29/9 Tuesday Training - Our Last One Of 2015

A very enjoyable night for the final 'Tuesday Training' session of 2015. Now that it gets pitch black during the latter part of the ride, its time to says goodbye until May next year.

Steve D And Derek's First Tuesday Ride!

Meeting up at the FairlightLodge with the regulars were Derek and Steve D. As usual Steve was impatient to get going and keri was running late. Normally we only wait for riders until 6:05 but as we knew Keri was on his way we decided to wait until 6:10 and keri made the start (just!)

The theme of the night turned out to be rear LED lights. I was dismayed to realise that I had left my spare light on another bike and that my main one was running low on power so had not choice but to leave it off for the first part of the ride while there was still some daylight. Gareth was proudly showing off his £8 moon light from Aldi which did give off an impressive but not too blinding light even on a low setting. Steve F had no less than three LEDs stacked one upon the other but they had been left on all day and so were running low in power and difficult to see. On reaching the sea defences we were joined by Mark I who had a rear 'exposure' LED light that  put even Gareth's to shame.

Mark had such an easy ride on Sunday escorting his missus around  the 'Rotary Tour Of Romney Marsh' that he wanted to push himself hard but everyone else felt like taking it a bit easier than normal.

Mark shot off up the Broad Oak drag and would not be seen again until the planned regrouping at the top. Steve D broke away from the rest of us but we caught him up halfway up the drag . By the time we neared the end Steve D complained of feeling done in, this is the result of a number of weeks off the bike with no training at all. Derek on the other hand was going the best I have seen him ride for some time, he now seems to have put his sciatica problems well behind him. keri is also steadily improving.Waiting with mark at broad-oak was the familiar figure of Malc D. Malc had been determined to join the final Tuesday ride but had gotten the start time all wrong and so had had to do the ride the other way round instead.

With myself and Gareth knackered from the Rotary ride, no-one except Steve F and Malc really pushed themselves on the Stonestile climb. Steve D was so completely done in that he had to do the 'walk of shame' for part of the climb.

We are going to miss doing this ride. We also miss the moniker of 'Tubby' which we feel indicates that this is not a fast ride , so despite the risk of putting some people off, we are renaming this ride 'Tubby Tuesday Training' for next year.

Steve C