27/6 Firle Snake Offroad

With glorious summer weather this was a good time to repeat our newest off road route, 'Firle Snake'.

Ivan is already in  serious off road training mode for the SDW randonee  and so rode all the way over to meet the rest of us at Firle (and would go on to ride all the way back home)

At The Bo Peep Car Park!

Heading along the 'Drovers Track' towards Alfriston gave sufficient time for the muscles to warm up before the steep road climb up to Bo Peep. From here it was the usual wonderful descent down towards Seaford before turning west to go through the golf course to Bishopstone.

We now had to regain all the height we had lost as we were basically riding uphill parallel to the Bo Peep descent. The climbing seemed endless especially as some of it was quite over grown. Ivan and Malc didn't like it much but I appreciated the stiff workout it was giving my thigh muscles.

At last we rejoined the SDW and headed towards Itford hill. Ivan and Malc as unusual took a steep shortcut to avoid the chalky main path. Pete unwisely decided to join them and was scared half to death, so I don't think he will do that again?

After So Much Climbing Steve was Feeling A Bit Hoarse!

Following the route we eventually came to the famous 'Snake'. Its incredible that after 20 years of South Downs riding we only discovered this twisty climb last year. The valley its in is even more remote than the so called 'Hidden Valley' near Ditchling. We didn't have it all to ourselves this year as there was another cheery  mtb cyclist following the same route. With hindsight I should have made the effort  to chat to him and pass on one of our business cards as we could do with some more mtb recruits! The angle of the slope is so perfect for riding and the grass so short and firm that 1.5 mile climb is the best I know of on the Downs.

The snake finishes above Lewes. From here there is a steep seriously eroded and chalky descent straight down to the centre of Lewes. This would be extremely treacherous if there was even a trace of moisture but with all the dry weather today it was a safe but bumpy route down to the town.

Rather than eat at one of those overpriced tea shops we headed for Anne of Cleeves' house where there is a more informal tea shop with a nice garden and far more reasonable prices.

Suitably refreshed , our next objective was to reach the top of Mount Caburn.After one navigational error that had us touring a large car park we were soon back on track and climbing up the only road up to the top of the mount. This road is so incredibly steep and narrow. There was a white van behind us and two cars in front. As there is only room for one vehicle at a time, I wondered how they were going to get through , but they must have managed it somehow , as near the top I heard the sound of a vans wheels spinning and the van sped past us.

Ivan remembered the rights of way route through the golf course . We were slightly tense as there was always the risk of golf balls coming flying in our direction.

We Need To get Down There!

Reaching the top of the mount we began the descent up to the point where the route splits left and right. last year we took the left fork but this year we tried the right one. It was worth a try but the right fork turned out to be more congested with people and gates although it did have the advantage of bringing us out nearer to the A27 from where we crossed the rode back into Firle.

 For the next two weeks Ivan, Malc, Paul and Josef will be stepping up their training even more,as they begin their final preparations for the SDW randonee (July 15), so its back to lovely smooth tarmac for me for the next three weekends!

Times for last of for the Classic Hastings-Rye-Hastings TTs

The winds were lighter with some west in them and it was not as cold as the previous two weeks but when the Joe and Trevor came in early on without SBs it looked as though it was perversely not a fast evening.  Joe Kingsman was quickest on the night by a good margin but without the benefit of Pete Tadros riding (take care ……) was still amazingly quick for a junior but his 42.57 was just over a minute slower than last week. Trevor Deeble (45.17) was second, 17 seconds down on the PB he set last week. As more riders came in it seemed it may have been the fastest evening of the three this year, with 4 PBs (and one PB equalled) and 2 SBs.

 The PBs were for Jozef Mager, an off road regular riding a rare TT to beat his 2013 PB, Neil Smith clipping 11 seconds off his time from two weeks ago, Gareth Purves slicing 3 minutes off his time from two weeks ago, and new member Steve Ferguson improving by over one and a half minutes.

Chris P

Part Deux - BBRs and The Eastbourne Sportive

'BBR - Three Weeks Ago'

 "I'd give a minute if I were you, I've been doing some serious 'thinking' in there, son"

I emerged, much relieved, from the cubicle at Chilley Farm toilets to find young Fabian outside with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, no, It's o.k, I don't need to 'go' it's just that there's a really aggressive goose outside, and I'm a bit worried."

I'd heard some shuffling going on outside the cubicle and just assumed someone was brave enough to enter 'the trap' after me.

"Don't worry, we'll soon show it who's 'boss'.

We left the safety of the toilet block to be confronted by Goebbels the psychopathic gander, who made a move immediately he saw us.  He was accompanied by two geese who seemed to be impressed by his behavior.  He dived at us with his long neck rocking backwards and forwards, wings flapping and squawking like a banshee. He seemed very intent on inflicting some damage and so I presented the sole of my cycling shoe to it, unfortunately sight of my cleat didn't seem to 'phase' him too much.

"Quick, let's 'leg it'!"

So accompanied by much laughter from the other BBRers and with Goebbels in 'hot' pursuit we made our way back to the table.

'BBR - Two Week's Ago'

"Standing Room Only at De Paulos"

Neil had very kindly stayed behind with me to help fix my second puncture of the morning (having sung the praises of Schwalbe Ones, 'a shadow of doubt' has now entered my mind.)

I swung into the courtyard of Chilley Farm and immediately spotted my old adversary, Goebbels, who was trying to peck two older ladies - they seemed to find it amusing.  Neil had spotted this and decided that: 'discretion being the better part of valour', he would cycle in through the other entrance.

We ordered our coffee and food and sat down with the others and joined in with the endless, inane, but enjoyable banter that always accompanies these type of rides.

After about ten minutes two of the newbies arrived and one of them said, quite cheerily:

"Been here long?"

"Only about two days", said Peter B.

Which I thought was quite unkind, but nonetheless quite funny. I decided to join in.

