15/9 Tuesday Training - Keri Makes It On Time!

Much to my surprise  keri actually made it to the meeting point with time to spare on this weeks ride.

Keri on time!!!

Joining us and looking slim after completing the epic 1200km PBP (Paris Brest Paris) ride a couple of weeks back was Steve B. On the way through the nature reserve there was time for Steve to regale us with stories about the pleasure and pain of completing the PBP. Steve and John S were the only HSLCC members to attempt the ride. Due to work commitments John was not as well prepared as Steve but ironically it was Steve's body that broke down the most with problems to his IT band ligament and finger tendons (John has promised a full report soon), he still loved it though and both John and Steve are already planning an even more extreme challenge , the 3600 km transcontinental!

Reaching the Broad Oak drag, myself, Nigel F, Steve B and Gareth initially worked together as a peloton. With Nigel F back riding after a long break I assumed the pace would be OK but Nigel and Gareth were inspired by the superfit Steve B and despite feeling strong and riding all the way up in my outer chainring, I was eventually spat out the back (both Gareth and Nigel went on to get top three three personal strava achievements for the drag)

Having regrouped at Broad Oak were were all together for the final third of the ride but somehow I found myself ahead of the others on arriving  Stonestile . Feeling a bit lazy I was honking my way up the initial slope when I heard heavy breathing from Gareth who was clearly going to drop me. Settling into more efficient seated riding and grinding my way up mtb style I not only held him off but manage to put some distance between us.Reaching the final slope I assumed I was too far ahead for Gareth to catch me and reverted back to standing on the pedals. However, I had underestimated Gareth's determination and with a huge acceleration he came shooting past me to win the Stonestile climb.Looks like Gareth has reclaimed his fitness after his holiday in Canada
and his injured ribs!

Afan Forest 2015

I have been going to Afan forest in Wales for several years now. Duncan has also come down
there several times and this time Malcolm D on his first visit.

Malcolm has been going out to Bedgebury Forest to do a loop of that before meeting us for
the Bewl circuit to get into practise for the miles of singletrack riding in Afan.

Afan has 4 main routes , there is Skyline which we never do as this is tour of 46k around the
high firebreaks in the Forest. It has tremendous views but little singletrack. There is then
Whites Level and The Wall which can be combined to make a 44k route . These have lots of singletrack riding both climbing and descending.




There is then Penhydd which is quite a lot of singletrack and finally Blade which is the
newest trail and cost £360,000 to build about a year ago. This trail is the best there with some
steep singletrack fast birms and forest tracks.

So we arrived at about 3.30 and were on the trails by 4 . We did Whites Level then Penhydd
with me and others doing part of it where Duncan and Malc climbed to the top to do it all.
This was 4 hours riding. The pub is on the way back so stopped off for a couple of pints then
back to the house we stay at for bangers and mash cooked expertly by Tim whose father
Chris organises this trip.

Next day we tackled Blade this takes about 4 hours and has some great trail riding .The climb
to the start however takes about an hour. Half way up Duncans chain broke. I keep telling him
you do sometimes have to change gear to get uphill. Luckily we all joined in with Chris
supplying the missing link .Duncan had his chain spliter and Malcolm had a length of chain
as 2 links were wrecked.

Malcolm was really getting into the riding but on the last run down to the village had a rare
misjudgement and came off buckling his front wheel badly. He then had to try and straighten
it out as it would not turn in the forks . He pushed so hard it took him off balance and he fell
back over the edge of the track and hurt his back. This was the only injury of the trip!!
He made a reasonable job of getting wheel to turn but a new rim is needed.

After lunch we split group into 2 groups of 3 with me deciding which to go with. The others
had found blade a tough morning and did not want to climb much. Duncan and Malc wanted
to climb to the top again to do The wall. I decided to do the Wall . It’s a long climb on
firebreak but mostly climbing through woods on singletrack. Eventually you get to a café in
the middle of nowhere . It was just closing but the nice lady made us a well needed coffee.
After a slight direction error we got on the track called zig zag which takes you all the way to
the bottom and its name is exactly what it does. This route takes you a long way from our
start and we have then a steady climb of about 7k on a dissused railway track but we know
this railway track leads to a station ( which is now a pub). The others were still there so we
joined them for a beer and then they went off to start the dinner. We stayed on for another
beer but it was about 7pm by then and the midges were out in force and I got bitten so bad I
had to leave the others to get away from them.

Tim made an excellent curry for dinner.

