30/5 HSLCC Fri Night Ride- Steady Eddy

As the last Fri night ride before some of us switch to Bewl Water it was bit of a shame that there were only four us out, still its always good to do this ride whether its one rider or thirteen. Malcolm was using his Eddy Mercx time trial bike on the ride for the first time. This bike has only a single chain ring so Stonestile was going to a struggle for Malc who announced that he was going to TT the circuit and would see us at the top. This was seen as a challenge for Marcus who announced he was going to try to get some Strava PBs and would stick with Malcolm. This left just myself and  Steve D, happy just to potter around the route. Neither of us had completely recovered from the early bird ride the day before but I was feeling more  jaded than Steve. Sure enough, Malcolm and Marcus were soon out of sight , while myself and Steve rode most of the way around together. On reaching the Stonestile approach we were very impressed to see that the council had done a massive amount of work repairing the whole road, no more would the sounds of 'hole' startle the local wildlife in the depths of winter. There are now freshly  laid large areas of smooth tarmac covering up what was a mass of nasty little holes, this will help all of us to improve our Starva PBs for the Stonestile approach (which sure enough Marcus did). Unbeknown to us Malcolm had an unpleasant verbal  encounter with a stroppy motorist which put him off his stride on the Stonestile climb, Marus managed to avoid this altercation and was able to bag The KOM  (1:06:28) for the complete Friday night Chaingang segment just beating Nigel by 20 seconds.

Eddy Bags Stonestile!

Jon S And Nigel In Toulouse- The Ooh/Ouch day

We left Foix this morning in heavy drizzle with the account from the hotel manager of having to pull ourselves up sections of our planned route by the railings at the side! He wished us luck and gave Andy plastic bags for his shoes (not the height of fashion but effective for a while) Nigel had taken advantage of the
Decathlon next door and bought shoe covers. We could wait no longer and set off to the town to find the Post office. Our plan was to post the bike bags to the last hotel in Lourdes. We were told the parcel would arrive on Tuesday at noon. Not good when we are leaving at 10! So after exhausting my schoolboy french
we managed to pay a bit more for express delivery to get there on Monday (fingers crossed!). Now a bit lighter we set off along the D17 into the hills and the first of three big climbs. The route was duly named by us 'the Scaramanga' as the profile looked like three breasts! The first ascent was steady through lush tree lined roads with sheer drops through the forest. As we gained height the views were stunning and reward for the effort. Our path was blocked by a logging truck briefly and gave an excuse to catch our breath. Up past the railings that did not defeat us and although steep the section was like a Stonestile ride. Around the bend we saw a golden eagle on a fence post that took flight into the valley and joined another to soar and wheel above us. This had us speechless until further on a deer bolted across the road and leapt off a sheer cliff to disappear. Simply stunning. We climbed up into the clouds past waterfalls and along an endless ribbon of perfect road flanked by tall trees. Down the other side and straight up another hill. Lunch was taken at 4pm. A little late but we were pushing on and snacking
on the bike before

and then a short descent to the final mother of all hills. This wound up towards the snow line and crested the ridge. The top section was in the clouds and the rain came back. Then the reward for that slog, a long and sweeping descent back out of the cloud The long descent had us grinning from ear to ear but gripping the brakes at every hairpin. The road was wet and this spiced up things. At the bottom many km from the top of the Col we found ourselves shaking with cold and buzzing with adrenaline. My hands were numb and had pins and needles that lasted for 5 mins. It was just the best days ride despite the rain patches.It has convinced me that it really is worth the money to get a breathable rain jacket and waterproof/warm shoe covers. Oh and of course remember to bring my waterproof glove next time. Next time - oh yes when it's only an hour and half from Gatwick to Toulouse then a short ride to the hills why did we not do this ages ago. This a cycling heaven that everyone should/must experience.It's another day of a similar profile on Sat before the big push over the Col d'Aspin and the Tourmalet on Sun. Fingers crossed the legs hold out and the weather breaks just long enough.
Now my bed is calling and the kit is drying

Jon

The Bonk -29th May 2014

Another top ride with five riders from HStLCC leaving from the usual bench  by the Harrow at just after 8 this morning: Steve C , Malcolm, Andy A, Steve D and myself. The pace was brisk setting off down to Westfield and Sedlescombe . Steve D disappeared  confidently over the horizon on a few occasions  following Curtis'  immaculate  GPX file forwarded ahead of the ride.