"Peter (who sports designer stubble/beard) was clean shaven when we got here!", I said

After about another five minutes Col C 'J' Parker 'rocked up' with the rest of the newbies.  He 'hopped' off his bike and sat down at another table with them and gave advice on the importance of fueling a ride with bacon or, at the very least, cakes.

"I'm just off for a 'tinkle' - I informed Peter B of my intention.

As I left the toilet block I spotted Goebbels, who was sitting with his 'crew', neck fully contracted and with a 'butter wouldn't melt' type look.  He surveyed me with one eye.

"Doing anything special this Christmas? - tosser!"

'De Paulo's earlier.........'

The notable thing about the BBR this week was the massive turnout!  At De Paulos they just kept coming - in all we had about 20 - including lots of newbies; in fact in the end I couldn't keep track of it all.  Fortunately, Col C 'J' Parker was in his element; when leadership is required he is definitely  'the man'.  He organised us all into several groups and off we set.  It was a very sociable and enjoyable morning and great to see so many new faces.  It is amazing how the BBR has developed over the two and a half years that I have been taking part.

Life Is Great At De Paulos!

The landmark change being that we now congregate at De Paulos instead of that awful Bridge Cafe (sorry Chris, I know you like it, but, really! - no soap or toilet paper in that stinking portaloo and instant coffee!!).  I'm sure you'll agree De Paulos is an altogether more civilised affair: friendly staff, real coffee, soft toilet paper, homemade cakes - shall I go on?.

The other big change has been the addition of the Pre BBR, which has been a major success.  It gives a lot people the opportunity to take part in an early, sociable ride of 25/30 miles and to get back to De Paulos by 09:30 ish.  Just lately it seems to have developed into a much speedier event than the BBR - probably because we are fresher and the distance is not too great.

'BBR - This week'

'Pre BBR'

"You take the left buttock and I'll take the right, it's wide enough and It's the only way we can keep up with him!", I shouted at 'the other' Peter B.

We were on on our way back from 'Beachy', on the Pre BBR and Stewart was on his aero bike, bent over his T.T bars and on 'a mission'.  We cowered side-by-side behind him and stuck as close to his wheel as possible (o.k, look I'm 'stretching the truth', but I like the imagery it conjures up.)  We had dropped Mal C earlier and we were hanging on for grim death. Eventually, we arrived at the Bexhill Library traffic lights

"Was that totally necessary, you heartless b@stard?", I asked Stewart.

"I just thought I would give you old codgers a bit of a work out", he replied

We had averaged about 19 mph for the whole 'Pre BBR' - including 'Beachy'; so no wonder Peter B looked like a ghost!.  We are, after all, 'gentlemen of a certain age' and so were quite rightly pleased with our performance.

'BBR'

Quite a good turn-out for the BBR, including a couple of the recent newbies, and with a much needed caffeine injection we set of again in two groups, with the colonel looking after the second group.

Satan's Arse Crack!

A fairly 'pacey' ride, with the first group - consisting of the 'pre BBR'ers' plus Matt and Fabian - pretty much staying together- until I disappeared down 'Satan's Arse Crack' again!.  This was the reason for one of my punctures on the last BBR and the cause of another one this time!.  This is name I have given to that really nasty gash in the road, on a sharp right hand bend about two miles short of Chilley farm - anyone who is familiar with this route will no what I am talking about.


  The rest of the group were good enough to wait for me, although the nickname of 'Pete the Puncture' - which I thought I had 'shaken off' - will no doubt stick around again, for a while.

We settled down with our coffees and butties and awaited the arrival of the other group.  After some time Chris and two of the others arrived and Chris explained that one of the newbies (Anna) had to be collected after breaking her sacrificial hanger.  I explained, not really that helpfully, that I had a 'universal' spare one in my tool bottle.  This 'sparked' a conversation about 'universal' spares and if they have any merit.  I'll probably only find out whether my hanger was a 'fiver' well spent when I'm, no doubt, in the middle of nowhere, on my own and with a flat phone battery!

'The Eastbourne Sportive - Sunday 14th June'

"Mo Farah's done nothing wrong and neither have I"

"So what option are you going to choose then?', said Vicki

"Well I think Neil would be happy for me to make a sizable donation to his favourite charity: 'The Apostrophe Protection Society,' but Stewart definitely wants blood!', I replied.

The Sportive Before!

"So what are you going to do then?"


"I think I've got no choice but to cut my balls off with a rusty razor blade!"

"Well I think there's an old Stanley Knife in the garage, but hurry up, dinner's nearly ready"

"I'm not sure I'll want any dinner after this, I might just have a sandwich"

"Oh, O.K then"

I would just like to clear up the situation regarding what happened on the Eastbourne Sportive Ride and try to salvage what's left of my reputation.

The first time I realised something was amiss was when I got a wry smile from John V who was climbing Bo Peep as I was descending. 'How did that happen - he was in front of me?', I thought to myself, 'Perhaps he's taken a wrong turn, and got a bit behind'. Shortly afterwards I saw Neil and Stewart, also on the way up.  The look from Stewart said it all: 'cheating b@stard!'.

I carried on regardless, trying to work out what had happened.  Just before Seaford I felt a rush of wind as Nigel and a few of the other 'club legends' sped past me. None of them made anything other than friendly comments, so I assumed that just thought I was having a great ride or had set off earlier.

I arrived back at the finish, grabbed a coffee and my goodies bag and settled down among the other club members to bask in the 'afterglow'.  I explained to Peter B that I nearly missed the start of the ride because I had some mechanical problems.  In fact after the kind bike mechanic from one of the trade stands had finished explaining all that needed overhauling on my bike I felt a bit depressed.

"Would it easier if I just transfer my new Lizard Skin bar tape to another bike and 'bin' the whole lot?"

