The best ever clubrun

[George]

Well Today was one of those magical day's in the saddle that I'll remember for a very long time.

Great ride down on the tunnel train to Brighton via Eastbourne and a few other european capitals on the way

Andrew Paul and I were doing good turns and we absoloutly nailed it down non stop and arrived just on time to rendezvous with a sea of Yellow waiting at the pier entrance, almost blocking off any customers access to the Pier

Lovely lunch at Regency fish restaurant with great company and the biggest cheer went to Marco as the of-f roaders rocked up all intack.

Back with Huw and the fast bunch, once over Devils Dyke we motor'ed it northwards back up to the clubrun, which we rode reverse direction.

Then the final crazy mersham drag act and we were home

Just shy of 140miles today in 7 hours riding time, that was an epic

[Nick]

I had a great ride apart from the hills. I was suffering very badly on any sort of climb so I made it up by riding the falts and downs very hard.

My worst ever climb......Ditchling Beacon , I struggled to stay around 5mph for the whole climb Thank you guys for all waiting.

The desent was worth it though with a new maxium speed this year of 83.68kph.

Was not looking forward to riding back and considered the TRAIN.....but was talked around and set off with the bunch but realising this was a no go I slide my way through the pack backwards and caught the train with 3 others.

Lovely day though.

Nick

[Ian A4size]

Spiffing day out.

Nice, tidy and somewhat feisty ride out with Huw and co, the hammer went down just after Turners hill and the whole group were up for it- plenty of people sharing the work and the miles just flew by.

Oh- the beacon- i am just too big - big ring (at the back) all the way up, no prob at all provided i go at my own pace.

A mad dash over the other side, nearly 50mph down the hill, i had to feather the brakes a few times as i seem to roll a bit faster than some .

We all took over Brighton pier and the crowds parted when we did the photo shoot, there were loads of tourist and day trippers taking snaps as well.
Perhaps we will be in the Argus this week!

A short ride out to Cafe addiscombe- coastal division- Monty had a done a sterling job setting up the deal, so that when we arrived there was space for about 40 outside and 10 or so inside.

Food ordered- bull sh1tted- drinks in hand everyone was enjoying the sun.
Waitresses giving the lads a side show great stuff.

Mtb crew came in looking well knackered- about 10 of 'em. Straight on the beer! Good lads.

I took a chilled out ride back, chatting with a few people, then we met another group they were laying around under a tree looking like a bunch of winos on a beano!
The pace then upped a little and we made good progress.

A great day out.

Chapeau to all who came and organized.

A real bonus for me was that Joanna had cooked a really nice risotto, that meant i didnt have to do a thing when i got in.

[Andrew G]

I couldn’t echo George’s comments loud enough, although I should add rather quickly that it was not I, but Polish Andrew with George and Paul. 82 miles at 20mph on the way down I heard

A fantastic day in glorious weather. I rode down in Huw’s merry band which consisted of about 20 riders, just shows the strength of the club these days to get those sort of numbers for an 18s run to Brighton.

My legs felt a touch heavy on the way down and the hills were not overly enjoyable, but they rarely are for me . I’m waiting for Daniel to fill in Huw’s questionnaire so I can find out what he has for breakfast as he was flying today and spent most of the time either on the front or very near it. I myself was shirking the work a bit on the way down while I was waiting for my legs to get in to the spirit of things.

Legs finally waking up I did a reasonable turn on the front as we approached Ditchling, and was on the front as we passed the village sign. So, having claimed the hot spot prime and done a domestique’s duty of delivering the climbers to the hill I left them to fight it out for the KOM. No idea who got to the top first as I was couldn’t see from my vantage point halfway back down the climb.

I always enjoy the blast along the top even though it’s always windy, and spent most of it rotating with Graham O as we tore our way along. Sadly missed the 50mph mark on the descent as I had to brake at one point so only got to 48.4mph.

A good catch up with others on the pier for the photo call before we nipped off for a carb reload on spag-bol.

The return trip was pure enjoyable lunacy. Up Devil’s Dyke and a few got away but we regrouped on the other side. The usual lumps and bumps on the way back with the addition of a couple I’ve not done before thanks to Huw’s route rather than Mr T’s usual blast along the Gatwick dual carriageways. Not great for an anti-gravity sloth like me but we all dug in deep and kept the pace high. About a dozen stayed together for the return so a very nice sized group of strong riders.

The final sections up Merstham and down to Coulsdon were at a ridiculous pace considering the distance we’d already covered. I suffered a bit up Merstham but found a spare pair of legs at the top so had a great blast down the other side to catch the few who’d put a bit of air between us. Daniel still up the front .

