Bacon Butty Run Saturday 30/01/2016

By the time I was locking up my bike outside Di Paolo's at 09:25 there were already four or so bikes outside. More arrived, including Club President Stuart Crabb, so by the time we assembled at 10:00 for roll off there were a record 20 riders, two up on the record set last week. I think there were three first timers and two guests. It used to be that it was more like 09:45 before people started turning up but many now enjoy a more leisurely pre ride coffee and chat, some even their breakfast.

I thought this could be one of those challenging (for the leader(s) "herding cats" runs when trying to cater for a wide range of fitness levels, plus new faces, meant riders ended up all over the place and we lost some. But roll off went well, with no one sprinting off ahead, and by the time we did the left turn just north of Cooden station to do a rolling regroup and reassess if we needed a permanent split of the run all was looking promising. The regroups at the T junction just north of Hooe and the disused garage forecourt by the Bull s Head Boreham Street worked well with no long waits for the Grupetto.

Duncan and his boys on Boreham Street

With a large group the narrow road and double white lines as you leave Boreham Street are a bit of an issue for impatient motorists. Nothing is allowed to cross the white lines if slow moving traffic is going more than 15mph, otherwise drivers are liable to pick up three points on their licence, as I know from personal experience........ Twenty riders in single file with no breaks does not allow impatient drivers to pull in if they are suddenly faced by an oncoming car, so you all need to ride at 25 mph plus (not the BBR .....) or leave some breaks for cars to drop in between smaller groups.

Quick efficient service at Starbucks

Soon after the Bodle Street Green regroup, the start and finish for the ESCA Hard Riders TT on Sunday 20 March (online entries open on the CTT web site), Alex stopped to help Fabien sort out his saddle height. It was great to see Alex, who was the strongest rider amongst us, making a rare BBR appearance. It was less than three years so that he was introduced to club cycling by us. He rapidly took to it and had a good season road racing last year riding for a team and is second claim with us. I left them behind and carried on to the regroup at Rushlake Green with everyone setting off for the cafe stop as I waited to mark the turn for Alex and Fabien. Alex has learnt how to judge pace very well and kept me and Fabien on his wheel as we set off in pursuit of everyone else. Alex had us riding echelon in to the wind along the level just after Wartling, but not quite at the 28mph he, Stuart and Barney managed to hold in to a strong head wind on one of their recent team training rides ready for the imminent first SERRL event of the year. So chapeau to Alex for riding well below his capability to set just the right pace for me and Fabien for many miles, just what club runs are all about.

With so many people out we had agreed in Di Paolo's that we should try Starbucks near Pevensey roundabout for the coffee break. Last week with a slower than usual Gruppetto (I think) and 16 or so at Chilley Farm taking a while to polish off their bacon butties it was apparently nearer 14:00 that the ride finished? This week we were back in Bexhill before 13:00 thanks to a lot quicker turn around in Starbucks, although I think there were only 14 of us in there since several had cut off mid ride to go elsewhere and one or two did not want to stop.

Unless anyone comes up with other ideas I think that with any more than 12 wanting a coffee break on the ride we ought to use Starbucks when it is cold/wet in the winter since we struggle to get 12 in to Pevensey Bakery and it is not very warm at Chilley Farm plus it takes quite a while at the farm if everyone is ordering Bacon Butties etc.

Chris P

30/1-BBR: Girl Power

After pulling out of the 'Hill & Mills' audax due to a chest infection and forecast of heavy rain , I arrived early at Di Paulos's all kitted out in a cheap waterproof ready to take on the weather but relieved not to have to worry about icy conditions.

Warm welcome to Caroline on her first BBR

Next to arrive was Celia who was looking forward to her second BBR. Celia has only recently come back to cycling having purchased a second hand carbon road bike. She said she liked the bike but complained to me about how much movement there was on the stem. When I found out that this was one of those adjustable jobs I advised her to get rid of it as soon as possible, telling her the story of how I used to have one until the bolt in the centre snapped  leaving me holding handlebars that were no longer attached to the bike , resulting in a nasty crash face down into the road. This must have played on her mind, as within a few miles of starting the ride she would go on to complain to others about the stem flex and  abandoned the ride to head straight for the bike shop to have it replaced with a solid stem!