It's great buying a new bike but the problems is that all the parts wear out at the same time. When I told Peter that my 'big ring' was in a bad way, he immediately collapsed into hysterics - it is quite gratifying to know that a psychotherapist, of many years standing, can also have the same juvenile sense of humour as me.

 Stewart and Neil arrive back.

The Sportive After!

"There he is, the cheating lowlife!, said Stewart with steam coming out of his ears, What, did the short route did you?"

"Don't even talk to him, said Neil, he's just not worth it, c'mon lets get a coffee."

It was pointless trying to explain that I had no idea what had happened and how I had got in front of them,

I explained to Nigel what had happened and he was altogether more sympathetic:

"You could just tell them that you took the optimum line on all the corners and shaved a few miles off!", he said.

Brilliant! - h
ow I admire a man who is both intelligent and has the ability to think laterally.  I promise not to mock your Aldi gear anymore Nigel.

It wasn't until I got home and studied my uploaded Strava ride, that I realised, in all innocence, that I had overshot the right turn in Herstmonceaux, thereby missing off a sizeable 'chunk' of the ride. Anyone who knows me understands that I am Geolexic - meaning I have absolutely no sense of direction ( I have mentioned this before and also cited Mal B and Steve C as fellow sufferers.)  I had fallen behind the leaders in our group while ascending Wartling Hill, but also distanced myself from some of the others, and in was during that short 'window' of being alone that I had gone wrong.

Apart from my faux par, I really enjoyed the ride.  The number of hills involved make it challenging, but manageable, and having them at the back end seems to add to the drama - you know what's coming!.  I did hear some criticism about the cost and lack of facilities - they did say there was a portaloo, but I never saw it, also some people complained about the supplies running out on the feed station (I took one look at the big bowl of peanuts and shuddered at the hygiene implications! ( I for one don't carry soap in my jersey pocket) - couldn't they at least have portioned some in little plastic cups; similar to how medication is dispensed?)

Is This A 'Mobot' Or A PeteBot' ?

I was very pleased with my gold medal, fully deserved I felt; bearing in mind I wasn't disqualified the organisers obviously aren't too fussed on whether you do the full mileage or not!

Peter Buss

21/6 Birling Gap Off Road

With it being father's day, Ivan was under strict instructions to be home by 1:00 for a family meal , so we decided to do our favourite short local ride from Birling Gap.

Derek loves this ride and has ridden himself back to full fitness so was bitterly disappointed to wake up to find his sciatica had returned. Turning the pedals was out of the question so he had to DNS

Tom was with us at the start but his father in law had injured his hip the day before and before too long he had to abandon the ride and head home.

This left myself, Dave HH, Malc, Josef and Ivan. By his own admission Dave had not done enough cycling over the winter/spring and is in the process of getting fit again so for once I was not
struggling to keep up with everybody.

After grinding our way towards butt's brow we then lost all that height as we descended the bumpy tack down to Jevington. This track normally shakes my fillings loose but with a lower pressure of 34 psi it wasn't so bad (must try 30 next time)

Yay, Now Its Time For Some Downhill!

Malc showed me a much smoother way down part of the chalky descent towards Alfriston, which I really enjoyed.

Passing parallel to Alfriston we had planned to take the Drovers track and the road climb up to Bo Peep , but Dave had other more masochistic ideas and suggested we take the very steep unnamed track directly up to the SDW . This is one of the steepest and longest climbs I know of. To make it worse the surface is loose and gravelly. Riding single sided look pedals made it difficult to clip in as I couldn't get enough momentum to give me time to push the pedal round before engaging the cleat . Eventually I made it but my pleasure was short lived when the front wheel refused to stay down and I had no choice by to unclip and walk. Eventually the angle eased a little and I was able to remount and ride at least half the track.

All this painful climbing was rewarded with the glorious three mile southerly descent from Bo Peep with  the fabulous view of Seaford Head in the distance.

Just as we cycled up to the 'Golden Galleon' pub the sun came out and the temperature rose dramatically . With Dave showing us pictures of his villa in Spain we could almost pretend we were there. A quick pint became two and we soon lost track of what time it was.

All we had to do now was ride through Friston Forest,ride a short road section up to Friston village and then (my favourite bit) descend directly down to Birling Gap. Dave HH branched off on his own 'single track' way through the forest while the rest of us headed down the family trail. The alcohol must have effected everyone (except me) as instead of taking the road they decided to take a 'short cut' through a wood.

I like to stick to the planned route so followed the Garmin navigation line back to Birling Gap car park . On arrival I was surprised that there was no sign of them . After half and hour of waiting I was getting worried. Eventually they turned up. After taking the track they had got lost and ended up going in circles.

By the time we left it was already 1:00 so I expect poor old Ivan was in the 'dog house' again.

19/6 -The Bianchi Bomber Blitzes Bewl

An eventful night at Bewl Water for the off road section of HSLCC.

The Bianchi Bomber Proves You Don't Need A 29er To Have Fun!

Riding Bewl for the first time was none other than the Bianci Bomber. This was also the first time his mtb had been used this year, he would go on to prove that you don't need a fancy full suspension 29er to have fun at Bewl.

Ivan was riding his new bike for the very first time.A Whyte full suspension mtb (ex demo) with top end XT groupset and alloy frame (£1700)

We had a great turnout with all the regulars present  apart from Paul . Malcolm and Josef were already out on the circuit somewhere while the rest of us were content to do one lap.

Setting off as a group of five, I was the last one through so had to shut the main gate (to stop any dogs running across the road) but unfortunately the lock was broken so it took a few minutes to secure the gate with a loop of rope. By the time I remounted the bike the others were already out of sight. I would have to play catchup for the next few miles, eventually catching them up just before the nasty road section.

Ivan Upgrades To Full Suspension!

Derek had switched his tyres to lightweight racing tubeless ones and shed about half a Kg of rotating mass. He was definitely going faster than normal and despite feeling good I couldn't drop him on the long road section.

