club run

[Alan M]

Yet another excellent Saturday morning club run ? this time on dry surfaces with a bright and sunny morning and a good turn out for the time of year. Feeling a bit rough, I opted for the second group with the expectation of a ride that I might manage without feeling too stretched. As we set off, someone joked that we might find Connor left out there from last week ? probably a tad unkind but at least he was missed!

Part 1

Not having been in the Monty brigade for a while, I had forgotten the steely discipline of riding the 5 minute through-n-off rotation. But by sneakily filling the near side gaps left by other riders I managed to stay off the front without anyone noticing ? this is a trick I learnt from Ajay whose seminal advice to me to ?do no work Alan? still gives me heart. Unfortunately, it was the same advice that I forgot completely when it came to the sprint, going for it far too soon and being passed easily just before the signpost with nothing left but empty promise.

Anyway, the convivial atmosphere of the café revived my spirits and I had a nice chat with a lady tri-athlete with 2 children under 5, and a Millwall supporter ? not sure of the connection here and failed to get the names. We pointed out cool Tim Liquidgas as a very ?fit? young man, having just returned from Mallorca brimming full with confidence and coiled acceleration and clearly the rider to beat in part 2 of the run.

Part 2

The ride back was pretty good and as usual the pace quickened past the golf club and on the hill before the church. Tim, as predicted was very fast with spurts of crushing acceleration ? The implacable Hugh was already off the front and I just managed to stay with the group and hug Tim?s wheel. Just short of Merstham, one rider had gone off the front ? I think the Millwall supporter because he needed to get back to claim his season ticket place ? I hope they won and it was worth it. I decided to pretend to be a seasoned pro and I closed the gap in a feat of super human effort and then sat on his wheel until the Merstham drag. I knew that those behind, Hugh, Tim, Jackie, Steve and A N Other would soon join me.

As we climbed the hill the rider in front slowed and I decided to at least share some of today?s work but I was soon aware that I was towing a phalanx of riders behind me, something that wasn?t in the script. After a reasonable period on the front, I slowed sufficiently to annoy them enough to come past. Millwall now seemed out of the picture but the other 5 came through at a brisk pace. At this point memories Toks? punishing pace last week and Jackie dropping me flooded in and invoked sufficient nervous energy for me to catch the wheel of the last rider and stay on it up to the top of the drag. After that I even shared a few moments at the front of the group as we sped all the way to Couldson S station with unusually very little traffic to stop us. A pretty good and enjoyable ride that made this afternoon?s penance of carrying the Christmas shopping bags round Croydon almost bearable.

[Toks]

Well done Al. By all accounts another excellent ride!. Remember the rule on the Merstham drag: NO MORE THAN FIVE!. If there's more than five in the front group it usually means that the pace is definitely not high enough; no one is REALLY suffering; collectively the group lactate levels are low and as a consequence not enough power is being generated for the LAUPM's (little anonymous underground people of Merstham) to suvive. These friendly tiny subhumans have been living in Merstham for thousands of years and rely on cycling masochists for there very existence. They are found largely in underground caves 50ft below the 'drag' area. I could go on but I have absolutely no idea where this is going. Now before some smart alec points out that as a group we would all generate enough power; I'll tell you this. The hidden power meter sensors embedded in the drag are only activated if the front three riders generate more than a 900 watts. So you can see the problem can't you...Ok, I gotta get back to the beer and Chelsea v Arsenal
P.S. Who won the sprint?

[ajay khandelwal]

Hey Toks what is it with all the smiley faces? Has someone spiked your energy drink my friend? Your brain is obviously knocking out some serious bulb-like wattage!

I am glad to see Alan is keeping alive the secret arts of wheel sucking alive. This is a much maligned and misunderstood skill is in danger of dying out if we are not able to recruit more riders to the cause. Any fool can ride of the front! But to sit in quietly and do no work whatsoever, and deflect the insults and spittle flying in your direction, that my friend, requires class. Alan, I salute you floating up the Merstham drag with the demi-gods of Addiscombe legend. Over the years I remember a few of them. Leading nowadays we have Toks Power Adesanya, murder of the Marie Blanc 12%, winner of the Islington CC Hill Climb competition; Darren Lowndes (now in New Zealand), Marek (now East Grinstead), David Findlay (now in Switzerland), Huw (permanently resident in the Belgian Beer Circus), Richard Munday (washing his hair), Richard Claridge (loved up somewhere), Mark Mc (found on his turbo), Paul B (Being rebuilt), Rob Fallon (USA), Michael K (Have you tried doing a thru and off with. Just stick to the off bit), Chris S (My HR is under 120 he says as he rides past).

One time I sat on the wheel of John Saddler and my heart rate went to 200 bpm ? and that was when he eased off! Boom.

So it was full circle again this Saturday. Whilst Alan was floating up the ACC aristocracy in the high mists of the Merstham peaks, I was way out the back sitting on Kirsty?s wheel. Good to know what?s happening at the front of the peloton from your reports Alan. And thanks to Kirsty to provide me a wheel !