Door to door 105 miles and an average of 18.4mph – like I said lunacy but enjoyable.

Another highlight of the day was a quick stop in Rusper so George could get a lolly and give himself brain freeze.

[carl f]

Agree with all the above,was a fantastic day out.Huw counted the 18/19 group at 32 of us i think?
Went for the kill up the beacon but was pipped by rob and toby at the top
didn't hang around for the lunch as i was trying to keep the legs spinning for final prep for sportive next week,so went back with arther,tom? and toby
Kept the pace nice and swift.got back to the palace with 105 miles on the clock.av 18.7 mph
Exellent recovery up the local portugese,seafood rice and some superboks
Nice to finally meet a few of you



Cheers
Carl

[Kasper]

Cheers guys, for a brilliantly organised day out in the saddle.

My first 100 miler with the club.

Huws group was a good one to go out with as i managed to hold on alright even doing a few turns up the front. Got back to Coulsdon with 100 miles on the clock and a average of about 17.4. Not too bad at all.

Chapeau guys.

[Ian A4size]

[quote]Next time I'll try it both ways.

[huw williams]

There were 31 of us at the start but Ian Munnery joined in at Turner's Hill swelling the number to 32.5. Then I think a couple of riders tailed off before Turner's because they'd bitten off a bit more than they could chew.

Good outrun with no shirkers on the front but it was clear that we were going to arrive far too early, so we dragged out an enforced drinks stop at the top of Turners Hill (Toby had turned up with a mate not realising that the ride was on so needed to re-fill bottles). Another club run having tea at the top looked bemused - there were probably more riders in 1 group of this ACC ride than there were in their entire membership

Superfast between there and Ditchling as it always is - bowling along at close to 30mph with no effort at all. AJ was already praying that there were no more hills between there and the beacon but he managed a good turn on the front.

As ever the Beacon sorted things out. We shouted encouragement to Tim C doing sterling work looking after some riders - Toby nailed us all on the climb, closely followed by Rob and Carl F - I never know where I am on that bloody hill - I was determined to get up quickly and just as I was setting myself up for the final hairpin and straight I realised we'd already done the final hairpin and straight and that was the top just round the corner - sprinted like a clown to get up to Graham and Daniel on the line and ripped my legs off in doing so.

Fearsome descent (49.5mph) and sprint along the dual carriageway to the pier where someone had painted the sea-front yellow. Our brief had been a 19's group and the clock was showing 18.9mph. Bunch of slackers!

After lunch I stomach-lugged about two kilos of Salad Nicoise up the hellish drag to get onto Devils Dyke for the start of the race (sic) home - what an amazing sight - 62 ACC riders picking their way through the hills out of Brighton.

Re-set my computer at the roundabout at the top cos I could see what was going to happen, and it happened! George and Paul T hit the switch as soon as the surroundings turned from brick red to green and we made the jump to hyperspace.

21mph up the drag to the Devils Dyke golf course set the tone and only the bravest (stupidest) would have bought a ticket on a train like that in 27 degree heat. On the top bend Keith and I attacked George and the three of us got away for a glorious descent down the other side in relative solitude.

Into the lanes and the cavalry arrived about 12 strong, buzzing around like angry hornets and in no mood to slow up. Brian, Paul T, 2 Andrews (1 short, 1 Polish), Adrian, Kasper, Graham O, Paul T, George, Keith, Mark myself, a couple of Simons all in there and the speed was ridiculous - this is a tough section of dragging grinds all the way back to Handcross and it always ends up being a war of attrition but the miles were just flying by.

We seemed to be passing landmarks way in advance of when we should have been and every time someone showed signs of weakness on the front someone else would come through and take up the reigns.

Wineham flashed past then Bolney and we were in Slaugham in no time - there were even attacks going up that really nasty climb onto the main village green which normally has everyone on their knees.

Tunnell offered everyone money to turn right to Handcross and go home via the flatlands of his beloved dual carriageway but we were having none of it - prefering instead to make him grovel up the club-run route in reverse. My god that climb up to Rusper is a bitch when you're tired. George insisted on lollipops at the top while we re-grouped and a cursory check of the computer revealed that the average from Devils Dyke was over 20!

Sugared-up it went higher from there as Polish Andrew recovered a bit and kept it closer to 30 all the way back through Newdigate, supported by flyin' Brian, then Daniel started to sense cold beers in his hand like mirages in the desert and struck out in pursuit of them. Despite close on a 100 miles we raced back over Redhill humps and at the bottom of there George launched his attack for the Merstham drag. The sprints got messier and messier in the traffic until finally we reached south croydon after a blitzkrieg 50 mile home-run riding almost entirely on the rivet.

