Club Run - 01/12/07

[Stu Merckx Man]

funny club run today.

me, sylv, paul and hal made up the training group.

by reigate paul decided to wait for the group behind as he was feeling a bit ill.

then as we hit the lanes hal was also suffering, he was also feeling a bit ill. so me and sylv rode next to eachother (something we would be doing a lot of today!), so that we both got a work out, but it was a bit slower for hal.

however, a few miles before newdigate and hal decided to wait for the other group too. me and sylv carried on side by side. we wernt taking it easy, infact it felt harder than a normal training group ride as it seamed neither one of us wanted to draft behind the other and show some weakness. all the little humps and bumps sylv really seamed to ramp up the power, and i would be on the edge of my saddle with the effort.

as we got to rusper we waited for the other group behind so we could do a through and off with them. hal turned up first, not that far behind us, then the other group. the through and off was good fun. we had a long draft behind a horse lorry. steve took the sprint for charlswood, with paul a close 2nd. i did try and go early a few times but paul and sylv were glued to my wheel.

went back box hill way, but only me and sylv up for it this week!
we rode side by side again and a really good pace. neither one of us drafted at all, and i wasnt sure if sylv was suffering or not, i hoped he was though, as i was!
we got to the hill before the duel carriage way, i reconed that this would be the clincher to show which one of us was feeling it.... but we went up it side by side and even finished neck and neck at the top with a little dig.

we got to box hill, and on the first straight i thought i had dropped sylv. then by the 1st hairpin he appeared from nowhere and we rode up side by side for the next straight. after the 2nd hair pin sylv dropped back, and i thought i had finally managed to drop him. but then he came back round and did a turn on the front. i did manage to finally win at the top, but sylv had just been on the front for a while.

from box hill to coulsdon singled out to take turns on the front, keeping the pace at around 30mph

i got home feeling more tired than i usually do from a training group ride.

stu

[Hal]

A sunny day today and I got urged into training group even thought I wasn,t feeling too good. I managed to hold on into the lanes but even trying to draft Stu and Sylv gaps kept opening up till I gave in eased back at my own pace.

After the re-grouping things were ok but my legs were heavy and more than a short effort left me in trouble. I just managed to hang on to the through and off and was mighty gald to get to the cafe.

mmmm bacon mmmm tea

Back the short way with the main group but they too were going to fast for my aching legs. Up the Merstrham drag I had Marco on my tail happily keeping up. Good effort.

A nice ride but I'm shattered. I think the official winter slow down has been forced upon me.

H

[Andrew G]

A tough ride today, but good training, thanks to the strong headwind for long sections on the way out.

8 in our 18s group but we lost Mark at about halfway as he had a puncture. He said to go on though so I guess he was happy to collect another group as they came past. Dombo was struggling towards the end so we eased up a touch to keep our little band together.

From about Rusper on Toby (back from a broken elbow) was asking about the sprint - would we have one, how did we approach it from this side etc. Reminded me of being a kid and asking "are we nearly there yet?" . Once on the final run-in road when Toby went to do his bit on the front we left him there to pull us along as punishment .

I knew I couldn't compete on the gear I have on my fixie, so near the end I flicked out and twiddled for all I was worth to start it going, and keep it safe with a lead out. I think I caught Toby by surprise but he reacted well and powered on to the line to take the prime .

Gave Box a miss this week having done a fair bit in to the wind on the way out, replaced a few extra miles with the extra effort, so back the short way. A good run back although I was having trouble trying to keep up with my legs at times when the tailwind kicked in.

Stu, you can never tell if Sylv's suffering. Surely the smoothest rider in the club, looks like he was born on a bike.

Really good to see Geraldine out on a CR again today too.

[Sylv]

Oh don't worry Stu I was suffering as well

In fact I was that close to not bothering to race up Box Hill, and if you hadn't slowed down before the first hairpin (which you must have, cos I didn't speed up) was happy enough to enjoy a leisurely climb.