Meanwhile somewhere up ahead Tom and Ivan were riding hard together. Ivan was finding that compared to his hard tail, the full suspension bike was faster on the flat but slower up hill (perhaps his should have bought an epic with its 'brain' that stiffens up the ride when climbing?)
. The Bianchi bomber stuck to his tail like glue for over seven miles before getting dropped.

The first week I rode Bewl I had the tyre pressure too hard and was badly thrown about by the hard bumpy surface. Having purchased an electronic tyre pressure gauge I had been able to set the tyre pressure to exactly 34 psi. What a difference this made! It felt like a completely different bike and I was really enjoying the ride .

The weather was absolutely perfect and we were treated to a wonderful view of the sun shining on the  reservoir as we  rode across the dam and the final five mile section.

Arriving at the end I recorded my third best ever time and was busy putting my bike away when the Bianchi Bomber turned up. Having got separated from Ivan and ending up on his own, he had managed to get lost and forced to  backtrack quite a bit before finding the route again. Despite this he was ecstatic and was buzzing from the ride, so hopefully he will become a regular Bewl water rider?

17/6 HRH Club TT

Times for second week of three for the Classic Hastings-Rye-Hastings TT (10, 17 and 24 June) - Signing on is later at 19:00 sharpish for first rider off at 19:30

Many thanks to Steve Curtis or timekeeping with Steve Butcher’s assistance.  We must have marshals at the Rye mini roundabout, so many thanks to Steve Denny and Ivan Johnson.

Still Smiling Despite Another Cold Windy Evening!

We must have a marshal(s) in Rye so volunteers always required, please.  I will time keep on 24 June (unless anyone else will) and so far we have Tim Miles marshalling at Rye, riding out ahead of the field to stretch his legs.

Chris P

13/6 HSLCC Fri Night Ride - Keeping The Flame Alive

With heavy showers making Bewl water too dangerous, myself and Peter Baker decided that tonight would be a good time to do our bit and ride the Friday night ride. I had already had a message that this would be one of the rare occasions when neither Dan S nor nathan could make it, but perhaps Simon would be there?

Dan And Pete Ready To Do Their Bit For The Fri Ride!

There was no sign of Simon but Dan H was there (only his third time ever) , Dan had responded to 'the call to arms' to support the Friday night ride so it was fortuitous that myself and Peter had switched from Bewl to the road.

Battery hill was still a bit wet from all the showers but was perfectly safe in the bright sunshine. Passing through the harbour we received some dirty looks from a middle aged couple walking their dog, clearly they didn't like sharing the path with cyclists.

Suddenly there was a flapping sound from my bike swiftly followed by the expected rapid deflation of my rear tyre. We all assumed that one of the bits of  mussel shell on the path was responsible but it didn't take long to identify a sharp slither of glass as being the culprit.

By the time we were moving again the dog walkers were in front of us. this time as we went past them they started giving us an undeserved ear bashing even though we were barely moving at jogging pace. Some people are so unreasonable!

The Three Amigos!

Dan lead the way up the Broadoak drag and kindly kept holding back for me to hang on, but this is one hill that I prefer to ride at my own pace. Once dan realised this, he and Pete were set free and soon rode out of sight.

Much to my amazement, yet again like an apparition that appears out of the mist, there was Steve D, waiting for us at the junction out on his lovely RT 58. Steve had already ridden earlier during the day but had come out to lend support to the Friday night ride (nice one). By coincidence a rider unknown to us (but known to nick)  named Chris , happened to be at the road junction and rode with us for a while. I gave him our club card so hopefully he will contact us and could become another Friday regular?

Pete took a short cut home leaving just myself and dan to climb Stonestile.

Dan enjoyed the friday night ride and said it was only the darkness in the winter that puts him off . He will however try to come out once a fortnight during the summer.Hopefully a few
 other club members will also put in an occasional summer appearance to keep this great ride alive!

Club TT- Hastings Rye Hastings 10/6

Good Performance From the Two Pete's

It was not easy evening despite a bit of wind assist on the return from Rye on a bright but rather breezy and chilly evening.  Malcolm Daly (47.04) won the club event with Tom Norris (51.15) slicing more than two minutes off his PB to take second ahead of Ian Hendry (53.25), riding the course for the first time since 2010, Neil Smith (54.12), a first timer on the course, and Simon Grogan (55.48) fresh from his Cambridge adventure at the weekend, it is well worth reading his excellent BLOG report (Nigel Tamplin and Andy Lancaster were also there).

 In Gear’s Peter Tadros (40.07) was quicker that his best time in 2014 and not far of breaking 40 minutes as he did in 2012 and 2011. Rye junior Michael Maxwell also took two minutes of this PB for third fastest time.

So only two PBs in a field of 15 riders confirms it was a hard evening, 8 have gone quicker in the past and there were 5 first timers on the course. Please see the attached table of times.

Many thanks to Andy Lancaster who passed his time keeper training!  We must have marshals at the Rye mini roundabout, so many thanks to Tim Miles, Mark Ingram and John Vidler.

We must have a marshal(s) in Rye so volunteers always required, please.  Steve Curtis will time keep on 17 June and so far we have Tim Miles marshalling at Rye, riding out ahead of the field to stretch his legs.

Many thanks to those who popped by to chat during sign on and setting off, it is a good way of catching up with people as is the post event drink in the White Hart at the top of Guestling Hill, eight of us socialised there this week.

Tour Of Cambridge

Paul Horta=Hopkins and I arrived at Peterborough show ground well before the 10am sign on dead line.this gave us a chance to mooch around the numerous bike stands and watching a bit of exhibition cycling and a great bike cleaning machine. Check out Clean By Air on you tube.

The TOC was a UCI/UCR recognised ride/race.If you wanted to race and be in the first pen, which Paul and I did, you needed a race licence, and we usedour LVRC ones.The gates for all opened at 10.30 for a noon start and riders were queuing before then.Being in the front pen we just had to amble over at 11.30 granted we weren't at the very front but close enough,all very civilised.

