Club Run 03/11/07

[MJ_1993]

I got abandoned the other day (week before hillingon i think), where I decided not to burn myself out, so was sitting at the back and got a bad run of the lights. Ended up getting lost and guessing which way.
I ended up in Brockham, and then turned back, you dont know how relieved I was when I found partridge lane (i took the big short cut, when you see the first of two road signs).

[Andrew G]

I don't believe anybody is left intentionally left, and have been part of a group where we have stopped and someone has gone back to look for someone. I think it is more a case of not realising someone has dropped off.

If you're slipping off the back do shout out and I'm sure people will wait and either ease back a touch 'til you recover, or check you are happy to wait for the next group through.

[Marek]

[quote="Mo Jaffer And you got abandonned, how many did the brighton CR 80? Not one waited, tut tut.

Hence why I think the club road race should be done on a circuit. So when people (novices) get dropped they arent put off racing.[/quote]

Racing on the roads with hills or undulations is much more fun, and much more in line with where you do your training. Where do you train, on the roads or on a closed circuit?

If you are worried about getting dropped then train harder.

Seriously though Mo, if we do the club road race on the road i believe it will be held on a relatively short circuit with Marshalls etc, so number 1 you won't get lost, and number 2 it will not be long before the group catches up any of the novices that have been dropped.

Take it from me, racing on the road is about 20 times more fun than racing on a closed circuit, and in my opinion is safer.

Cheers

Marek.....

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

I did the 17 mph on saturday. Went off fast down the A23 - I clocked over 20 mph.

At the Reigate re-group point - we re-grouped, oddly enough. Jeff (from the NE) and I had a feeling there were people missing.

We waited...

Rest of the group wanted to push on, and did.

Jeff and I waited. Brendan appeared! He'd got dropped and then caught at the lights.

We tried to tow Brendan back to the main group. And after some hard riding so nearly made it. Saw them up ahead but Brendan had had enough having given his all.

Discretion the better part of valour...he made his way back to the cafe via a short cut. Jeff and I completed the CR together.

Two things come to mind:

1. We need to look out for one another more (there have been a few incidents recently where riders have been dropped and abandoned by the group they were supposed to be with).

The club's getting big - not so intimate - i'm guessing but people properly don't know each other like they used to.

Each group should at the very least know how big it is before setting out. A quick head count would have told us we were missing a rider. Fortunately Brendan knew the area and could find his own way to the cafe. It could have been a new rider who left us having not had a very 'agreeable' experience.

2. Were we going too fast early on? We shouldn't be dropping people. What does 17 mph average mean? Is it the average speed from CSS to the cafe or the round trip? should we blast off or build the speed towards the end? shouldn't we be trying to ride within a range? Not sure what the average to the cafe for the 17 was on Saturday - anyone know?

I heard one of the 18 groups caught the 19? probably symptomatic of riders not wanted to move up a speed? people need to start moving up to faster groups if they want to ride faster - not increasing the speed of the group they are in.

the great thing about ACC is its inclusiveness. let's keep it that way.

Jon

[MJ_1993]

[quote="Marek"][quote="Mo Jaffer And you got abandonned, how many did the brighton CR 80? Not one waited, tut tut.

Hence why I think the club road race should be done on a circuit. So when people (novices) get dropped they arent put off racing.

[MJ_1993]

LOL Yes good idea. I have to keep up my average posts per day [/list][/list]

[Andrew G]

Jon C C - average should be the average speed to the cafe from CSS. I agree that the groups need to be a bit more controlled leaving CSS for numbers, maybe not a headcount but at least keep them more manageable. Like I said in my post when I looked back at the RAB I found about 40 riders on my wheel, way to big and should have been 3 groups for that size.

The speed at the start should be a reasonable pace as it's a fairly flat section so should be a bit above the advertised average in my opinion as the lanes near Rusper rise up and the speed will normally slow a touch. I think so long as the pace is steady and consistent, unless in a training group, then people are okay. It's when the pace is a bit up and down that people start to suffer.

[Robh]

I was in Andrew G's group and looking back at my ride file the average speed at various time segments were :-

5mins 18.4mph.
10mins 18.5mph
15mins 19.6mph
20mins 19.4mph
25mins 19.2mph
30mins 19.6mph
55mins 20mph
1hr9mins 20.5mph

[Steve B]

Met Huw at 8.30 for an extra 30mins riding before the club run, on the first of the 'long steady winter rides'. As we got to Coulsdon Huw got a puncture, which he fixed at the station, but unfortunately the rim had cracked, leaving him to get the train home That put pay to the 'no stopping at the cafe' then

Went with first of the 18 groups, led by Grahame, which was a good steady pace and well organised. Most people took their turns on the the front

All week I had been saying to myself "no, thats it now, I'm not going to contest the sprints while I'm doing the longer winter training rides", but who am I kidding , as soon as the pace picked up I just couldn't help myself . Keith picked the pace up at the front through the lanes and Grahame said he'd pull me thru to a good position. I got into that good position, about 8 back, but didn't see keith launch a huge attack off the front before the right bend. I remembered he had done the same thing in the training group 2 weeks previous, and stayed away for the win, so I became a bit worried, I had to go now.
Taking the bend a bit too tight for comfort, it was head down ar$e up time. Keith was gone. I was flat out now and slowly catching, but this was too far to be able to keep this speed up. And b*ll*cks, someone is on my wheel . Surely this is too fast and too far for someone to come round me. Catching Keith should have been the done deal, but that pesky Shadow's shadow was still there. I feigned that I had a bit left by getting out of the saddle, in hope that they would give up mentally, but not this guy. It was Chris K. With all I had, I couldn't stop him pipping me on the line. Nice one Chris

The ride back was good also. Something always happens up the Merstham drag. This week it was me being hung out to dry at the front (killing myself). From 200m before the S bend at the bottom, all the way to the top, I was doing my bit at the front, thinking there must only be a couple of riders behind me and we've pulled away. Oh no! As we went over the top, 6 or 7 of the faster guy's all piled past after getting a nice tow all the way up. They said it would have been rude to overtake me . Actually I was quite pleased cos the pace must have been half decent or they would have.

See you next week

Steve

[huw williams]

Also - cracking turnout everyone

Publicity plus photographer = 122
No publicity, no photographer = 104

This is what makes me laugh when clubs like London Dynamo consider trying to organise a ride to beat our 122. We get over a 100 anyway without even trying

Where will it end? 150 next year sometime perhaps?

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

104 plus I made it to Regalinos....does that count

[huw williams]

105 then

Also I noticed that Regalino's was open on sunday - is this normal? Might have to start a regular sunday ride comng back via there

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Regalinos wasn't open when we passed (8:30 and 3:30)

Don't forget your club dinner tickets

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

[quote="Robh"]I was in Andrew G's group and looking back at my ride file the average speed at various time segments were :-

5mins 18.4mph.
10mins 18.5mph
15mins 19.6mph
20mins 19.4mph
25mins 19.2mph
30mins 19.6mph
55mins 20mph
1hr9mins 20.5mph

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

[quote="Andrew G"]
The speed at the start should be a reasonable pace as it's a fairly flat section so should be a bit above the advertised average in my opinion as the lanes near Rusper rise up and the speed will normally slow a touch. I think so long as the pace is steady and consistent, unless in a training group, then people are okay. It's when the pace is a bit up and down that people start to suffer.