by huw williams » Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:33 pm
[quote="Alan M"]I think I began this thread well and then innocently asked about Marco's heart rate which created somewhat of a distraction, but an interesting one nevertheless. Today I am depressed having been denied the Falling Leaves ride by this atrocious weather. Lactate thresholds seem far removed. Ooops! there I go again, off the point. Any more ride reports from the vantage of the Monday morning sneaky office distractions?
Poor Alan - anyway at risk of another cross-thread, here's one for you:
IOW CR - Saturday
The worst weather in the world forecast for a lunchtime arrival so we headed off on time in order to avoid as much of it as possible. Do you know the IOW? The long drag on the coastal road and the wind was tearing at our front wheels and making descending a high-risk affair. Then the rain set in (early) and it got cold but as soon as Mike Ingram made an audacious break (in order to put his rain coat on as it turned out) the rain stopped, the sun came out and we headed for the sea side
In the way was Blackgang Chine and the first KOM points of the day so Dewis and I gave everyone a roasting (bloody lightweights eh?
) someone commented that it was like a couple of pipe-cleaners blowing up the road
When everyone regrouped at the top we did the long descent at 40mph+ without pedalling and then the ridiculous detour down the hairpins into Ventnor and back up the other side to almost the point where we down in the first place
- a detour Tunnellesque in its pointlessness.
Indeed the great man himself could be seen wheezing up the 25%er to get away from the sea, begging the question "why would he take us down there in the first place?" Something about his courting days was offered as an excuse. The remaining climbs around Sandown and Shanklin are a real roller coaster and HAVE to be taken at full whack for maximum enjoyment so rolling over the top after the long drag out of Ventnor it was hammer down again and a couple of us got away for a near 30mph blitz over the moors and down the hairpin bend into Shanklin - a bit wet unfortunately cos you can go 40mph round this when its dry
Another Tunnellesque diversion saw us miss out the drags around Bembridge airport in favour of a more direct approach to the lunchstop at Seaview. Richard Appleton's face crashed into the only wasp stupid enough to be still alive in October which took its revenge by stinging him on the forehead - honestly, what are the odds?
Some people who shall remain nameless were DRINKING BEER at the lunchstop. Actually they shan't remain nameless it was Tamar, Keith Coffey and Jon Hemming getting some ground-bait down for the evening sesh.
After lunch it was miserable and drizzling on the really fast main roads to the turn off for the East Cowes chain link ferry. After recent posts on this subject I was a marked man along here but I was behaving. Tunnell started it with a ridiculous break away attempt straight after the roundabout at the bottom. I almost let it go I was laughing so hard at Paul Tunnell attacking on a climb
When I composed myself I pulled him back and it was pipe-cleaner time again as me and Dewis tried to get the early ferry - Mike Ingram managed to bridge and the three of us were away over the top and into the stars but the bloody ferry was on the other side of the estuary so we had to wait and everyone regrouped
Tunnell was having nothing more to do with hills so took us back on a road longer and straighter than the romans would've had a name for and slowly but surely the pace ratcheted up as we started to scent dinner. It got furious as we entered the lanes and a series of energy sapping long drags on the way back in to Yarmouth and there was a series of rapier like attacks splitting the group. You had to be on your toes to spot which of these was any good and finally we got into a three man break which looked decisive only to round a bend and be halted by a temporary traffic light on red. How many bloody attempts was it going to take to get rid of this lot!!!
Finally the long clear run-in up the last series of drags and it was time to go - Keith opened up the gap and I thought that's a train I want to be on, so I made the jump and we nailed it to the Yarmouth sign. "Lets have a bit of a blast at the end" he suggested "I've been 'blasting' for the last two hours mate" I had to admit and when he attacked for the final time I had nothing more to offer the break. Mike was next accross "I always manage to find peak form in time for October" he said
All in all then an excellent ride with some fiery intervals thrown in to keep things warm.
Dinner was taken early in order to maximise drinking time - a superb jazz project ensemble band pitched up in the bar and entertained us royally. I went home, otheres went to 'Saltys' where that well known hell-raiser Jon Hemming entertained a passing hen-party with a stripped-to-the-waist table dance. I've seen the pictures and that's one gig I'm glad I missed. Could've been worse though - could've been Munnery up there dancing topless, or Dewis or Andrew Green or...
Superb weekend, you gotta make it next year