The cafe soon began to fill up ,so that by the time everyone arrived we had eclipsed last weeks attendance by an additional two people to give a record 20 riders. As well as Celia we had Sue Landy and Caroline on their first ever BBR. We also had some new male riders; Derek had brought along his friend Jim and Duncan had brought along his two youngest sons Conor and Jem ( just how many sons has Duncan got?)

After a couple of weeks absence, my fellow St Richards inmate, young Theo Tadros was there but informed us that this would be his last BBR for some time as the TT seasons begins in February and he would be time trialling every weekend  with his Dad (local TT legend Pete Tadros) until their rest period in late summer.

Sue outperforms most of the men despite it being her first ever BBR

By the time we set off, the rain had just about petered out and my new bright red waterproof was flapping about in the wind, doing a good impression of  a small sail so at the first opportunity I took it off even though I would end up feeling slightly chilled for the rest of the ride. 

I found it especially heartening to see see Tom out again  , but sans his Bianchi which is still awaiting the obscure crank bolt it needs to get back on the road . This left Tom with his old faithful steel audax bike but this was definitely the heaviest (and oldest ) bike on the ride.

Chris took us again on the Tilley lane variation due to all the flooding but many of us actually prefer this variation over the 'standard horse walk' variation and would happily do this all the year round. 

The only really big hill is Boreham street. Having had a couple of low mileage weeks, my legs felt well rested and I found it an easy climb and  arrived about half
way up the long string of riders grinding their way to the top.Duncan's sons look young and very slim, so I hope they didn't mind waiting to long for the whole company to arrive at the top?

The rest of the ride proceeded without any incidents at all , not even a puncture! With all the recent rain there was a great deal of water running down some of the roads but this was always flowing down the sides so was easily avoided.

Today's Boreham Street league table

By Rushlake green, our numbers were down to 16 as Malc D, Duncan and his boys had broken away for other engagements. All that was left was to head east along the A271 ,then turn south for Pevenesey. Feeling strong and with gravity on my side I decided to pump the old leg muscles a bit harder and found myself overtaking everybody (or so I thought) with only Andy L able to stay with me.

Eventually Andy's superior leg strength got the better of me and he towed me the last couple of miles into the Starbuck's cafe' . Here I was surprised to see that we were not the first to arrive as both Tom and Sue's bikes were proudly propped up outside. This was particularly impressive as this was Sue's first ever BBR and Tom was on his old steel audax bike.Sue was ecstatic about the BBR having thoroughly enjoyed it , so I think we have gained a regular BBR rider there? Derek's pal Jim also rode really well, despite being on flats and a  borrowed bike he kept up with the main field so hopefully he will also join us again?

We were trying out the 'Starbucks'' for the first time as our numbers are now so large that it takes too long to get served at Chile farm. Myself and lord Buss understand why we may have to switch to this cafe but I must admit we did feel homesick for the friendly ambience of the 'warming room' at Chile farm.

Many thanks to 'The Colnel' for leading another wonderful BBR.

PS-Myself and some of the regulars wont be there next week as we are doing our annual 'Snargate Social'. This ride will go ahead no matter what the weather as I need to shed my unfortunate moniker of cancellation Curt!

Steve C

Wednesday Chain Gang - Fashionably Late

'The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it.' Franklin P Jones

'The trouble with being punctual is that the buggers ride off early.' Neil D Smith

I rode past the beach shelter and whipped up and down Galley Hill, expecting to join the group in good time. I arrived back at the shelter to find they had already gone! Was I late, or did the marvellous and mischievous Hoddster see me and wave the group off? I believe I was on time! Whatever the truth, I now faced a solo ride into the westerly wind to catch them up, light rain spitting and spinning around, but not enough to make me wet.

Part-way to the De La Warr, I saw a flashing red light - a back-marker to chase and catch! I reeled him in on Bexhill front, shouted 'hi Steve!' and then realised it was Keri. He was going too slowly for us to work together, so I pressed on, peering as far ahead to see the back of the group, but there was no sign of them at all. Ugh! I resigned myself to making the ride alone to Pevensey. The breeze was quite stiff, but not terrible, and I averaged 26kph on the outward leg. That's a long way off my best of 36.8kph, and further still from the KoM speed of 42.6kph!

