club run...10/3/07

[Stu Merckx Man]

we had about 7 people in the training group, made of matt ives making his long awaited return since like september!, big simon, 2 chaps from TNS, polish andrew, a chap i think i have seen once before in the summer, and me.

for most of the way the pace was not very high, only about 20mph average, but i was doing a lot of turns on the front so i felt about as tired as i usually do bieng dragged around by george, paul and co. i was not feeling fantastic though, my legs felt a bit sticky, and less energetic.
we were pretty steady through the lanes, i tried to do most of my turns up the hills to push myself. however i nearly got dropped when i was leading up the hills towards rusper, and simon puts in a dig, and i was already going as fast as i could! luckily managed to hang on.

we decided to do the long through and off, i was not sure at first but i thought i would do it anyway, and im pleased i did. simon lead us onto the deul carriage way and i came through and it went on from there, pretty steady at first. at this point i was getting a second wind of life--> the sun was out, i was warm, and my matabolism finally decided to wake up and let me burn some wheat-a-bix!

the through and off started to wind up , and up and up...to a crazy speed!...mostly done by simon. in the end we had lost polish andrew, i think matt ives though im not sure, and one of the TNS chaps, the other one was clinging on whilst me and simon hammered away at the front, it was pretty good funny actually. anyway one of the TNS chaps sorted us out and we re-grouped at the next round about. we kept a good through and off untill the sprint...

i was feeling fantastic for the sprint, but as i started to go (this time on the right corner for once) my cleat came out when i was at full acceleration, i wobbled rather alarmingly, and nearly came down!...matt ended up winning the sprint.

good ride back, me and simon rode off from the beggining away from the group and we kept a decent pace. after the church we set off as one big group again. up the drag someone put in a break which i managed to follow with paul george and matt on my wheel, then paul put in an attack, we dropped the original attacker, and matt george paul and i broke away for a fantastic storm back to coulsdon at 30 mph.

sorry to hear about the chap who broke his collar bone!

cheers,
stu

[Matthew Ives]

I’m now just beginning to realise how utterly, utterly foolish it is to have over 4 months off and dive back into training group mode expecting to be anything other than a quivering wreck by 2pm on Saturday afternoons .

I thought I was doing ok until we hit the hill to Reigate. I tried to stay with one of the TNS guys and near the top. I felt so dizzy that things started spinning alarmingly and I thought I might topple over in an embarrassing heap on the road. Over that particular trauma, I felt ok on the ride to the dual carriage way ,mainly because I did absolutely no work on the front. I again thought I was doing ok until I realised that the average speed was way down on what it normally is. Then we hit the through and off and I was struggling as the pace hit 30mph. Simon Hulk-legs decided it was best to try and ride everyone off his wheel, which he nearly did at one point. Luckily, order was restored and as Stu says, we kept it together until the sprint which I won , no doubt due to everyone having to brake to avoid hitting Stu and his dangling legs, sans pedals.

On the ride back over Merstham, I understood first hand what people have been saying about George these past few months. He went to the front and put it in the 53x12 from what I could see ,and just ripped it up the hill. I was maxed out pulse-wise just trying to follow in the slipstream and was on the ragged edge of letting his wheel go. Then over the top, Paul came past as if he was out on a CTC social ride , closely followed by Stu and they proceeded to leave me and George behind.

My life! If Paul and George , and Stu for that matter, don’t win several races each this year, I’ll eat my cassquette

[higg]

Many thanks to Mr. Munnery for the alternative route club run today, not only for knowing the route but also for sitting at the front for well more than his fair share.

The actual route is a bit of a haze to me now but it went something like Merstham, Outwood, Ardingly Resevoir, Shapthorne and I forget the rest but it was a good 4.5 hours of riding by the time I got home.

Aodan.

[Dr Frigo]

Top ride thanks Ian and everyone, sure beat standing on Waterloo Bridge for most of the day. I make it 108km from Croydon.

If my legs are hurting tomorrow I might have to speak to you Mr Munnery

[Brian Nolan]

that was me in that small training group Stu - i should have said hello but i was too busy hanging on !
I enjoyed yesterday as it was the 1st time I've been out with the club for 5 weeks or so.. Got into difficulties on the thru 'n off when a few missed calls & me not concentrating enough led to gaps that had to be bridged.. I had to miss a few turns at the end and if Chris ( the taller TNS guy ) had'nt called out i would have probably done the last few miles on me own...
On the way back the sun came out a bit more and we had quite a big bunch heading into town.. I was drafting a tall bloke on a Seven bike on the road upto the church - he was going pretty well. Then another tall, lean fellow on a Time came up and took up the challenge. These two then dropped me but when I turned off and shot down the hill I almost caught the guy on the Time but for the temp lights, a camper van and a few cars blocking me.. I thought I would be 3rd place at the church but then I saw that Stu 'n Big Simon had got there before everyone else.
I was not contesting the Merstham drag but I was not too far behind when that bloke in the Paragon kit ( he was in the cafe i think with his girlfriend ) came past, they were both going well and i gladly tucked in behind them.. As the road dipped then for the run down to CSS I was able to do my bit and we kept altogether until they took the bypass turn off..
This was the first time out on my good bike this year and i was enjoying it so much that after i had a bit of lunch, I went out and did another 30..

great ride,

todays weather looks even better !

cheers everyone,

[huw williams]

What a great day - despite dozens of members pretending to be Tom Cruise-on-a-bike up in London there were still millions of ACC riders at CSS.

The start of the racing season has had the traditional effect of drawing some riders out of the training group in order to 'save themselves' for greater things so there were some very concerned looks in the 18 group when George and Paul H sat in with them.