Despite the small numbers it was a real good ride and there were very few words exchanged such was the relentless pace. Don't regret not going to Hillingdon and actually must have gotten a better workout (and saved £17), plus a good chat at the café where I saw loads of new faces.

I thought I at last stood a chance for the sprint if the horse-carrier van would have kept a decent enough speed, but he didn't and turned off too early and we all regrouped and came to a halt as it was manoeuvering.

On the way out Stu used the nifty trick of volunteering to move back to form a single line as soon as he heard traffic coming from the back, and get a bit of a drafting in the process - I took note and used the trick a fair few times on the way back.

I was beginning to cramp after Box and had to stop for bananas at Dauphin otherwise would not have made it back without bonking.

As we approached Coulsdon Stu moved up to 6th gear and though being behind I could barely keep up - didn't know he was just about to turn off home! And we had actually increased the average speed on the ride back from Charlwood - don't think I've ever done that? The strong wind was a big factor though as it was coming from West/South and helped us loads on the way back - 35mph on the flat/shallow slope wasn't uncommon.

No knee pain at all today after having made a few adjustments to the bike geometry and using the custom footbeds and wedges, so really happy about that.

Met a group who had stopped for expressos and Panetone at Regalinos, rode back with them and was tricked by Marco into Butlers, where I witnessed the surreal experience of him trying helmets to replace his - which wasn't even split or been ran over by a car or anything!

[Toks]

[quote="Sylv"].

No knee pain at all today after having made a few adjustments to the bike geometry and using the custom footbeds and wedges, so really happy about that.

!

[Alex P]

Well after lying in bed last night kept awake by the howling wind in the clattering of the rain I was thinking that todays CR was going to be a challenge and have a low turnout.

Well what a change a few hours made, the sun was shining and the roads were dry (ish) - a fantastic day. I loaded up the car and headed toward CSS (my secret is not out, I drive to CSS). On the way I picked up Phil N. who had a puncture, good thing about the car is that I leave a track pump in it for these occasions.

What a turnout at CSS, we had 93 for a chilly, blustery, December morning and included in that was about 10 newbees (need to confirm - John C, help) and 7 or 8 ladies. The 18 mph is by far the most popular speed with three groups this morning, the 17mph had 14 and the J4F was huge.

No dramas on our group other than the bend after the golf course at Reigate on the way down was the most flooded I have ever seen it but we negotiated ok (now I will have to clean my bike) and I have heards stories of cars drenching ACCers in other groups and riders stopping halfway through - feet down!

The big thing for me was sitting in the cafe at Coulsdon after the ride and Amy and John C turning up after only getting as far at Reigate with a newbie and turning back, getting to the Coulsdon after the main groups got back - we thought a quoted 3-4 mph average for a CR was wrong, how wrong we were. If ever there was an ACC medal for valour then they should get it.....!!! Well done you two.

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

Hard to believe it's DECEMBER! Crisp but a lovely day.

Rode the 17 mph. That was a very big puddle! But none of us got wet.

Kept together well, had to - under strict orders from the Staffelfuhrer. Volksgemeinschaft!

Actually got in at under 17 mph!!!!!! Blimey!! A first!

Must've been that 30 mph headwind!!

Nice chat in the cafe.

VERY, VERY LONG queue for the loo!!

Back via Chipstead, 'powered up' over those two big lumps - Rocky Lane 12% and the hill to Fanny's Farm 10%. Fantastic decent from Chipstead to Coulsdon.

Breezed along the Brighton Road traffic jams pushed by a nice tailwind. Hey, suckers don't hate me - get a bike!

Back to Sunny South Norwood. 85 kms.

Glorious!

[MJ_1993]

well, thats sounds like a hell of a lot more fun than I had. We played Trinity, and got a fair share of beatings. I HATE PLAYING FULL BACK. I got taken out three times after kicking the ball, and then got a stern talking to from the ref, cos I gave a guy a bloody nose and face. I was the only one tackling, and ended up soaked because their pitch was a swamp. And why does the other team always have bigger guys than us? And the food was soup in a cup fermented under UV light.