The rain was light, as I have said, but there was considerable standing water on the marsh lanes with large puddles spread across the tarmac, with gravel and stones lying about. I was glad of my mudguards, but my feet still got a soaking. Everywhere was water and wind, and nowhere in sight was another cyclist. I rode on, dodging the deeper puddles, flying effortlessly up up Spooky Hill (er, maybe), and water-skiing down the western slope into the sodden marshes. I arrived at the roundabout to find 14 other riders and received a fair amount of abuse for being 'late' to the start. Ok, I confess, it was indeed a school-boy error and on a windier night I would have paid a higher price.

But as it was, it went ok and we were soon spinning back to Bexhill. I was hanging just off the back of the ultras, with Malc D, before we dropped off slightly on Spooky. Malc recovered more quickly than me and sped off, reaching another solo rider that he then rode with as a pair to the lights. I had another solo ride. I think the universe is telling me something, like 'ride faster'.

I'm still enjoying the Cannondale 'cannonball' CAADX. The ride quality is superb and, generally, the extra weight is only a problem on longer hills. It's so nice to ride that I can live with its limitations. The cyclocross gearing (46/36T chain set with a 9-speed 11/28 cassette) is plenty. I have spun out in the 46T maybe once or twice on the steepest of hills, and I realise that I could ride just on that chain ring most of the time. A wider spread at the back for hills (a 32T) would cover most situations, but of course the trade off would be bigger steps between the gears. Again, not sure how big a deal that is really. For the chain gang, I slip some Giant P-SL1 wheels onto the bike with 25mm Four Season tyres, taking a kilo off the weight of the bike and, more importantly, greatly reducing the rotating mass and consequent effort. I guess I could save weight elsewhere by swapping out the seat post, saddle, stem and bars, but there is nothing I can do about the weight of the frame, although I think it's only about 1.6kg (the CAAD12 alu frame is 1.15kg). It makes a great bad weather and training bike that you could tour on, if you wanted. I like metal bikes and my experience with the cannonball has made me think that a CAAD10 or 12 would be a good buy, given the level of kit you get compared to a similarly priced carbon-framed bike.

As is my habit, I turned around at the lights for a second ride of the chain gang route, escorting Stewart B to Cooden and Peter B to Normans Bay. I am not sure why, but Peter seemed incapable of properly hearing anything I said, our conversations going something like:

'How did it go tonight?'
'Fine Peter, a good return leg with the wind'.
'Eh?'
'I said it was a good return leg with the WIND'.
'Wha..?'
'I said IT WAS A GOOD RETURN LEG! FAST!! YES? HELLO? Oh, FFS, you deaf old bastard'.
'Don't you call me Jeff'.

And so on, much to the amusement of Stewart who wanted to know at what age he too would become a useless old fart. I said 'at the same age as Peter' which, of course, he did not hear. I give up. I don't think I'd be too good at caring for the elderly, not enough patience.

Not much else to report really folks - I dropped Peter at the 'Normans Bay Home for the Bewildered' and rode on the the roundabout, turned around and splashed my way home. Steve 'Gadget' Ferguson did not accompany me this week as his battery-pack was running low. I offered to recharge it on the third rail at Herbrand, but he was not keen, muttering something about 'surge protection' and 'delicate electronics'.

I wonder if he could fit Peter with bionic ears? Just a thought.

Ride safely, Neil

It's a record

I counted 18 riders at the start of the BBR. It may have been more .

Jaguare arrived just as we had  started to roll off and announced he had a puncture . As riders were already rolling he was left but Malc D stopped to help him but the rest of us rolled on.

We were going to do the new winter route via Tilley Lane Rushlake Green and Cowbeech.

It was so nice to have the wet roads back after the ice of last week’s BBR.

We had three new riders Celia and two from the US of A ( Gerald and Barbara). Although I did chat briefly to the American lady I did not get as far as names but she had a nice bright blue Trek with disc brakes. I do expect some bright comment on the last sentence.

Double record for the BBR, largest ever number of riders plus three ladies!

Really we should have split the group as this is a large number to keep together but our stand in leaders were Patrick and Peter Baker who had both already warmed up on the Pre Bbr so Peter lead from the front with  Patrick taking up the rear. Apparently these two are sightseeing  in Italy later in the year a mere 800k or was it miles but they have generously given themselves eight days to do it.