I joined the mystery tour on a promised longer, hiller route through the West sussex lanes and we had a Great ride - 65 miles consisting laargely of being towed along the flats at an uncomfortably high pace by The Grinder (Ian Munnery) then racing up the hills with Sylv, Aoden and Rob. Some superb lanes I've never been on before including one endless drag from somewhere south of Ardingly up to Sharpthorne.

Inevitably in a group consisting of riders of differing ability, some were getting an almighty kicking (well done for sticking to the task) and there were a few casualties even before the group split when the inevitable attacks started around Crowhurst.

Surely the long drag up Burstow Hill is the most nagging climb in the area? It's not steep, just mind-numbingly, energy sapping.

Three of us managed to get as far as the Merstham drag in sprint mode when my legs finally gave up but Sylv and Aoden still looked like they had plenty left as they rode off into the sunset.

Superb - and still only early March

[Paul on the Pearson]

Another great Munnery Mystery Tour with the man himself at the helm looking strong and doing most of the work. It was a good workout, plenty of hills and a decent pace on the flat. Coming back into Bletchingly the ol' sugar gauge starting winding down towards the red, had an energy gel but it wasnt quite enough and was off the back on the hill out of bletchingly. stopped for a lucazade in the garage opposite the Feathers which did the trick and had a dig up the Merstham drag.
Great ride with 85 miles on the clock.

[Alex P]

Another great turnout, even with the 'Tom Cruise' shoot going on in London and the Brass Monkey, I counted at least 65 at CSS.

I even managed to draft in two Dulwich Paragoners who were supposed to do the the Brass Monkey but turned up too late. One of them turned out to be one of the main organisers of the Tour De France UK stages and handed out TDF 2007 badges to everyone. I took the rest off him so I have a bag full for those that missed out and will bring them on the next run (2 weeks time).

I answer to Lisa's question regarding which hotel Tim Boonen will be staying at, I asked the man and he was suitably cryptic as there was a lot of security surrounding the TDF (which is why ACC cannot marshall all together) but he did say that five of the teams are staying in the Croydon area, wink, wink, nudge nudge. Perhaps we can offer the training ride on the club run!!

We also had an unfortunate incident on one of the 17mph groups with a rider going down hard on a pot hole and injuring his shoulder (first day out on his new bike I believe). The ambulance was super quick and took him off, let us know if anybody knows how he got on.

[Ian A4size]

[quote]Quickstep have booked the place we had our Annual Dinner, that's what one of the escort police told me yesterday

[Ian A4size]

Saturdays alternative ride was most enjoyable- even if i say so myself.
Quite a mixed bunch, fat , thin, short and tall- i shall let the reader decide.
A real buzz zipping thru the lanes on what turned out to be a fairly tight group, well at the beginning anyway.
First climb into Bletchingley had me off the back- no change there then, but a re-group at the top, this was re-enacted after most climbs.
From Bletchingley we went thru Outwood/Smallfield/Copthorne/Turners Hill then out to Ardingly via a small lane called back lane, plunging down to the reservoir at breakneck speed and up the other side, by then one of our riders was in a little trouble.
On thru the village and a left turn- then the start of a 2 mile drag, you think you've done it but wait- there's more.
Re-group for a drink and an energy bar/ shop stop and off we go again.
Great descent down thru part of the Ashdown forest with Huw and Sylv right on my wheel and into Forest row.
A short main road section of about 1/4 mile and we are climbing again up a road called wall hill road ( i think)- the thing about this climb is you can see it all in front of you and it looks worse than it is.
A draggy climb saw us riding along a strangely named "shovelstrode road" complete with manor and Dower house.
We had lost one rider at the bottom of the last hill and as we would not shoot him he had to get the train home.
My legs were a bit tired now as i had done a lot of work, i never see the point of sitting in, i enjoy the work - it makes you stronger.
Even tho i knew the route i still forgot about some of the climbs/drags and it seemed ages until we hit Lingfield.
Once we got there the pace hotted up a bit with everyone sharing the work and we made good progress albeit at the expense of some of the riders but everyone knew where home was.
Huw said maybe we should take it a bit easier from here (crowhurst), so without fail the hammer went down and it was every man (and woman) for themselves. Young Rob (tall) was feeling it now as he stayed behind me- he had not been on the bike for nearly a month!
Tilburstow hill is not my idea of fun at all -even tho i ride up it most weeks, Sylv, Aodan and Huw shot off and Rob joined them fairly quickly, but for some reason i did not find it so bad after all. Paul was just behind me, not from my superior hill climbing ability, just coz i got across the road first and he got delayed by traffic
I managed to get on the leading group by descending like a demon ( they were waiting at the bottom).
No sign of anyone else so we set off up thru Bletchingley, super fast descent down our first climb of the day saw me in front (i got fast wheels me) and a right rip roaring blast at 28/30mph along the flats claimed another casualty.
My arm waggled and I passed the baton to Sylv/Huw and Aodan who flew by and proceeded to beat me with it! I was shot, legs full of lactic and i could only watch in awe(yes really) as those three riders just mashed it up and left me for dead- and i thought i was strong on the flat .
As i was only a mile from home i sat up and just pootled along.
A good ride out with minimal stops and some decent climbs, my magic watch showed a total of 2067 metres gained at an avg of 27kmh.
A special mention must go to Amy who stuck it out and really worked hard, she was the only girl in our group- there were a few muthas- it was not by any stretch an easy rideas my legs told me when i went out on sunday.
I dont know how sylv managed to race let alone win after a ride like this.
A good group and a nice ride out. Lovely.