Friday Night Ride 12/10- Broken Hanger

Time To Ring The Missus

Lovely night for a Friday Broad Oak night ride, my first for four weeks. No wind and good dry weather after the heavy showers earlier in the afternoon. I got dropped going down battery hill as it was a really dark night and I was a bit wary going down on damp roads but caught up with the others just before the turn off for the reserve. On the long drag up to broad oak I got dropped (as usual) and without Derek there to keep me company, resigned myself to a lonely ride up to the top. However, this was not to be, as before long I came across Steve B, Jon S and Simon G at the side of the road. Steve was going no further as just like Duncan in France his rear derailleur hanger had snapped leading to the gears getting all tangled up with the chain. There was nothing for it but for Steve to ring up the missus for a lift home but getting a signal this far down the road is easier said than done and Steve had to cross over to the other side and walk up a bit before he could get a decent signal. This led to lots of agitated barking by a pair of dogs belonging to one of the houses on the side of the road and the owner popping out to investigate. We left Steve and rode together to Broad Oak and then on to Stonestile lane. Fortunately any debris on the road had been cleared and we had a safe ascent to the top with myself getting dropped yet again (missing the extra low gear on my triple geared SCR).

Wednesday Chaingang 7: New Record, 27 riders.

George

Jack

Steve Curtis reports "Altogether there were 27 riders which I think is a record. Doing the chaingang for the first time was young George Morris, unfortunately his front wheel was rubbing badly on the way out but we managed to reseat it for the ride back. Barney was there but I didn't get chance to talk to him, was this his first chaingang?

Getting the award for the coldest rider is young Jack (on only his seond chaingang) who was in summer gear and did admit to feeling cold on arrival at Pevensey"

I arrived late again, having opted to test out my roadbike freshly prepped with some new bits for the  hillclimb season, fresh rings and a new custom wheel from Alasdair  Gow at Wheelcraft -  he specced a strengthened drive side after I told him I was always popping spokes, I find box section rims are a bit more comfy compared to the stiffer V section.   Phoenix in Eastbourne also build excellent bespoke wheels tailored to your requirements. Of course I had to return to the  house to torque up the rattling 12-27 cassette I'd just fitted, and later on I had to pull over and adjust my seat which was sinking lower and lower, should have taken it for a prior shakedown.

Seeing the crystal snake of riders approaching across the black marsh I did a u-turn in advance, didn't fancy a chase this week . Usual lively ride back to Bexhill with everyone having a go to crack the group,  only John Cordner escaped just before the end - strong to the finish like Popeye.

Saturday's Bacon Butty ride and weekend plans

It was rather wet over night Friday and early morning Saturday but rain before 7 fine before 11 was as true as it often is.  So quite a few dropped out due to the "wet" but three of us had a great Bacon Butty ride in the dry (OK our shins were wet and grimy from road spray in places) and a good breakfast in Pevensey Bakery since it was a litle chilly for Chilley Farm.

Point of note: I was not using a satchell to carry my shoes, trousers and locks on Sunday.  It was a good old Bonk Bag which is used to carry food to prevent the knock / bonk (when blood sugar drops and could lead to seeing stars in extremis) and rests on the lower back with a cord around the waist and strap over the shoulder, far more comffy than a rucsack and better that these new fangled bum bags!

Runs and activities outline for the coming weekends:

Saturday 13 October:
Chris Parker is not available to lead a bacon butty run. What about someone else?
Steve has an early bird ride, if it is not wet, setting out at 8:00am

Sunday 14 October:
Chris Parker is not available to lead a run. What about someone else? Several of you are keen on having a ride so why not meet at the Harrow at 9:00 and sort out a ride?

Saturday 20 October: tbd

Sunday 21 October: ESCA hill climb Firle Beacon. 10:00 first rider off

Saturday 27 October: tbd

Sunday 28 October:
Kent CA Reliability Trial £3. We have 6 entered for the 60 mile ride from Claygate

Saturday 3 November: tbd

Sunday 4 November: Battery Hill climb sign on 9:00am in Country Park for 9:30

Sunday 11 November: Harrow club run, meet at 9:00

Sunday 18 Novemeber: East Sussex CA Reliability Trial, enter in advance for £4

Chris Parker

7 Oct- Club Run-' Horam Satchel Ride'

Refreshment At The Lakeside Cafe

Fantastic weather for the six of us out on the Sunday club run, so different to the weather we suffered during the week, best of all no wind which makes for much easier riding and communication. Chris led us out on one of the old classic club runs over towards Horam where he wanted us to check out a new cafe he had heard about called 'The Lakeside Cafe'. He had his trusty old 1970s cycle satchel with him as he was planning on leaving us at Horam to go off to Heathfield for a cycle association lunch. We rode directly over to battle before the long climb up Netherfield hill and the well known route past Darwell reservoir and through Brightling. This is one of my favourite places to ride as the roads are nice and wide and there are long steady safe descents where you can really pick up speed. It wasn't long before we got to Horam. We were all very pleased with the new cafe . Lots of choice and a nice view over the reservoir. All  were very impressed with the quality of the coffee, bacon sarnies and eccles cakes and will definitely make this one of our favourite watering holes. Chris left us at this point so we passed the navigation over to Malcolm who has a built in GPS chip in his brain. An enjoyable fast ride down gun hill into lower Dicker followed, but after that (for once)  Malcolm wasn't sure how to get onto the sustrans route leading to Pevensey. Luckily Jon knew the way and we all followed him. Once Paul B was on the front the pace picked up a little and myself and Jon gradually got dropped from the others until they slowed down for us in Bexhill. This last big push helped push up our average speed to 16.4 mph which is a good pace for a club run.Thanks to Chris for leading out such a great route, myself and Steve B have both saved it to our GPS units and called it the' Horam Satchel Ride'.
Distance 46 miles
Ascent 768m

Fri Night Ride 5/10- Hard Core Duo Brave The Weather

Jon And Steve B (two days later!)