We spread out a bit but Peter waited at the turns . By the time we got to Boreham Street Gerald had to bale.Celia was running out of time having really enjoyed the climb to Boreham Street.  Would you believe that Malc and Jaguire caught us by then. Andy was also short of time and one more joined them to ride back. They therefore missed all the best bits of this new ride.

The ride was uneventful but nice not to be cold and worried about sliding.

With a group this size we had no choice other than Chilley farm . Malcolm C had missed a turn somewhere so there were about 15 at the cafe and we got the 25 foot table.  Some good banter when I told them about the indecisive deer that had crossed Tilley lane then changed their mind and crossed  back again to then be told a similar thing had happened to someone with a Squirrel !! . I'm sure he meant Bear.

It took a long time for us all to get served but we got going again and an easy ride back but it was 2 pm by then.

Derek

Explaining the mythical bacon butty (or a view of the rear)

'So why do you put butter on bacon and name a ride after it'.  I scratched my head trying to work out where this line of enquiry had come from. Then it dawned on me on me something must have been lost in translation and our American cousins Gerry and Barbara were clearly struggling with the Queens English. I tried to explain ' soba on on this side of the Atlantic is thick and juicy and comes attached to a side order of fat unlike the crisp like substance you refer to by the same name, and it's not butter it's Butty a colloquialism for sandwich.

That cleared up we were ready for the off with about 20 or so ILS setting out from Di Paolos shortly after 10am.
The ILS refers to the more usual MAMiLS acronym used for most club rides until Shirley became a regular and with Gerry a septarian and Finley both on board middle aged just wasn't accurate.

The BBR re-groups at the top of Boreham Street !

Rotating the pedals in the conventional fashion clockwise if viewed from the right and anti clockwise when viewed from the left we made our way along west Bexhill seafront and onto Cooden. The pace started slowly but picked up once we reached Little Common with such a large group gaps were inevitable and we regrouped in Hooe.

Andy Lancaster an old hand of the club had volunteered to escort Celia an ex club junior now a little more mature out on her first ride on her new bike. Leaving me the honour of looking after Gerry and Barbara and Pete Baker playing Shep. Rotating from the front to the back again making sure everyone was Ok

The next regroup was at the top of Boreham hill and Gerry an asthma sufferer was finding it tough with the short sharp hills and cold damp air, neither features he was use to in New Mexico. We reached the rest of the group at the garage many of whom had achieved PRs for the segment including Gareth riding his heavy winter bike and having already done beachy on the PRE. Gerry decided discretion was the better part of valour and decided he would go back at this point and despite Andy offering finding the hills tough (although I'm told quick on the flat) said she too wanted to head back and would guide Gerry down through Wartling to Pevensey and back via the people's republic of Normans bay to Bexhill.

The rest of the group cycled through some very picturesque countryside (Sussex is quite beautiful ifyou haven't got your head down, teeth gritted, and heart rate in the 170s going for a Strava segment) on the Tilley lane variation. Regrouping at Chilleys farm for coffee and of course Barbara's first Bacon Butty.

Patrick

Wednesday Chain Gang - Ice Cold in Bexhill

As far as I know, I was the only one worried about ice on Wednesday night, pestering Peter B for updates on the state of the marsh lanes and fretting about frosting roads, wondering if we should do the Cooden Crit loops instead. A temperature in my garden of nearly -3 degrees did nothing to reassure me, but the 14 or so riders who gathered for the ride had no doubts, politely ignoring my mother-hen concerns. Dress styles for the night varied from the minimal Castelli-based winter kit approach to wearing balaclavas and fur-trimmed helmets.

Out rolled the ultras - just four of the group willing to set out in the first group, the rest of us watching them ride to the bend before setting off in pursuit. I settled in with a small group that included Lord B in his new 'dazzle-paint' cycling longs, reminiscent of a WW1 battleship, but obviously a bit smaller. We began swapping-off along Bexhill front, never losing sight of the ultras ahead as all riders exercised some caution, especially on the corners. Ice or no ice, cold roads and tyres reduce grip levels. And it was cold.

It was a also a near-windless night, so an enjoyable pace was maintained on the straights. The drop into the tight left and right handers at Cooden was executed with care and precision, before pushing on along Herbrand Walk. The turn into the marshes at the level crossing brought a distinct drop in temperature. I wonder if the air nearer the beach is warmed slightly by the sea, or whether the marsh air is damper, but either way the chill was considerable. We positioned ourselves to avoid the edges of the road. I expected ice in the areas that are usually wet, but we saw none, apart from ice in the gutter on the west side of Spooky Hill.