Sunday is always a difficult day as by then getting tired and the drinks from evening before.
We often talk ourselves out of it but with Duncan and Malc this was not going to happen so
the others decided to call it a day ,and we headed back to Penhydd . This has a blue run called
scar that the others had done the previous day so the plan was to do that. I started but had run
out of steam so turned on next bailout point. Duncan and Malc did Blue scar then decided to
do Penhydd from halfway . These runs start at a mountain bike centre so I was happy to go to
the café and let them go for it . It was a hot sunny day and so I was more then happy to chill
and we were on the road home by noon


Derek

6/9 - Sunday Improver's Ride launch

In the past, several riders have asked for a slightly easier Sunday ride for riders who would struggle to keep up with the regulars on the harrow club rides that JV does such a great job organising. In the winter JV drops the pace a little but in the summer the regulars like to increase the pace and mileage starting very early in the morning .

Myself and JV have tried several options including having a second leader of a slower group and the club ride splitting off partway through but none of this worked out so we shelved the idea.

Recently however even more riders have appeared on the scene and so with the off road season faltering as it comes to the end of season I thought I would try again by leading a 'Sunday Improvers' ride'.

Taking advantage of this new type of sunday ride were: Andy T who has just returned to the club after a number of years away, father and son Nick and Zack Fawcett who are completely new to the club, Ivan who is recovering from concussion, Gareth recovering from damaged ribs, plus myself and Greg.

While waiting to see if any more riders turned up our main conversation revolved around all the various riders recovering from injuries at the moment with Pippa, Ivan, Gareth, Paul C all getting a mention. This rather alarmed Nick who wandered whether we were safe to ride with lol.

Riding with completely new riders is always a bit difficult as you are not sure what pace is OK. So as we headed down Westfield lane and into Sedlescombe I started slow and gradually increased the pace until it was apparent they were both actually stronger than I was.

From then on the average  pace was pretty relentless for the whole ride, ending up being only 0.8 mph slower than the 7:000 harrow group although they did have to ascend 1,000 feet more than us!
For me this was the ideal pace as I felt at the top end of my 'comfort zone' for the whole ride. Gareth would be the one who would suffer the most having put a few pounds on his noble frame from his two week holiday to Canada plus recovering from his injured ribs

We were following one of JV's classic routes, 'Ballsack'. A nice 55 mile route with lots of rolling hills giving a medium hill density. Some of the local road surfaces are beginning to deteriorate again but we loved the roads around Brightling, Rushlake green and Cowbeech which have decent road surface lots of sweeping bends and very little traffic.

like father, Like Son. Welcome to Zack and Nick !

Reaching Horam we took advantage of the excellent 'Lakeside cafe' for a half hour breather. They do an excellent range of food here and rather than the ubiquitous bacon butty I went for a big chip butty instead and two mugs of tea . This carbo/ caffeine  loading really payed off as I felt super energised for the last third of the ride , knocking off a few Strava PBs on the way back.

Our strongest riders were Andy and Zack who have similar slender frames and so were  often leading from the front.

Good to see that everyone had the route on their GPs device as this makes it so much easier to keep everyone together and everyone can take their turn at the front.

We had a great incident free ride apart from Gareth managing to break yet another rear spoke on his rear wheel (this is why I ride aksiums at the rear) and proved the concept of the 'improver's ride'

As long as there continues to be a need/demand for this type of ride, I
am happy to commit to leading one a month.

Steve C

4/9 Fri Night Ride - Autumn Twilight

With the Bewl water season officially over it was time for me to make a reappearance at the 'Friday Night Ride' . This would be my first one for several months.

Andy Now Rides A Much Better Bike!

The weather had turned surprisingly cold , you could really feel the change of the season into Autumn. Still, it was a beautiful still evening so it was surprising that only four riders were out. Never mind it was good to ride with Peter Baker and Dan S again. Also good to have  Andy Tester riding with us  who I hadn't  seen for years but recognised instantly. last time I rode with Andy he was on an old Carrera bike which wasn't very good, now he was on a carbon Basso which put my old CAAD 8 to shame. He was also a lot fitter than I remembered!

I made the most of the  evening light to help descend Battery hill, well aware that in a few weeks we would have to make this dangerous decent in pitch blackness.

Dan and Pete reported that the 'seagull smashing mussel shell' season had at last come to an end and we could now ride the Harbour without a 33% chance of getting a puncture. I forgot just how nice this section is and we stopped for a pee stop looking out over a lovely red sunset on a cool but windless evening.