Some Ingear lads and a Lewes Wanderer were next to us.I really enjoy this sort of riding, the fluidity of it, the smaller groups morphing into the bigger ones and breaking up againall at a good pace, but you do have to concentrate. One lapse cost me when I realized was the back marker
in a small group, as we turned a sharp bend onto a narrow bridge the rider in front braked hard and I had to virtually stop , my foot came out of the cleat, group gone(bar the braker) and I couldn't catch them.

Cursing my lack of awareness and thinking there goes my good time I got as low as I could and pushed on.

Pucker Medals For Paul And Simon!

The fens aren't very forgiving. After about 10 min another group came by and I rode the last 10 miles with them.Picked up my goodie bag didn't really take much notice of the results board (very crowded and very small print)and went to find Paul.

After sorting the bikes out Paul wanted to check the results to see if he got into the first 25% of his age groupThis qualified one for an invite to the UCI/UCL Masters road race in Denmark  but more importantly a pucker medal.Someone near me said if you were under 3.50 you qualified so I went back to the board for a squint and there nextto my name was a lovely Q

These UCI recognised events are surely going to get more popular (this was the first in the UK) with riders after qualifying points for events. This will mean the front pen will be rammed with cat 1 2 & 3 riders and I will be very lucky to get in one again. Polegate at 5am meeting Paul started the journey and I got home after 9pm a long day but well worth it. I'm writing this blog on Thursday and still buzzing from the ride

See you soon
Simon G

Final PBP qualifier ride

Final PBP qualifier ride (Yes I said I am going to ride to Somerset and back this weekend, you did not mishear)

This was the final PBP qualifier and a big one. 619km in 40 hrs from Waltham Cross (North London) to Taunton Dene services (Somerset) and back!

Waking early for the 6am start, I rode from the Travelodge nearby with Steve B, Nigel T, and JV. There was no way we were going to be able to drive from Hastings on the morning of the start. We picked up our brevet cards and grabbed some tea and toast before the off, all very civilised. There were some usual faces and some new ones. It was very low key and no fuss at all. True to form we were last off again. Just can't get the hang of leaving on time. Riders quietly slipped out of the hall and were gone. Making our own foursome we were quickly out into the country lanes and enjoying the ride out towards St. Albans. It was good to get going but in the back of my mind was 'we are riding to Taunton and back so pace yourself. The build up to this ride had been looming for several weeks and apart from Steve who had completed LEL (London Edinburgh London), none of us really knew how it would feel to do this kind of distance but were certain it would be a challenge.

Our first control was the Tesco at Princes Risborough at 74 km and a drink to get a receipt. Off again and next control was Hungerford at 154km. Nigel and JV pushed ahead and I rode with Steve. I had spent many years competing in the Devizes to Westminster 125mile I Canoe race along the Kennet and Avon canal so knew the area around Hungerford well. It was interesting to see the surrounding lanes as my view had previously been limited to either side of the canal. This is a beautiful area and the riding was good. We caught up with the others at the control and grabbed lunch. With hindsight we took too long here and this ate into our sleeping time later on. This is a valuable lesson learnt for future rides.
Back on the road we had 67km to the next control at Warminster and a total of 221km. This section took us over endless rolling hills through MOD training land. The sun beat down and I found this stretch a drag. The cafe stop was a welcome relief and called for an espresso to perk me up. The others had got there ahead of me and were stuffing their faces with cake the universal reward for cyclists. JV was feeling the effects of his new saddle and his gamble of not testing it before the ride was to take its toll over the distance. I welcomed the cushion to sit on if only for a few minutes.

Onwards towards Taunton Dene services at 309km for the turn around point. This was riding into the night. JV and Nigel pulled ahead and I rode with Steve at a more comfortable pace. We refuelled at a village shop and sat outside a church as the light started to fade. By now I was feeling tired and the promise of a few hours sleep kept me motivated. It was hard to ride past the signs for Yeovil knowing we were riding away from the night stop but the checkpoint had to be reached and the roads here were flat giving a welcome relief. Rolling into Taunton services around midnight we found JV and Nigel along with several others in various states of recovery. All were stuffing their faces with McDonald's as this was the only option. With the all important receipt we dragged ourselves from the warmth into the night.

Now some joker thought it would be funny to put the route up a massive hill straight away when legs were heavy and riders were still mentally sitting in the services. That hill was a killer and I was glad to reach the top. Another 46km to Yeovil and the sight of the Scout hut was a welcome relief. Inside we we greeted with hot food and a judo mat to crash on. 'Tea or coffee? Too much information I don't know just give me something anything. Rows of riders were sleeping and despite the noise nobody moved. Most grabbed a few hours rest whilst others who were faster by being more efficient at the controls had more time. This is where experience counts. One rider had even booked into a Travelodge and had managed 5 hours rest. I reckon that must have taken a lot of willpower to leave that bed.

Although the rest was brief and the body was aching, it was surprising how once moving around and after breakfast you were ready to go again. The organisers were attentive and helpful to any needs and this made it a lot easier to get going. Arriving there in the dark, we left at 6am in bright sunshine following the A30 over big rolling hills to Salisbury. Along this section I went at my own pace and picked up a rider on the way. He had been at breakfast and I had noted he was eating the curry rather than the porridge. That's hardcore I thought or just mental. It turns out that he had only just arrived at the night stop around 5am having got lost in the night. So the curry was his evening meal and breakfast in one! How he managed to keep going on no sleep I don't know.
Salisbury at around 400km was busy and a bit of a shock after the peace and quiet of the country. I caught up with the others who were refuelling at a petrol station and we pushed on knowing there was the promise of hot food at the next checkpoint. Again they pulled away and the road was a series of short hills which sapped the legs. Hands were getting pins and needles now and frequent changes of position were called for. On the horizon I saw the control at the Army flying school. This was 447km in and I was ready for the stop. Expecting to find the other already there I saw no trace and thought perhaps they were in and out to save time. This was not the case as the control staff said three riders in Hastings kit had gone straight past with heads down so missed the control. Now to have completed over two thirds and fail because of a missed checkpoint was no laughing matter. I rang Steve and he answered in surprise as the GPS put the control further down the road. They returned with an extra 10-15km and got their cards stamped.

