FNRttC FNRttC to Brighton - November 27th 2009

[beatleandrew]

It's a real shame Arthur's camera didn't hold out, the unicorn was magnificent! Did anyone else see the guy on the odd green home brew bike with the saddle about seven feet above the ground as we entered the final run in to Brighton?

What a ride anyway. I started off smugly feeling as though the weather would pose no issue - according to Metcheck we'd only get a quick heavy downpour somewhere between Faygate and Brighton. All I'd have to do is throw my waterproofs on before leaving the Cabin and take them off again once we'd passed through the front. How wrong I was. The faith I had in my water resistant shoe covers was also over estimated as they could by no means resist the four hour onslaught we faced, especially on the decent to Reigate during which the rain drops felt more like marbles. With shoes full of water, my toes were numb until I warmed them up at the Cabin Cafe. However, they were numb again a couple of minutes after leaving and after that, I could barely feel the front half of my feet until I was back home. Weather aside, it was a great ride with a nice route. Certainly one to remember!

 

[dellzeqq]

It's a real shame Arthur's camera didn't hold out, the unicorn was magnificent! Did anyone else see the guy on the odd green home brew bike with the saddle about seven feet above the ground as we entered the final run in to Brighton?

that wasn't an hallucination?!

 

[beatleandrew]

that wasn't an hallucination?!

I did wonder at the time. But then your third puncture suddenly presented itself, which was very real.

 

[Mista Preston]

I am no Gentleman When we set off after your visit I did try and keep you talking to try and keep your mind off of the pain, I was a bit worried for you when I stopped again to help another rider. Glad you made it and well done.

Stevevw

PS Leave the nut and springs on the skewer and still through the wheel when you next need to remove a wheel.

Steve, thanks again and i too was worried about me. After my 2nd puncture and skewer experience aside from the cold i actually really enjoyed the ride.

Thanks for helping me through my little spot of bother.

Clive

 

[Mista Preston]

The faith I had in my water resistant shoe covers was also over estimated as they could by no means resist the four hour onslaught we faced,

Given what we faced did anyones kit actually perform well? my Gore skull hat was the only bit of kit to do what it said on the tin !

 

[TimO]

Most of my kit worked fine.

Outermost was the Montane lightweight jacket, which worked fine. Underneath was a Helly Hansen baselayer, a Ground Effect Baked Alaska, and cheapo Decathlon thin Fleece. That combination kept me warm and dry.

Likewise the Gore bib-longs and Endura 3/4 baggies if not bone-dry, didn't let me get cold, and dried out before I was home.

The Endura windproof gloves eventually soaked through, and stayed warm enough, although I did dump them in favour of dry mits around 7 o'clock.

My main failing was with my Shimano MT41 shoes, and Tarmac NPU+ Pro overshoes, along with Bridgedale liner socks, and M&S sports socks over the top of them. That lot didn't stay dry for long, and whilst they got cold, it wasn't painfully so, although that may be down to the relatively mild (if wet) weather, rather than that particular combination. I really need to find some heavier shoes for winter, the MT41s are really summer shoes, and are well ventilated, so not terribly waterproof.

 

[Tim Hall]

Corrinne Denis jacket was good enough at keeping out the worst. Most of the ingress was down the neck, or where I hadn't closed the flapover the zip.

Gloves are getting a bit old, so were fairly soggy, although some of that might have been water running down the sleeves into them.

Top tip: arrange the cuff of your sleeve so it's outside of the glove. I failed to do this early on.

Feet were soggy, no doubt about it. As far as I understand it Neoprene isn't waterproof, so can't complain.

 

[beatleandrew]

Other than my feet and fingers which got soaked, the rest of me was fine. My thin waterproof jacket and over-trousers are of the boil-in-the-bag type, but any ill effects were countered by the low temperature.

 

[StuAff]

Most of my kit worked fine.

