Chaingang 14/01

[George]

sorry can't make tomorrow just come back from one tonight

[Sylv]

Thanks, I am pretty sure I'll be there will confirm later on

[Sylv]

i'll be there

[Antloony]

I may be there, I may not. Been feeling a bit dodgy all day. If I'm not there by 7 I wont be coming.

[Antloony]

Well I went, when I got home I was wet, knackered and aching but with a huge smile on my face.

Loved every minute of that tonight, thanks guys. Thats only the 3rd week I've done but feel stronger for doing it already.

[Sylv]

Good ride

Give us a warning though next time you decide to practice your last lap Hillingdon breakaway on the DC - man that hurt!

[Antloony]

I was just seeing how fast I could go with the wind behind us Sylv, I did take off at a fair rate of knots though. Now you know how it feels when you do that to me when the road starts pointing towards the sky.

[Dominic]

Before we set off we need to decide what we are going to do. It lacked a bit of cohesion last night and on the way back I wasn't sure if when I saw that Paul had dropped back to wait for Matt wether we were going to wait and it seemed to go through a bit of do we don't we feeling. At least it did for me

[Sylv]

Sorry about the 7.02 start, hadn't realised some of you must have had been there since 6.45 and not seen the forum. Good thing there were only a few droplets of rain at that point

Not sure what happened either at the end, maybe we need radios

[Paul H]

I waited for Matt then punctured. I thought we were a bit disorganised last night so wasnt too bothered about dropping off.

We need to agree some ground rules.

[Antloony]

Ground rules should be easy. How about meeting at 7. I do find 6.45 just that little bit to early for me.

If someone gets dropped we wait.

Same with a puncture or mechanical.

I think we should stick together as a group. For one there's safety in numbers and two, its a training ride not a race

Other than that as a group it runs well, enjoy the minute on the front challenge and glad I'm getting stong enough to dish out some pain

[Sylv]

Paul what are your figures

My av power for 1h14 is only 227w. That includes a final mad dash with Dave from Reigate
Av speed 35.3

[Dominic]

[quote="Paul H"]I waited for Matt then punctured.

[Paul H]

I would say:

1) Strong riders on the front to Redhill to wear them out a bit
2) Minute through and off - less for weaker riders
3) When its your turn at the front, wind up pace after previous rider has got on the back
4) Wait for dropped riders if they are capable of keeping up

[Mulberry]

I would suggest you just ride it like a normal chaingang as I'd tried to encourage before. Basically you ride steady-ish on the way out and hard on the way back.

1 Ride smooooothly thru and off on the way out.
2 Ensure you stay together and let the next man come thru - don't force the pace so they can't get up to the front.
3 If there are only 4 of you then perhaps do longer turns and peel off. If there are 6 you should be able to do a proper chain.
4 Wind up the pace on the way back but still keep it smooth, just harder.
5 NB It's much safer to ride in a group so don't shell people out in the first couple of miles.

If you can get the hang of that, then I might come out again this year.

By the way I would also reccomend you all have 2 rear lights minimum - one flash & one constant. And if it's wet, then mudguards help you ride closely together as everyone tends to spread out in the spray without mudguards - just an observation, although it may take some guys another 10-20 years to recognise the use of mudguards!
MRB