Catching us after an hour or so they saw I was flagging and sailed past. I kept moving and had a few waves of fatigue which required a gel to shake off. I noticed that the cut of time for the next checkpoint was looming and the thought of missing it released some energy to pick up the pace. I was surprised to see the other limbering up against a gate looking relaxed and taking their time. Pointing out that we had 30 mins to do about 10km this resulted in us jumping to an impromptu TT mode and a chain gang to make the cut off. The decision to get an ATM receipt rather than queue at the official control was a good one and we sat around eating to make the push for the penultimate checkpoint.

This took us over the Thames at Maidenhead and then a short run to Beaconsfield services. Although this was at 547km we knew the last stretch was going to be tough at 72km. Again we rode into the evening and a few hours of dark. The finish was calling and nothing was going to stop us now. Just a final few miles and the aches and pains that had been with us for a while were lifted as the adrenaline carried us along. I gather that JV rode standing up for a lot of the final section as his saddle was telling him it was more suited for club runs than 600+ Audax rides! He gets credit for even thinking it was a good idea to ride new kit off the shelf untested.
At the end the atmosphere was a mixture of quiet satisfaction and relief it was over. That was the PBP qualifiers in the bag. Now thoughts turned to sleep and how we would fair with another 600km to go of this was PBP.

It was a great adventure with many memories and more lessons learned for the next ride. All of us seem to have some lasting effects with numb toes and pins and needles in fingers from the pressure on the hands. The body will recover so don't let this put you off. It really is worth the effort and any endurance event will take time to recover from.

To ride and be in the moment and put all of life's troubles on hold.
To push your limits and find your breaking point but still come through with a hunger for more.
To find yourself on the bike and to feel alive.
That is my Audax experience




Essential kit list for this ride:

Power bank to recharge the GPS as it will not last this length of ride
Head torch
Decent lights for the night
Chamois and Sudocreme - life savers to be reapplied regularly
Emergency gel
Padded gloves
Sun cream
Toothbrush - there is nothing like clean teeth
Decent sized saddlebag/handlebar bag system for all your kit.

What else you carry is a personal choice but I would not leave home without these items.


Jon S

7/6- Butt's Brow Double Loop Off Road

With the SDW over two days only two weeks away it was important to do a long south downs ride with a lot of climbing. Normally we start the official season with a ride from Butt's Brow but to make the ride longer I had put a loop at both ends giving a ride of 42 miles (about the same energy as a 70 mile road ride)

Rather than the steep very bumpy track down to Jevington we took what we call the 'grassy track'. This is a more gentle and longer decent which is much less bone shaking for those of us still on hard tails. Our progress was temporarily halted when we came across an anxious heifer  waiting for her calf which had got stuck behind some bushes.Some gentle persuasion from malc managed to get the heifer moving a little, then the frightened calf thinking it was going to be left behind launched itself out from between the thorny bushes right in front of us to join its parent .

Malc Dares to Come Between A Mother And Her Calf!

After a little bit of climbing there was the usual chalky descent down to Alfriston. I had forgotten just how bumpy it is on a hardtail off road and was being bashed around a great deal. It was only later I realised I had put far too much pressure in the rear tyre running 38 psi instead of 32 ,this makes a big difference. 

It was actually a relief to start climbing up Kings drive and all the way up to firle beacon. Myself and Peter were behind the others but were never in any difficulty. 

From firle beacon the terrain became undulating and the ground far less rocky, ideal hardtail territory with the fantastic descent of Itford Hill down to Rodmell . 

We followed the SDW for another 3 miles before turning off down some steep tracks  south for Rottingdean. I found these tracks really hard to get down as they were either very overgrown or badly rotted. I wasn't surprised that it was here that josef ended up with a laceration to the side wall that demanded some generous use of puncture patches inside the tyre wall. 

Rottingdean was exactly half way so it was time to try out a new cafe. Being the sophisticated  arty types that we are, we headed for a nice looking one on the seafront. This is not one that we would use again as the prices were high, the tea was weak and my cake took so long to arrive that the tea was cold by then. Ivan, always looking for a bargain spotted a cheaper cafe round the side and cheekily joined us with some of their ice cream. At least the conversion was entertaining, mostly revolving around Specialized Epic vs Whyte full suspension. The general consensus was that the Whyte was a copy of the epic with a slightly shorter top tube and no brain! (for those not used to mtb technobabble the 'brain' in question is a little device on the rear shock that automatically stiffens up on climbs and then softens for descents), but the whyte was better value for money (better kit for the same price). In the end we decided it was a draw. 

Pete About To Get His 'Brain' Checked!

We had to endure a one mile stretch on the incredibly busy A259 before turning off for Telscombe and back to the SDW. We had a slight air of laziness about us that day as when given the choice of the usual off road track back to Southease or the road parallel, everyone (apart from me) voted for the road!

Maybe they were saving themselves for what lay ahead? Itford hill may be great fun coming down but you sure do pay a high price for your 10 minutes of fun as its a b****d to get up. 

I have climbed this hill at least once a year for the last twenty plus years and every year the body is a year older (and more knackered) , when I can no longer get up it without walking, that will be the time to consider giving up mtb riding and become a true roadie! I'm glad to say that despite being last man up, I managed the climb OK so mtb retirement plans have been put on hold. 

Despite beating me up Itford hill, Pete was now getting seriously knackered, unlike myself who had rested on saturday (knowing what would be in store) Pete had been out with the faster BBR crew and was now paying the price. So rather than doing the next loop, we would cut the mileage down by heading straight back along the SDW. This was perhaps not the wisest choice as although shorter it would involve some really nasty climbs. 