Our small group kept up a good pace, with Dan S, Stewart B, Gareth and Simon G (and others) all putting in strong stints on the front. I made a bid for glory on the last straight before the roundabout, and thought I might pull away. Clearly, I went too early and first Stewart B and then Gareth both sped past. I don't have the sprint finish I used to have, as my recently revived but short-lived running efforts show (humbled by two teenage daughters, and this humiliation for a man who once ran 100m in 10.6s. Ok, it was a dodgy school stopwatch, but I was fast man!).

We waited rather longer than I wanted for the rest of the group to arrive, not wanting to cool down too much. The grass at the edge of the hedge was frosted over and the small puddles were white ice. It was definitely cold. The rest of the group dribbled in, but there was no sign of Keri. Gareth (his brother) said we should leave him, so we set off as one group for a chatty and careful ride back over the marshes. We were unsure whether there was ice on the the return side of the road at Spooky Hill, so there was no sense in cranking up the speed and finding out the hard way. Michael Maxwell and one other pulled off the front at this point, but the rest of use stayed with Stuart and Barney as far as Herbrand, before they put in a bit more effort to leave us.

I rode with Stewart, Simon G and another, with Stewart doing the lion's share of the work at the front. I tried to take a turn, but could not get past him. He gallantly told me to tag on, before pulling away on Cooden Drive, leaving Simon and me to make our way in. It wasn't our hardest effort, but it was certainly enough to warm us up. Darren (relatively new to H&StLCC) completed a good return effort, but sure looked cold. Thus ended the first lap of the chain gang route.

It was not a night for hanging about, so Steve 'Gadget' Ferguson and I escorted Peter B back to the nursing home. We knew matron would be more anxious than usual about him, especially as he was wearing only a matching silk camisole and knicker set. I know silk is supposed to be warm, but surely he needed stockings and lace gloves as well? Be that as it may, we wove our way steadily to the border with the Peoples' Republic of NB, handed him over the the guards (one of them winked and showed me a jar of goose fat) and completed our repeat of the chain gang route, for no other reason than we could ride, so we did. It was very cold.

It was especially cold near the final straight to the roundabout where, for no obvious reason, we felt the temperature drop by a few degrees. The extra chill quickly found its way through my gloves and longs, making the ride decidedly unpleasant. We quickly returned through the cold patch, longing for the comparative warmth of the east side of Spooky Hill, and then the near-tropical warmth of Herbrand Walk. It's amazing how sensitive you can be to small temperature changes in these conditions, and how grateful you can feel for it merely being freezing instead of sub-zero!

The moon was nearly full and it shone on the sea with its silvery light, the water looking like shiny blue-black oil. The wind had picked up from the east and the cold began to get to us; we both needed food and a warm-up. The cold wasn't doing much for my bladder either, but I made it home without mishap, stepping into a house that felt as hot as a July greenhouse after the chill of the outdoors.

Warmer and perhaps wetter weather next week. Ride safely, Neil

Extremly Truncated BBR Report

Lord Buss back on the BBR until March 

It was great to be on the BBR and Pre BBR last Saturday and to do some more pacy cycling.  I was a bit worried about my fitness as I've been doing a lot less lately, but I was quite pleased with my performance.  It was only Neil and I on the Pre BBR, but we met up with Duncan on the way down from the icy wastelands of Beachy.  There was a great turnout on the BBR - with a couple of new faces (to me anyway.) and once the ground had thawed it was really pleasant in the wintry sunshine.  We did the Hailsham variation to avoid risks of icy lanes and regrouped at various points. Back at the Pevensey Bakery we settled down for some serious lard-age. I ordered a mini breakfast and when Paul B heard this he cancelled his egg and bacon sandwich in favour of a mini breakfast as he had worked out that this was better value.  Once I had explained that I was having an extra egg with mine he called the waitress over and asked if he could also have an extra egg.  After a few minutes he called the waitress over again and asked for a sausage.  This was too much for me and moments later I called her over for the third time and asked if I could have a sausage with mine as well. Bearing in mind that the place was 'heaving' we were lucky that she didn't tip the food over our heads. I am most painfully aware that sausages have cropped up yet again in one of my blogs and can only apologise.

Peter Buss