Admire The View While Taking A leak!

Andy showed how much faster he has got and dropped the rest of us almost immediately on the Broad-Oak drag but working together as a peloton we managed to reel him back in about halfway up . Despite being the weakest of the four I felt pretty good and (helped by the others) managed to pull off my third best ever Strava time for the upper part of the drag .

Mystery Rider revealed As Mark Blaker

Somewhere near the finish we spied a rider up ahead, was he someone we knew?  He was riding a Giant defy (alloy) and had an enormous fluorescent backpack . We all stopped together at broad oak for a chat where the  mystery rider revealed himself to be Mark Blaker, a friend of Nicks. I now recalled coming across Mark before , as he commutes home from Rye and sometimes crosses our path. We persuaded Mark to ride the rest of the route with us , even though this would be tough carrying all his commuter gear.


Unfortunately at this point I discovered what I initially thought was a slow puncture. Not wanting to hold up the ride I used a CO2 cylinder to re-inflate it but the loud hissing proved that a replacement inner tube would have to be fitted. Being the second worst puncture repairer in the club (only Pete baker is worse)  this took some time everyone was getting increasingly cold . Our new acquaintance could wait no longer and set off on his own, but did promise to send us an email about joining our email list.






By the time we were moving again we were all feeling cold and didn't get properly warmed up until the strenuous  workout of Stonestile
lane.

Steve C

Very Important Guidelines For Riding The Wednesday Chain-Gang

The Hastings Wednesday Winter Chain Gang is a fast training ride and not a race

 The winter chain gang is starting soon so a few reminders.  Meeting time is 19:20 and we will set out in two or more groups.  The quick “ultras” just before 19:30 and the other groups soon after to beat the barriers at the crossing (or have train times changed?). You must have lights (if very bright angled at “dip” please) and a helmet and not use tri bars, which should really be removed for group riding.  Only experienced riders on fixed wheel please, they change pace differently from those on gears so be aware of who is riding fixed.


Specifics for the Chain Gang

1.      Groups must back off and not bunch on the approach to the bridge by the Star Inn – you cannot go two abreast across the bridge when a car is there, one fast rider can be very tight with a van coming the other way ………

2.      When waiting at the Pevensey turn to regroup please pull off on to the concrete in front of the gate and do not spread all across the road.

3.      Be aware of the bad pothole on the way back from Pevensey about a third of the way up Spooky hill – there are others too so find them in the light and memorise where they are and always call them out as you pull out wide


Please identify any new riders and let me know who they are and where they are from. Old hands need to brief new riders as to what happens and what is expected.  Can Stuart Hodd, John Vidler, Neil Smith and Steve Curtis in particular keep an eye on who is riding.  Juniors are not allowed without prior approval from me.


The Hastings Wednesday Winter Chain Gang is a fast training ride for several groups of riders who should be aiming to ride “through and off”, everyone taking a turn on the front even if only briefly.  Riders need to know what they are doing and observe the good practices of fast group riding. There were concerns on the conduct of the runs early last winter (in previous years too) but by mid season changes were made and new riders mostly got the hang of what was required. The general guidance on club runs and group riding applies but for very fast training ride road race level skills and techniques are required.  However the chain gang is not a race and there are no winners or losers.


Some of the most important basics are:

Predictability

Communication

Concentration


Predictability: ride in a straight line at a uniform pace with smooth acceleration and slowing down.

Do not swerve suddenly e.g. round a pot hole but smoothly change line giving warning if there is a pot hole or other danger

Do  not look over your shoulder when riding at speed in close company, you will veer off line, keeps eyes ahead may be with the briefest of glances under your arm

Do not suddenly pull off out of line if you rapidly up the pace, someone may be coming past from behind and you will cut them up

Do not pull up suddenly if you drop a bottle or light, and do not yo yo by frequently stopping pedalling, people behind will get irritated and may run in to your back, drop a gear and spin your pedals smoothly


Communication: call directions and warnings out loud, and relay them through the group

Call “inside or outside” when going past a rider – if a slower rider is keeping their line in the middle of the road others will sometimes go inside but must call clearly

Short sharp clear calls alert others to what is going on and ensure that everyone’s attention is raised

Warn of oncoming cars so riders pull in tight together, no more than two abreast

Warn if cars may try to come through from behind – it will stop others suddenly pulling out in to the middle of the road in front of overtaking traffic

Do not get upset if you think you are being shouted at

OK yes you may well be shouted at a times, probably by an old hand who thinks you have done something that could be dangerous.  Talk about it later



Concentration: you have to react very quickly when riding at speed in close proximity to others, so stay alert

Keep both hands firmly on your bars and keep looking ahead

Listen for all the calls and think if you need to relay the call on

Anticipate any potential problems (and alert others)

If in a group riding through and off hard it is not a time for social chit chat ……..