+1, sort of. No waterproof kit could be that waterproof. My DHB skullcap did pretty well at keeping my head mostly dry (some moisture did get through, but not that much). The jacket (again DHB) did well, the Tchibo rain trousers ditto despite their light weight. I had bib tights on underneath, which stayed dry, as did my jersey and thermal base layer top. I was certainly warm enough. The Deuter rucksack kept its contents mostly dry (helped by its built-in rain cover)- a bit of card in there showed signs of sogginess but that's hardly surprising. All those items dried out very quickly given the chance. The weak link was on my feet and hands - the DHB T1s are great SPD shoes, but the suede-type fabric's a bit of a sponge, and the Planet X overshoes couldn't keep the flood out for that long. And the (yet again) DHB gloves also became rather moist, hence frequent wringing.

 

[YACFLEE]

Some photos

Just a brief foray, into Cycle Chat, from YACF, to say thanks to Simon, the pathfinders up front and the TECs at the rear.

It was a great experience and I'm glad in a way that it was so memorable. Many rides just blur into one another but I doubt if this will.

Please don't allow riders wearing pink shorts or Converse AllStar "pumps" to allend these rides in future, I want to tell my mates how tough I was, riding through the night in such conditions. Now they will just point out that it can be done by "girlies" in pink shorts and pumps.

Link to photos (see LEE posts near bottom of page) http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=25678.90

 

[arallsopp]

Goodness that night was tough on tech. Torturing tyre and tube, obliterating waterproofs, destroying poor Arthur's camera.
I've just started examining mine, hoping for a shot of the unicorn, but it turns out the battery (normally good for 1000 shots) barely made it past 500 before dying.
Waterproof to 50m means it just about caught sunrise.

Will up the vid in due course, but for the record, I don't think it was a unicorn proper. I'm pretty sure it was a narwhal trying to rescue a pony from the drenched fields.

Good to see you all alive and posting though. Special greets to Lady Jane, and my apologies for calling your bike 'green'.

 

[Arthur]

Goodness that night was tough on tech. Torturing tyre and tube, obliterating waterproofs, destroying poor Arthur's camera.

The good news is that having spent the last 24 hours slowly drying out, the camera has started working again, albeit with a bit of a squeak as it focuses.

 

[Bollo]

I've just downloaded the ride track from my Garmin. If you look to about 69 miles out (this includes my ride from Stratford) you'll see how hard it was raining. Anyone suffering from the bends?

 

[Origamist]

I missed the unicorn, but spent a few happy hours in the beguiling company of W Sussex's finest water nymphs...

When I arrived back in Tooting Towers I ordered a new waterproof jacket as Mark in the Cabin Cafe said I was the wettest looking rider he had seen all night (this was some feat given the state of the other sodden and shaking specimens that had passed before him).

I did a bit of TECing, waymarking and set the pace a few times later in the ride - Jack of all trades, master of none...

A few thoughts: tasty Amaretto laced chocolate; malt whisky from a hip flask - thanks Adrian; User10571 spotting and retrieving two gloves and a Montane shell; riding with the doughty Kasha; the 4 northern lasses seditiously considering a faster paced splinter group; the standing water in the Cabin Cafe; Hummers (a fellow janner) savaging a chocolate bar in a garage forecourt; Bollo's Helios-like, 2000 lumen light set-up, waymarking for 20 mins as a QR skewer was lost and then located; Handbag's 14 pairs of socks, taking a couple of wrong turns only metres from Madiera Cafe; Sig's moorish cakes, Andy's cousin in shorts and trainers...

My highlight - managing to orchestrate the perfect drenching. The ingredients: a car, a large, deep puddle straddling two lanes, and yours truly poorly judging his braking distances. Result: a manically laughing and saturated cyclist .

An excellent ride in testing conditions. Thanks to Adrian/Simon and many others who helped to ensure the last FNRttC of 2009 was truly memorable.

A few badly framed photos to follow...

 

[dellzeqq]

Given what we faced did anyones kit actually perform well? my Gore skull hat was the only bit of kit to do what it said on the tin !

my £5.99 hat worked a treat. What let me down was getting rain down the back of my waterproof, and it might have been sensible to draw the hood up over my head. And my knee bandage stayed dry.