[Ian A4size]

AAAAAhhhh this is what we want, the forums great scribes handbagging it out- i can see the point of wheel sucking but somewhere along the line you have gotta put some effort in, coz as i see it you are never gonna cross the line first!
Power up Toks

[huw williams]

Kirsty was taking it easy so as not to drop you too!

Tim Harris - back from riding in the rain in Majorca took the sprint after an excellent through and off on the dual carriageway. The group was split-up way before the final bend when Rob stuck a massive effort in on the front trying to get away. My speedo was showing 29mph before the sprint even started. I had to use my sprint just to stay on his wheel! Somehow Tim and Steve came around and duked it out for the line

Only four people out on Sunday probably becuase it was so cold. Robbie, Nigel, Rob and myself did the old sunday club run route round Edenbridge, Crockham and Westerham. Me and Rob were having a bit of a thrash at the end and I felt my front wheel hit something. At the bottom of the hill I asked him what it was as he was riding behind me and he confirmed that it was a squirell (which ran out of the hedge) and was now in two pieces spinning in the road! Could have been worse, it could have been a horse!

[Toks]

oooh that Tim.L is just a little bit too good.! He needs more competition of course and I can see his nemesis now: athletic, rangy and equally as cool. But you must wait my addiscombe brothers for 'the one' is still undergoing Jedi bike training. When the time is right he will appear...nice to hear your back soups make sure its perhaps I'll see yo on sat if you're not doing last minute christmas shopping...Damn! what's wrong with ARSENAL ?

[Toks]

oooh that Tim.L is just a little bit too good.! He needs more competition of course and I can see his nemesis now: athletic, rangy and equally as cool. But you must wait my addiscombe brothers for 'the one' is still undergoing Jedi bike training. When the time is right he will appear...nice to hear your back soups!. Perhaps I'll see you on sat if you're not doing last minute christmas shopping...Damn! what's wrong with ARSENAL ?

[Ian A4size]

I had a minor mishap at the start of the dual carraigeway- my seatpost collar broke . Perhaps i better start the diet before Xmas. It is my intention to get to 80k by the time the cyclosprotif rides start, by then i guess i will still be 20k over huws weight - either way i sure get a kicking on the hills.
Sunday saw me out on the MTB for a change 2 hour ride across the downs coffee and cake at the top of reigate hill..... what was it about that diet?

[huw williams]

Ian, after a 12 hour riding week I weighed in at a smidge over 64 kilos this morning.

If you're doing Etape DuDales you'd better cancel xmas!

Seriously though, here's a good method for anyone wanting to loose weight.

First the easy part. Buy yourself a good juicer and learn how to make an iron-rich veg/fruit cocktail something like this.

2 lbs carrotts
medium bunch of spinach leaves
1 large uncooked beetroot
2 large seedless oranges
3 coxs apples

Juice the whole lot together (you should have almost 2 pints and if you buy the ingredients from Croydon market it'll cost you about £1.50) and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Now the hard part. One day in the middle of the week, every week, you only get to drink the cocktail you've just made plus mineral water. No food or other drinks whatsoever. Do it on a day when your not riding and make sure the next day you're only doing a short recovery type ride. and don't binge eat the next day to make up for if you feel really hungry, just return to your usual eating habits.

So have you got the willpower to go without solid food for a whole day once a week?

Try it. Apart from reducing your weight you get to feel absolutely amazing into the bargain due to the detox effect. Unless of course you're a heavy caffein addict in which case you'll get a slight headache due to the withdrawal symptoms.

Highly reccommended.

[Ian A4size]

Joanna said the hole in the ozone layer above our house is seriously thin as it is

[ajay khandelwal]

Bus, you are the one and only exclusive, 'Hill Slug'! Long live the Slug of Hills. Huw, that sounds like a fantastic recipe. Now I know what you've got in your water bottles. I can see you on chat shows next year trumpeting your bestseller, 'Why Addiscombe Riders Never Get Old or Fat', an amazing life style compendium by Belgian Beer circus recluse. I can't believe that you are 64kg! Does that include the bike too? Last time I weighed myself I was 75kg. Thats eleven bike frames heavier than you. No wonder I was going backward up the Merstham drag - I must have had the aero profile of a transit van - not a racing cyclist.
Talking of racing cyclists, Tim Harris is the rising star of the Addiscombe. His sprint to CSS is just a taste of things to come, look out for him bringing glory to the ACC in the race season 2006.

[huw williams]

For the record

80kg is 12st 5lbs - Ian's target weight

75kg is 11st 8lbs - AJ, Im assuming that "the last time I weighed I was 75kg" means you haven't weighed since you had four wedding receptions?

64kg is 10st 7oz - my weight, but that's before xmas has really started and I intend to double it in Beer Circus within the next 10 days

20kg is 2st 10lbs - Sam's weight (or that's what it looked like two weeks ago on the CR)

[huw williams]

I picture you as a 10st 4lb whippett dancing up the hills this summer Sean. No problems

[Alan M]

Mornington Crescent!