We set off through the hazy sunshine. Half anticipating a bit of rain, I had packed a waterproof. Altogether I was overdressed as it turned out to be a sweaty and pacey ride. Fortunately Steve picked up a puncture which gave him the opportunity to show off his compressed air puncture repair action and me a chance to slip my extra layer off. 

We continued en route through some beautiful lanes. This was Steve's "Chris flying door ride", one of the many he has banked on the spreadsheet for us all. It was leafy and entertaining with some good ups and downs. Like life. There was a challenge in the tail though with Battery Hill awaiting us all at the end of the ride. Shouldn't really have been a problem but a combination of great riding from the peleton and inadequate breakfast combined to bring on the bonk or at least a minor bonk at the bottom of Battery Hill. Not really what I wanted as I was quite looking forward to the ascent having sped down the hill many times. 

Fortunately the route planning had also including a cake and tea stop at the top of the hill where we all indulged in one way or another, flapjack, bread pudding, yummy looking cake, bacon sarny. Everyone's proclivities were evident, albeit briefly. 

I found a handy link to provide advice about the bonk and how to avoid it. 

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/beat-the-bonk-17082/

I'll be reading that again. 

48 miles in great company. Lovely day for it too. Great club. 

Club Run to Rolvenden: the 'P' word

Sunday 25th May 2014

It was a great day for a ride. The sun had its hat on. Riders appeared at the Harrow for 9 am. Eight in all. A quick review of route options and the direction of the wind led to the conclusion that a route east to Rye, with a tailwind, followed by an inland circuit westward would reduce the impact of the wind. Heading off through Pett and down towards the cycling path through Rye Harbour nature reserve, a newcomer in the form of young Jacob on a new bike held his own until we got to Rye, where he peeled off to get back to Hastings.

The route along the cycle path through Rye harbour was beautiful as ever. Terns flew overhead making best use of the wind too. 

The route continued inland to the family run cafe at Rolvenden where bacon butties seemed to be the order of the day. The cafe was popular with cyclists and motorcyclists alike. After the cafe at Rolvenden the route led through some beautiful lanes sweeping and looping up and down through lush green woodland. It was here that we paid the price for mentioning the P word over tea and bacon. The heavy winter rain has led to the formation of many holes. Following the route was a little like a Travolta dance of sorts with riders pointing out potholes to the left and to the right. Nobody dressed in white though.  First one struck in the woods. After this the group split with Nigel leading away at pace, by way of preparation for his Pyrenean holiday and an ascent of the Col du Tourmalet. Good job the group split too, for shortly afterwards and after three more punctures, Malcom, Chris and Alexander were left by the roadside to head back with not one spare tube between them. Pernicious Impact pinch punctures. Fortunately judicious hole dodging and bunny hops meant that the return to Hastings was trouble free. 

Despite the holes, it was a great ride and a credit to the club whose supportive, convivial ethos is alive and well. 

24/5 HSLCC BBR Ride- Sunshine And rain!

Listening to all the heavy rain outside my bedroom window in the morning I was relieved that I had made the decision to cancel the Early Bird Special ride (Nemesis) basing my decision  on  a dodgy weather forecast. By about 9:00  the rain had stopped, would it hold off long enough for a Bacon Butty Ride? It was worth a go! I arrived at the bridge cafe with only 5 minutes to spare and was surprised to see no one else there. It looked like I would be doing a BBR ride on my own, at least I wouldn't have to wait to get my food served up to me at Chile farm! I needn't have worried though, as in the next three minutes I was joined by Lee, Steve D, Duncan , and Malcolm D. Then at galley hill we came upon Malcolm C and Pete B who had done a pre BBR ride but had been delayed due to a hat trick of punctures.

BBR Veteran Enjoys A Short Bout Of Sunshine!

Malcolm D knows the BBR route like the back of his hand so we were all happy to take his lead on the classic BBR route, taking a little more care down the country lanes due to the wet slippery gravel . By Chile farm the sun was out and it was feeling pleasantly warm as we munched through our sustenance.On leaving the farm I had ditched the vest and wind proof but began to regret this as by Pevenesey the sky was ominously dark, the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped a good few degrees. Things got worse so that by  Bexhill it was proper rain and we were all soaked through. At least I didn't have far to go, I would not liked to have been Lee,who would have to endure the rain all the way back up to the ridge and along to battle.Despite the rain, this was another very enjoyable BBR ride. 