Josef, malc and Ivan parted company with myself and Pete near Alfriston to try out a new descent. 

We thought we would come across them somewhere in the village but they descended so quickly they were well gone by the time we got there. 

The first part of the climb up to the 'long man' is my least favourite bit of the whole SDW. The track is steep and full of tree roots, rubble, ruts and craters . Being a heavy rider I have never managed to ride up it, not because I am too weak but simply because I cannot keep the front wheel down for long. At least for the first time in two years I was back on spds having discovered that not wearing a sock and leaving the straps very loose, gave my foot bones just enough room to spread and release the pressure on my neuroma , this enabled me to walk relatively easily up the worst parts. The second part of the climb is made of brilliant white chalk. It is much more rideable but with the sunshine reflecting off the chalk Pete and I felt like we were being cooked from both sides on this endless ascent. 

Our suffering wasn't quite over as we still had the 2km mile climb from jevington to Butts. Despite its difficulty I rather like this climb as it has a constant gradient which is just shallow enough to keep the front wheel down. My thigh muscles however were not enjoying it and kept telling me to 'get off and walk'. 

A text from Ivan informed me the others were waiting for us at the conveniantly located Red Lion pub on Butt's brow lane. I didnt even know about this pub. What a discovery !  The mixture of endorphins, alcohol and fantastic home made chips was ecstasy. Only the inconvenient truth that some of us were driving and that all pete really wanted to do was to lie down and sleep , prevented us from staying longer and getting truly intoxicated. 

As per usual , the first proper mtb ride is a painful wake up call. Months of riding on smooth tarmac really don't prepare you for the muscle strength required to haul a far heavier bike over bumpy climbs where you have lost all momentum braking on the previous downhill. All my romantic ideas of bike packing over the wilds of wales evaporated. if this was tough , imagine what a similar ride carrying all your camping gear would be like! Why put yourself through this when you can ride the lovely empty roads of La Bonne France, learn a bit of new culture and most importantly get merry in some nice restaurant every night? Its a no brainer, si longtemps camping sauvage et bonjour la france 2016!

This Is Why It Hurt!

13/6- Record Turnout For BBR

Di Paolo's was not big enough for the Bacon Butty Crew on Saturday!  By the time I got there at 09:30 the Pre BBR crew had bagged almost all the places in front of the cafe.  With other arrivals it was soon standing room only in the sun. At ten we decided we needed two groups from the start so most of the regulars plus one or two occasionals set out for a brisk ride to Chilley Farm, a group of about ten riders. With mostly first time BBRs eight of us set out a few minutes later. Chilley Farm was very busy with the BBRs making it a bit of a rush hour. By the time the steady group had queued and placed their orders there was not much time to chat to the first group before they were setting off home.

I will not be there this week but we now seem to have a very firm fixture with a good number of people turning up post, mid, pre ride for a coffee and chat between 09:30 and 10:00.  If may be that some decide to head off from Chilley Farm to see what is going on a the Eastbourne Festival in the afternoon this week?

Chris P

5/6 Bewl Water Season Begins & Flat Shoes/Pedals Fail The Test

At last, June had arrived so it would be the start of the Bewl water off road season on Fridays

For those that don't know it, Bewl water is a man made reservoir near Wadhurst. There is a 13 mile mostly off road path all the way round it. just right for a lap on a Friday evening after work or two laps for those fitter riders. Most of the old bewl water veterans were there (myself, paul B, ivan , malc D and derek ) as well as Bewl water virgin Pete Baker.

Just Time To Take A Quick Photo!

It was an unusually warm and humid evening, having been held up in traffic I only just arrived in time for the off at 6;30 prompt and was grateful that I was already wearing my flat cycling shoes so all I had to do was just the bike out the van and hop on.

 For years I have suffered with a morton's neuroma in my left foot, which has left me unable to ride in anything less than look delta pedals with their massive cleats and carbon road shoes. These are great for the road but a nightmare for off road as they are impossible to walk on, the delay in clipping/unclipping means you cant put your foot down when necessary and worse of all the rocky terrain wrecks the carbon (last year my brand new carbon road shoes were ruined after just one season). Having tried every  make of off road pedal , my last resort was flat pedals (with pins) and five ten flat shoes. For the last three weeks I had been using these for commuting and loved every minute of it. No foot pain , no discernible loss of power and the freedom to just hop on and off the bike without unclipping, but how would they cope in a more challenging and competitive environment?

Everyone set off at a blistering pace so myself and derek were dropped out of sight within  ten minutes.In the early part of the course, care had to be taken negotiating around a number of dogs and their sometimes stroppy owners. One dog stands out in my mind. It had decided to plonk itself right in the middle of the path where the small craters force you into that direction , I managed to slow down and carefully negotiate around it but when Derek got there the dog must have taken humbrance at these annoying cyclists and lept up attempting  to attack Derek's leg, but was held off by the large mass of spinning schwalbe rubber.

Fortunately no more dogs were to be seen on the rest of the route. I had forgotten just how bumpy the route was . Although I was bit quicker than Derek on the early smooth part of the course, the advantage was soon  with Derek (full suspension) as I was bashed up and down (hard tail) over the infinitely large number of bumps while Derek gracefully glided over them all. From here on we would ride the rest of the route together.

About a third of the way round we came  to the road section. This is about three miles long, almost all uphill and nasty . Riding this with a road bike would be quite tough but on a much heavier mtb with fat knobbly tyres its a struggle. At least you have the super low gears to help you. I could now feel the disadvantage of flat pedals and shoes compared to being clipped in. It wasn't so much the slight loss in power than bothered me but rather the fact that pressing hard on the soft soles of the pedals was making the soles of my feet ache (but at least the neuroma was happy)

Finally we had got through the road section and flew down the steepest off road descent back down to the main trail. This is when I felt the benefit of flat pedals, knowing i could put my feet down instantly gave me a confidence boost.