As Steve B turned up for the Friday Broadoak ride he thought for a while that he was the only one willing to come out after a day of miserable weather, but as it happened Jon had also turned up and was round the corner having sensed there was going to be a wide enough weather window to get back home before the next batch of the wet stuff. No-one else was brave enough to give it a go, not even Ivan who popped into my house for a chat and a cup of tea on the way home instead. Jon and Steve had made a good call and  apart from some road spray, had a dry ride. Steve pulled off at Westfield leaving Jon to make the ascent of Stonestile on his own. The road was full of some deep puddles and a tree had fallen across the road near the bottom but Jon make it OK to the top. Hopefully the council will have removed the tree by next Friday and the weather will be more settled allowing us thinner skinned mortals to return to Friday night riding?

Wednesday Chain Gang 6: Avant le deluge

Twelve riders - including  a handful of new faces set out to dodge the downpours and successfully  stole a dry chain gang, sharing work for the slog out into the wind.  I was  a late arrival - met the returning bunch after plugging eleven miles on my own,  so did a quick u -turn and had to chase hard to catch them for the speedy whirl back just as they started to wind up the pace - assassins! - forgot to take  pics so my strava graph will have to do -  fixed gear of 74 inches was comfortable into a strong wind, but on way back was spinning  over 150 rpm at 35 mph at times but couldn't hold onto leaders Nathan and Barney making pace with Malc on fixed and a couple others hanging in.


Some of us went for a beer after at Traffer's, with chairman Stuart Crabb, good craic. Just as we left the pub, the lightning flashed, thunder rolled like a great floodgate opening in the sky and we all had to swim home.  Only three riders have made all six rides so far; Malcolm Daly, Steve Butcher and Simon Prior, who can last till April?! No disrespect to our absent commuting brethren who have been soaked twice daily for a whole week!

A traditional club run Sunday 30 September 2012 and weekend plans

The 9.00am Sunday meet at the Harrow (set off at 9:10) has been a regular fixture in the Hastings cycling calendar for over twenty years since the assembly point was moved there from The Briers after a schism. Although there are riders there nearly every week the H&StL CC turn out has been variable for a few years due the programme of other rides, races and sportives etc. So it was great to have a turn out of seven riders on Sunday (local In Gear and Bayeux were elsewhere). I had emailed my intention to be there more than a week ago but it seems it was my text on Saturday that reminded several of the ride. I always decide the route on the morning when I see who is out and what the conditions are like. With a group of strong riders and light early morning winds the ride was nothing like the one I had anticipated!.

We decided to go out to Lydd via Rye Harbour and Camber. Most of it was in classic club run style riding two abreast, when conditions allowed, on each other's wheels chatting away. Paul B bumped in to us at Rye Harbour as he was on the way back from his ride so he turned round and joined us for a while. So lots of extra chatting for a bit. From Lydd we cut though the quiet lanes to the Oasis Cafe at Old Romney. I always liked it but it is even better now under new management. The cheesy scrambled egg is something else and the coffee pretty good. .

We then went on the lanes to Ivychurch before cutting across to the Fleur de Lys roundabout and joining the road to Appledore and on to the Military Canal. By then the wind was up and it had turned to the SW. So Ivan set a superb tempo in to the wind as we strung out single file. Ivan was on fixed (a wheel I always trust, if I can hold on) and I held on tight at six inches from his wheel for over four miles before sitting up to see where everyone else was, leaving Ivan to plough on. I knew Steve B was on my wheel but had not realised that everyone else had let the wheels go. Many thanks to Malcolm who held back and paced the back marker all the way in to the wind, in can be a bit demoralising on your own off the back as company is always appreciated..

The new surface of the Rye to Winchelsea road beats the old concrete slabs with clunky joins hands down. We reassembled on the way out of Winchelsea where the main group ride ended and everyone split to set off home but four of us stuck together to take the lane past Ickelsham windmill, the main road, Three Oaks and Rock Lane..

By the time I got home I had done 62 miles at over 16mph so Ivan would have done the 55 plus mile run at over 17mph (so he was taking it easy for us) and the back markers at 15mph. A great sociable ride in good conditions but rides should be getting out their autumnal kit and wearing quite a few layers to cope with the cooler start and cooling off when stopping. I had the wrong kit last Sunday on a Harrow run with two others when my feet got wet and wind chilled so much that they were numb when I got home and it took 15 minutes before they came round after a warm shower..

Weekend runs etc programme:.

Saturday 6 October: bacon Butty run setting out at 10:00 sharp from Bridge Café Cinque Ports Way. 30 miles with coffee..

Sunday 7 October: meet Harrow at 9:00 to set out at 9:10 for 40/50/60 miles .

Saturday 13 October: I am not available to lead a run. What about someone else?.

Sunday 14 October: I am not available to lead a run. What about someone else?.

Saturday 20 October: tbd .

Sunday 21 October: ESCA hill climb Firle Beacon. CTT entry form 2 weeks before. 10:00 first off .

Saturday 27 October: tbd .

Sunday 28 October: Kent CA Reliability Trial £3. A cheap sportive on lanes further afield! 40, 50 or 100 miles .

Saturday 3 November: tbd .

Sunday 4 November: Battery Hill climb sign on 9:00am in Country Park for 9:30.

Steve will be leading various rides. He has finished off road rides for the year now. Read his emails for his plans..

Chris Parker