3/5- HSLCC Fri Night Ride- Joe Makes It Look Easy!

Good dry weather for the Friday night ride with a solid turnout of six riders. This included for the first time young Joe Kingman, rising TT star of HSLCC. Marcus was back for the first time for a while having returned from holiday, he was a little embarrassed to be wearing the jersey of a northern cycling club he

Its Easy For Joe!

Who Are North Road CC?

purchased recently in order to be allowed to ride an event, at least in came in a rather fetching powder blue! I was riding my Cannondale Caad 8 again but had fitted some lighter wheels to make it a more even match to my Giant Defy. Handling on this bike is really solid , so I was surprised to get so badly dropped down the decent of Battery hill but later discovered that Marcus had lead the second  fastest decent of all time so no wonder I was dropped! Malcolm suffered a puncture on the nature reserve which Steve D and Steve B were unaware of but the rest of us stopped to give assistance. It was pretty windy through the reserve and it was a relief to start the drag up to Broadoak, with the wind now at our backs. I could feel the difference the lighter wheels made to my speed, that and the wind helped me to get my second fastest ever ascent up to Broad Oak, so this proves to me the CAAD is just as good as the Defy. At the top there was no sign of the two Steve's , I guess they got fed up waiting for us to catch up. I was concerned that the ride would be a bit tame for Joe but he said he really enjoyed it having extended it with a pre ride through battle.Joe and Marcus had  worked together on the Rye-Broad Oak drag and managed to achieve the sixth fastest ascent of all time. In addition to that , Joe bagged a KOM for Udimore hill! At this point Joe broke away from us for home, telling us to expect him again next week. Just as we were about to set off  down Broad Oak hill, a convoy of two massive tractors and carts rolled past, we waited some time to avoid us catching up with them but we must have misjudged how slow they were going because before too long  we were stuck behind them This rather spoiled our usual eye watering  descent towards the Doleham turning.

Ivan To The Rescue!

 At this point Malcolm realised his gear cable snapped leaving him stuck in a high gear which left  him no choice but to skip Stonestile and struggle up the main road instead.  Just by pure luck Malcolm was spotted by Ivan in his van on the way home from work, so we arrived near Westfield just in time to see Malcolm being squeezed in the back between lawnmowers and chainsaws for a handy lift to the top of the ridge, leaving the remaining three of to enjoy the dubious pleasures of Stonestile lane 

17/5 Hooray For The Bacon Buttie!

Nigel Has to Go Super Retro!

What a wonderfully flexible ride the Bacon Butty Ride is. For those that don't know, its an excellent  35 mile route starting from the Bridge cafe on Cinque Ports way (off of Bexhill road) and winding its way across some lovely quiet lanes through Hooe, Horsebridge walk,Windmill Hill and Rickney before stopping off at Chile farm for the  eponymous bacon butty . Peter Buss and some of the others often do a ride before meeting up at the bridge cafe, turning the route into a far longer one,  Peter calls this the 'Mega Butty'. Club chairman , Chris Parker started  this ride over a year ago as a way of encouraging new riders. When new riders appear Chris or one of the other regulars will ride with them at a slower pace leaving the riders who want a faster ride to go off ahead, this works out really well as everyone knows they will meet up sooner or later at Chile farm.Some riders will break off after Chile farm and get in some more miles while others who just want a short ride will head straight back to Hastings along the coast. Thus , we have a ride that suits everyone! For myself having stiff legs from the Friday night ride , I was more than happy just to do the standard 35 mile route. There was a great turn out of 8 riders at the start plus Nigel who caught us up at Hooe riding the rustiest bike I have seen for a long while, his usual bike was in the repair shop so it was either borrow his mates old rust bucket or miss out on a ride, being Nigel he chose the former although he made it clear riding super retro is not something he wishes to repeat too often.
The 'Bacon Buttie' meets at the Bridge cafe at 9;45 Saturdays, there is almost always somebody there (as long as the weather is OK), new riders should ideally check with Chris Parker that he  is riding, as Chris is the best person to help induct new riders.