Chris Parker

07902 630574 – the robust mobile in my pocket so usually gets answered but runs out of memory if you send long texts

07597 557432 – the iPhone that lives in my rucksack and can deal with long texts and from which I make calls, if I have battery

ChrisParkerPett@aol.com the email address that I can usually pick up any time

Battery Hill Climb TT Wednesday 2 September

We Gave Up Waiting For The rain To Stop!

I had not been able to check out Battery hill until late afternoon on the day of the event.  As I walked round the corner to the village shop, having parked in Waites Lane, the sun was pretty much in line with the climb and clear of the trees, a concern that motorists may be partially blinded and have trouble seeing the riders at and behind the start line and on the first section of the climb. The start was over an hour away so I hoped that the sun would drop below the tress further up the hill.  The shop was due to close at 18:30 so with first rider due off at 18:45 there would be no problem with cars wanting to park just behind the start line.  Stuart had already put out warning signs and was at the car park extra early, only the car park was roped off since the surface was going to be redone over the following days.  We decided to sign on by the roped off car park entrance and send anyone with a car along to the next car park. Despite the sun there were a few drops of rain and by the time the first riders turned up to sign on it was getting heavy and persistent.  With officials in their cars and riders sheltering under trees there were a few promising hints of the sun trying to break through but the rain kept coming down.  It seemed to be blowing over so the delayed sign on and starting order were completed from inside the back of Malcolm’s van.  The rain stopped as riders went down the hill to the start, only for it to start again just as the first rider was due off.  At least there was no chance of motorists being blinded by the sun!  Several riders had flashing rear lights, something that is strongly recommended when time trialling (plus helmets to approved safety standards) and with dark overhanging trees at the top of the climb well worth using even in bright daylight.

 Several of the riders were wet and cold, having been caught out by the rain, so it was not the quickest of evenings.  Trevor Deeble (4:51) won the club event, with Malcolm Daly (5:44) second and Iain Webster (6:24) third on his first hill climb.

The last time we had a really wet ride up Battery Hill was in 1998 when only two brave souls attempted the climb in foul conditions with the finish timekeeper well protected from the elements in the bus shelter by the church, Tim Blower shading Peter Tadros to win.  But Peter says he beat Tim in the other Hastings hill climb that year, Elphinstone, and he was club hill climb champion on the aggregate time.  I think Peter only ever did one 25 for Hastings and it was a 1:01 so is not one of sub sub-hour testers but he went on to ride for other clubs from 1999 and soon became rather quick!  The attached table of times for Battery Hill only goes back to 1999, we did not do the event in 2014.


Peter was quickest (4:07) but is several weeks off his best hill climbing form which he is working towards for the National Championships.  His 13 year old son Theo (6:16) made a great TT debut on a fixed wheel and will be riding several Open Hill Climbs with his father in the coming weeks.  Daniel Pink (4:39) had looked round for some hill climbs to help him prepare for the hill climb season and being on holiday this week came down to Hastings from Orpington to ride and will have been pretty damp on his return trip on the train.  Rye Wheelers are holding their hill climb championships on Battery Hill on Sunday 18th October (check) so Michael Maxwell (4:59) had a useful work out and excellent sub 5 minute time.

The Rye event counts in the Hastings TT points series and if any first claim rider wants to challenge Trevor and is faster than 4:50.2 they will be crowned Hastings Hill Climb Champion for 2015.


H&StL CC

Trevor Deeble 4:50.2

Malcolm Daly 5:43.9

Iain Webster 6:23.6

Greg Blackwell 7:14.2

Keri Purves 7:17.9



Private TTs

Peter Tadros In Gear 4:06.6

Daniel Pink Bigfoot 4:38.9

Michael Maxwell Rye 4:58.2

Theo Tadros (13)  In Gear 6:15.3



Chris Parker

Broad Oak Club TT Aug 19

PB For Kerri!

It was a bit of a miserable evening as it stared to rain a little as we were signing on.  But it did not get really wet and there were some PBs.

Chris P