Special shouts to George Paul T and Andrew (Polish) who had close on 140 miles on the clock having taken the long route out before lunch

Awesome! What a day - the best club run ever? Probably.
Thanks to all who came out, congratulations to all those concerned in the running of it and hope everyone is back safe and not hurting too much.

We should make this an annual event under the monicker of 'Captain's Club Run.'

[Roy Green]

What more's to be said? The musical choice to sum it all up - Perfect Day by Lou Reed (from Trainspotting). Many thanks especially to Monty for being a perfect organising commando, and to Tim for running my cruisers group.

Roy

[Brian Robinson]

George's title is spot on. I think it was certainly one of the best days I've had on the bike.

Huw's group was the place to be especially after finding out about the Tunnell train's mammoth effort via Eastbourne. Good crisp run down although Huw managed to add in a couple of detours which meant we arrived at right angles to the Charity ride into Turners Hill, almost duped Ian Munnery. I was a bit concerned about the heat and didn't want to blow up on the return leg (we were warned by our dutiful leader), I've never had a great return trip from Brighton in the past. We pushed down to Ditchling where the climb sorted the men from the boys, unfortunately, I slipped into the latter category....didn't bode well for the return journey.

What a sight as we reached Brighton Pier, the sea of yellow Addiscombe jerseys just highlighted what a great club we are all part of. Lunch was surprisingly well organised given the numbers. I was sorely tempted to have a few beers and opt for the train journey but in the end thought what the hell.

Straight out of Brighton the fuse was lit by Paul T and Polish Andrew with Huw making his presence known. At the top of Devil's dyke myself and Mark McL thought it would be suicide to follow at this pace but the pace steadied and after a few more miles we were committed. A great group of riders sharing the workload as we made our way through the shaded roads. I'm not sure what they put in the spag bol but I found my legs and was pleased to be mixing it up at the front rather than hanging on by my fingernails at the back. I think we were fortunate that Paul, Andrew and George had put in such a big effort on the way down otherwise it would have been carnage on the way back. The pace never really eased, every climb was attacked as if it was the last climb, even after Merstham the hammer was down.

Big thanks to all those who organised the day and Monty's inspired choice of restaurant that could feed over 50 riders at once !! The waiting staff did a great job.

Looking at the photos I know I will look back on the day with fond memories.

Bri

[Rob C]

The off road route


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[Ian A4size]

I have just remembered another quote of the day, this from our man the Tunnel machine

"28mph,uphill, into the wind- i wondered what was going on"

That'll be george then!

[Dombo]

An excellent day out. Originally planned to ride both ways but holiday packing and not having seen Mrs Dombo and the little Dombos for almost a week saw me get the train home and skip lunch.

Monty's group set a comfortable pace and we cruised along in perfect weather, first climb to Turner's Hill being a sharp taster of what was to come. After a brief rest a fast run to Ardingly and then a busy high street where Graham and I took some abuse from some numpty trying to impress his lumpen issue, beeping at us for delaying their visit to Micky D's.

Then on to Ditchling where we gathered for photos, aware that the green wall we kept glimpsing was what we'd be climbing shortly. With no takers for attempting the climb on the postman's bike we set off, banter absent but cheered by Robbie's singing as the road climbed gently. We settled into our own speeds and rythms. Round a bend it kicked up and Brian attacked - always depressing when a bloke with mudguards does that, so I went after him. Sounds impressive but imagine chasing someone at 7 mph; we're not talking Steve McQueen in Bullitt here.
A right hander brought sunlight and a view, but sadly not the summit as the road twisted up and climbed further. Granny beckoned as my mtb heritage kicked in and I closed on Brian's wheel at 6mph and 120 rpm. The real summit loomed and I pounced, spurred on by "pantani" chalked on the road, swinging out to snatch the climb at an eye-popping 8mph sprint.
Then a fast descent towards Brighton where we topped 45mph, a swoop through the traffic and we arrived at the Pier.
Train back to EC and into a brisk SW wind for the return to Coulsdon.
all told, a grand day out and thanks to Monty and everyone for organising it.

[sid_day]

Quote of the day from Mr Liquigas
[quote]There isn't one bit of me that doesn't hurt!

[sid_day]

I was mulling it over last night and despite a few years of having a road bike I think that is actually the furthest I have ever ridden in one day.