The middle third of the route is on most flat but bumpy terrain with a few wooded sections. the wooded sections do hang onto any mud that has formed and sure enough there were a few slippery sections but nothing too major. It was about here I realised another disadvantage of flats. Despite the shoes being impressively sticky you do need to make a conscious effort to keep your feet down on them all the time. Being a 'bear of very little brain' I was finding this mentally tiring.

A third disadvantage of flats was also discovered. Ironically because the shoes are so sticky, when you lift the shoes off the pedals you have to try to get them in just the right position when you put your feet back down, you can't just slide them along the pedal a little bit, you have to lift them up and plonk them down again in hopefully the correct position!

Sadly These Pedals Will Have to Be replaced By Look Deltas!

The final third of the route is from the reservoir's  concrete barrier wall onwards. This begins with a rapid road and firm path down to the barriers walkway followed by speedy riding along the walkway and into the forest. This section has some slightly downhill wooded sections and a few interesting sharp turns and steep little climbs before seeing Bewl bridge and where you started. It was in one of the woods where we spotted pete ahead. Pete had got dropped by the other three and never having done the route before had been forced to slow down and keep checking to see if he was on the correct route.

Arriving back at the vehicles we were surprised that Paul, Malc and  Ivan had left for the pub without us! I guess the lure of beer was too strong to resist.. Sure enough by the time we got there they were were well into their second pint.

Its great to be back at bewl. Shame about the pedals but they just don't cut the mustard, oh dear ' its back to carbon shoes and look deltas for another season, better start bidding on ebay now for a replacement pair of carbon shoes. I will however keep the flats because for commuting they are brilliant and well worth it for the convenience of shopping etc.

Steve C

Ninfield TT - 3/6

We were at Ninfield last night (3 June)  for the last of the early season TTs on the 14 mile circuit.  Please see the attached table of times.  Several were a few seconds off the best they had done in previous weeks but I made it 5 PBs and 2 SBs from the excellent field of 18 riders.  We had 4 first timers on the circuit and 7 riders had gone quicker in one of the two previous weeks.

 Pete Tadros (In Gear) was disappointed not to go sub 30 minutes for the third week on the trot so it must have not been an easier evening, which makes the PBs good times that can surely come down further when we are back on the course in six or so weeks.

 Trevor Deeble joined the sub 34 minute crew, will Alex Smith (PBC) also make it after a 34.30 on his first ride round the course?

 Stewart Buckland (38.53) and Neil Smith (39.09) both had PBs with Stewart now going 2-1 ahead on their head to heads on the Ninfield circuit this year!

New member Ross Mason (41.35) put in a good marker time.

 Ruth (37.08), one of our chain gang regulars from Eastbourne, put in a very nifty time on a road bike as you would expect from a roadie who now rides for PMR.

We also had a good crowd in the Red Lion afterwards with John Vidler hearing from Tom’s friend Mark Fairbrother (Rovers) on how to do the PBP (and LEL) on gears or fixed ………..  A very serious long distance Audaxer!

 Next week signing on is later at 19:00 sharpish for the Classic Hastings-Rye-Hastings TT for three weeks  (10, 17 and 24 June).

Chris Parker

BRECHFA- mtb trip to wales

 Last September Duncan and I decided to join a group going to Brechfa in Wales for the weekend.
Jay and Nikki started Mudtrek a few years ago where you stay in converted barns with bed breakfast and evening meals and Jay guides for one of the days. Jay says he is living the dream.
We did not realise when we booked that this clashed with Steves French trip.
Duncan decided that it was a long way to go for 2 days so we bolted on a day.
He liked the look of the brecon beacons and found a route on the internet . I found a campsite that was right on the start of the route with 2 pubs within 200 metres.
The route turned out to be a good one with a long steady climb until eventually we were on the top of the beacons . Its very exposed up there but we only had one shower of rain and light winds, the route dropped down again but then climbed back up to a path leading to “ the gap “ between Pen y fan (the highest hill in south Wales)  and Cribben   . The descent from here is very steep and rocky but then its mainly downhill on rocky paths down to the town of Brecon.
This route is 41K and we knew we only had 10K to go and we discovered that we could go along a canal tow path so time to sit in the sun at a pub by the river. We spun along the tow path in no time and would you believe it this took us straight to one of the pubs in talybont on usk the village of our campsite.
It turned out that Duncan had never been to the top of Pen y fan so after a couple of beers I suggested we walked it in the morning before going off to Brechfa. Our route was about 6 miles and I do not remember it as being a hard walk but the last mile is tough and I knew we were back on the bikes at 1pm. , the walk ended up taking 3 hours so we were running late and dashed down to brechfa to meet the group. Luckily most of them were also late having misjudged bank holiday traffic. This gave me a welcome chance to recover . We only then had time to do the 17K blue run which was not technical and I was feeling confident for the next day. The weather was still sunny..
So the next day the big day our guided day it rained. I thought so what the trails are quite tame.
It was then Jay said I don't do many marked trails . Me & Duncan and one other were clipped in . Everyone else was on flats including Jay and his helper Tam. I soon discovered why when going into a bottomless puddle of water and could not unclip in time and so completely soaked. Duncan and the other clipin seemed to be fairing better. We were out for about 6 hours and in that time we had reached the trail centre and did a bit of the red trail and then a bit of the black. I was pleased to see the end after a fall right at the end of the black. Jay had arranged to leave his land rover at a car park and said you all go to the pub round the corner and I will load the bikes. After a couple of pints we all got into the land rover with the 10 bikes on a special roofrack like in in the tours and then back to base.
Jay videos the whole day then edits it in the evening . He has got a projector screen in his man cave so we all had a laugh at those who got it wrong . Yes my second fall in the water is on the video clip
.
Derek