Sat 20th CR

[Ian A4size]

First up apologies to Domonic who i left waiting at the Fevs while i was fast asleep- up and at 'em at 9 for me!
I rode out to Reigate waiting for a bunch to come along- sure enough they did, a most motely looking crew as well- mud guards, fixies, well stretched lycra as well. Not too many ridres out today tho, must have been some fallen trees in croydon forest, but i guess a lot of riders are doing the reliability ride 2mo.
Conditions can't have been that bad as i was out and any fule knows i don't ride in bad weather.
The ride was at a good pace with plenty of people taking turns into the wind (not). Mark did a lot of work and is now a rival to the cadence king himself! Rob and chris came to the front (after a little encouragement) and proceeded to up the pace which meant that conversation was somewhat stilted- i proceded to go out the back( illness don;t you know) as we went up the hill past partridge and was given a gentle push by both Domonic and the Shadow . I have no idea who won the sprint as it was contested about 1 mile bfore the sign.
Plenty of enquiries as to whether i had seen the eviction on BB last night (alas no... i was doing my hair).
Good paced ride back thru the lanes and i was home and dry, weather just got better as we went along- it did pour down tho about 12.45 so i guess most Club runners got home fairly dry.

[Andrew G]

Raining when I got up, so wimped out to finally get some chores done.
Ian, re your comments on taking turns, or not as the case may be, I've noticed that in a Monty group he shouts "rotate" if people are sitting in and it tends to keep things going.
Maybe we need to get the shouts going more in the 18/19 groups. With these groups containing more experienced riders it tends not to happen and allows riders to sit in. Regular friendly calls might keep/get the rotations going more smoothly and avoid the same poor sods (notable Mark since he's been out on his shiney fixie) dragging everyone to the cafe.

[Marek]

On the subject of being on the front, if someone is not happy on the front then they should just pull over and let someone else take their turn. It should not really be up to the riders behind to come through, it is really up to the front rider to move out the way and then slow and join the back.

So if Mark was on the front for a long time then he was probably feeling strong and also wanted to get a good workout which is fair enough, was he complaining?

Cheers

Marek....

[mark mclaughlin]

No I ain't complaining Marek!
I personally don't have a big issue about riding at the front believe it or not. Ok it's good that riders offer to take a turn and it usually is the same riders that do so, but I don't want to feel we press gang others who have there own reasons not too. I'm riding fixed also so I like to see whats ahead and yes it does make you stronger!
Great ride today, glad I went out as the rain stopped as I left but caught the shower coming back into Croydon.

Thanks Ian for being the Derny for the sprint!!
Cheers

[John Czernobay]

Yeah, it looked bad again first thing but it soon cleared up and we had a great morning . Interesting about the rotation, it worked really well, it seemed to keep the balance, flow and harmony of the group just right which makes for a good steady pace .

The "calling" was excellent, especially for a "soft pedal" as sometimes the group just gets s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d right out and then we lose it completely. For someone like me who is new to cycling it's good to have a little go at the front even just for a few moments to experience what it feels like and then realise it was big mistake , how did this happen ; but then, that's what makes the ACC so agreeable.

Great run back, again with a steady pace and no one stopping because of the squall.....CSS (and a coffee) were in sight .

Best wishes and see you all next week.
John..