopping power that would never wear out his wheels. So, after five years or so this bike will have paid for itself by saving the cost of replacements!

The roads on the 'Buster'  are exceptionally quiet and in very good condition, so we made good progress Northwards . The one road that we knew would be in poor condition would be Moore's lane, but Mark knew a  diversion that would avoid this muddy stretch. Ignoring the off course beeps from our Garmins we all followed Mark who took us on a very pleasant diversion around the Woodchurch area. I have saved this diversion and this will now become the official 'Benenden Buster' route for the future.

Hydraulic Disc Brakes- lovely!

On the Northward leg the riding is easy because its mainly flat, however the Southward leg is much more lumpy and our average speed began to drop and our legs to tire, but at least we knew that we would have a fuel stop in Bodium. This was a new cafe for us in the castle grounds which I chose for the simple reason that it was the only cafe in the area and would give us chance to catch our breathe before the last and hardest seven miles. Unfortunately, much to Malcolm's dismay they don't start cooking until 12:00 so bacon butties were off the menu , at least we could console ourselves with carrot cake, scones and sausage rolls.

A New Member for HSLCC?

Everyone knew the way back so after exiting the cafe ,  it was every man for himself with riders branching off at various points. As usual the ride back from Sedlescombe past the vineyard,three oaks and then rocks lane was really tough (but still strangely enjoyable). To celebrate a great ride myself and Malcolm decided to stop off in the Standard Pub in the old town for a swift pint of beer which soon became two!

This is a perfect winter route, made even better with Marks diversion around Woodchurch and is definitely a route we will repeat again before winter is over.