I might grace the CR with my presence next week, unless we are playing a rubbish team AND IT IS NOR FREKKIN FREEZING

Oh and I then had to go play indoor cricket. Had to retire (too good ) and kept wicket. We scored 204 runs off 12 overs.

[mark mclaughlin]

Had a good tidy group in our 18's, first puncture for ages - picked up a nice big flint in front tyre. Time I was on road again had missed the 2nd 18 group so had a solo ride straight to Cafe, bit hard going with the wind, but got there same time as our original bunch.

Great mass of ACC's at Cafe, got caught up with the Loo queue!!
Missed the chance of a bit of a wheelsucking on the home run with main group then Steve Hehir turned up so did a 3up T&O with Adrian.

Not quite the tailwind I was hoping for and the pace was hotting up, Steve was going well with a few digs on the Church rise and Adrian put the hammer down time we got to Merstham- the gap grew with Steve going over the top. I was left with dead Legs and Steve eased in time to get back on for a fast run Back.

Hard day out, hope to be out next Sat before I'm off to OZ for Xmas

Mark

[Amy]

Well, Alex, I wanted an easy ride

To give Shagufta her due she'd only learnt to ride a bike last January - she's thinking of learning to rollerblade next year and she was going faster on the way back to CSS. We got her up to about 12/13mph in some places.

John Cz was an absolute saint. To say the day was 'interesting' is an understatement. And we won't say anything about changing inner tubes

Oh well, I went up the hill from Coulsdon a lot easier than usual

Hopefully (Grahame's) 18s for me next week[/quote]

[Andrew G]

[quote="Amy"]John Cz was an absolute saint. To say the day was 'interesting' is an understatement. And we won't say anything about changing inner tubes

[Steve B]

Jon and Amy, top marks to you both

Well the cold weather has now got a full hold on my lungs, leaving me struggling whilst riding the bike, and laying me up for the rest of the day afterwards, gasping for breath - not nice but I've had asthma since I was born, so I should be used to it by now The sprint for the line at Charlwood left me in a right state, the lack of oxygen made me feel sick and feeling quite faint The magic salbutamol inhaler keeps me going though, mmm do I need a certificate for that

Great 18 group kept the pace nice and even on the way out, although unfortunately we lost Nick up the the drag to the woods purely because the pace didn't slow, even though we were riding up hill, and he couldn't hang on any more.

We picked up the training group and did the thru&off, getting a tow behind a horse lorry for the last 3miles of it Good fun.

Good ride back with a fast Merstham drag behind Paul H, and a nice little group tanking it down in to Coulsdon

Another great Addiscombe club run

Damn those ****ing lungs, I was totally and utterly sh**ged when I got in

Steve

[Colin Steadman]

Steve, you should get a turbo trainer for the winter.
Do you training indoors and save your lungs.

[Dombo]

Thanks to all in the first 18s for easing up as I was really struggling in the lanes. Probably not helped by my inflatable jacket which puffed into a yellow airbag in the prevailing headwind.

I managed a brief 10 second pull on the front with Toby and watched helplessly as everyone else powered past, letting me do my best impression of a tin can tied to a bumper as I hung on the back.

Bacon sarny in the caff renewed my strength and bravado as I intended returning via Box Hill, but bottled at the last minute and joined the peloton for the ride back via Redhill and the joys of the Merstham drag.
All told a great ride, ave 17.5 mph, but much work needed over the next 8 months if I'm to complete the Etape

[Antloony]

Well first of all I'd just like to say hi to all you forum users as this is my first post.

This was my second week out and stuck with the 17's again. Once again had a great time, was made to feel really welcome despite being used to lead out a sprint (which I only knew about when I was overtaken rather rapidly, not leaving me enough time to contest it ) just before the cafe. Though when I say lead out I mean 'got in the way'.

Not sure of any names as Im useless with them and have trouble remembering my own at times (must lay off the Absinthe) but would like to say a big thanks to those in the 17's I rode with on sat for making it an enjoyable experience and fingers crossed I will be there again this coming sat.

Cheers all.