Thursday Night Ride to the Coast - 17th April to Felpham

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CharlieB

Junior Walker and the Allstars
A fab fab night out. Slightly underdressed for the conditions in shorts, given I have a cold (rather than pulling out at the last minute, i I thought the fresh night air would cure it).

A great big hats off to mini-H for setting a cracking pace as I accompanied him from Betchworth to the Cabin Café. It was fun to see him passing some regular people I know to be pretty quick, en route.

The breakfast at the Lobster Pot is one of the best we have on any of the FNRttCs (well, the veggie option is, at any rate), and the coffee's good.
Thank you, of course to DZ for leading, waymarkers and TECS, the 'Café and the 'Pot.
Rounded off with a ride back to Horsham with @Dogtrousers, @Michael Adu and @Eddie_C to give me 103 miles for the day.
 

saoirse50

Veteran
Lovely ride, good to see so many familiar faces. Great job from the Cabin Cafe in the face of eighty cold and tired cyclists.

In the end, not too warm, not too cold and had a perfectly timed hillclimb into the sunshine at Arundel. Couldn't have hoped for better conditions - plus learnt a few things about the storage and transport of asparagus, that Mini Hatler is an absolute champ, cows are colourblind and aka_bob was a professional cattle herder in a past life.

Thank you Simon and thank you TEC's, I definitely don't say this often enough. Enjoy your Easter weekends all.

a few pics from along the way:
http://imgur.com/a/ACDLD
There is one of me, 4th one, I think. May I copy it and use it in a post I am doing on Lewisham cyclists web page and Facebook group?
So glad this ride was my return after a too long absence. It had the lot, full moon, stars, hooting owls, snuffling badgers (well I think they were badgers) the most well orchestrated and tuneful dawn chorus I have ever heard, perfect sunrise, views....a great bit of COR with added cow action. No falling asleep this time in the Mole Valley, though, which was just as well, as there was, sadly, no Aperitif riding up behind to make sure I didn't end up in a ditch. But, still great to see and ride with some old friends, a ride just as smoothly led, waymarked, TEC'd as ever, if not more so. Thanks to Simon and everyone else who ensures these rides keep running.
 

topcat1

vintage Mercian 2012
Location
here
Thanks Simon and the gang, great job.

What a glorious ride, it's been a while since my last Fnrttc and yes i have missed them.

Their was some funnies going on that night, Ian giving AH a flower,Ian posing for rear of the year, watching Mice shed her Pink gilet
for fear of becoming a target for the Bulls, rumours that my overshoes were muddy :stop:


the part 1 pics are snaps taken as we rode along, part 2 is the ride from Hpc to Felpham

tc1

aHsjXneHym
 

StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
First off: an apology to anyone who was offended by my rather intemperate language following my front derailleur's poorly timed decision not to shift down before a climb. The walk was unnecessary, but so was the swearing. Sorry.

Second off, it appears that some people need a reminder about this....
moseshesaynoundertaking_zpsa4296ce8.png

Thirdly: Flashing front lights. Please, please, stop that while you're at it. Blinkin' annoying to others, and why would you want to have a decent view of the road only every other second?

I've had the week off, so as a few times previously, weather was OK, I could go for a ride in the morning, or a shorter one in the afternoon...or I could just ride up to HPC and be done with it. So I went with that option. Last year's ride up for this one was a frustrating slog which ended up with having to get a train in for the last stretch and flagging for most of the night. Somewhat determined to avoid that happening again, I set off this time an hour earlier than that one, half two, no route experimentation, just the tried-and-tested Petersfield-Haslemere-Guildford-Ockham-Richmond Park way, and I decided to make a point of eating half way rather than waiting until Guildford. Got to Haslemere at about five (have done it in two hours, but that was in a Hummers-powered peloton with a tailwind), a trip to the Co-op there for a sandwich being rapidly curtailed as there were no sandwiches (!). Up the road I continued, stopping at Milford at half-five, where the Co-op not only had plenty of stock left, it was reduced :smile: Up the road a bit further to Farncombe, and a quick (fifteen minutes or so) stop to eat. Made Guildford by a quarter to seven, then after the A3 bike path (thankfully not overgrown), Ripley and Ockham. Plough Lane, the usual route north from there, was closed but the diversion worked out OK. Managed to take a wrong turn in the Kingston one-way system (not difficult, more road design inspired by H. Bosch & F. Kafka) and ended up entering Richmond Park through Richmond Gate (NW corner) instead of Kingston (southern)- and promptly continued anti-clockwise anyway when I could have gone round to Roehampton clockwise, only realising my mistake when I got back to Kingston Gate. Never mind, miles=good and this was why I allowed more time....

Out of Roehampton Gate and back on course, ended up deciding to continue east rather than go over Putney Bridge as making the correct turn was complicated by traffic. Went over Wandsworth Bridge instead, and reached Victoria at about half-nine. I was, unsurprisingly, the first there, not a problem. 81 miles, rolling average of 13.2 mph for that first stretch. Plenty of time to refuel (extensively) and chinwag with the early arrivals before the short schlep round to HPC.

As for the ride itself, fairly straightforward- certainly more so than last year was. Escape from the smoke, the odd puncture and an accelerating iPhone notwithstanding (there is, I kid you not, a repair place on the Kings Road called iSmash, how fitting was that....) was pretty uneventful. Sutton's exciting nightlife was its usual tottering slurring self. Safety message about Pebblecombe seemed to sink in, thankfully. Newdigate-Rusper stretch as glorious as ever. And then it was Race for the Bread Pudding time. Somehow ended up in the middle batch of arrivals. Not Good. But Mark had made plenty of it. Good. Horrifying reports of portion reduction thankfully overstated. Very Good.

After that...aforementioned derailleur and language fails, cows, almost nodding off standing up at about six (young Dutch lady offered me some caffeine, declined- woke up properly after we got moving again)...arrival at about 8.30, to be greeted by a huge queue. @Charlotte shot down my (half-joking) suggestion that those who rode up should get priority, 'because you're very silly' (coming from someone who's done the Dun Run on an ordinary, I'll take that as a compliment!). Breakfast at the Lobster Pot was up to its usual exceptional standard. Train home? think not. Took the shorter route options west, and back just after noon, 23 miles in two hours. Afternoon nap not long after that. Total mileage 174, 7250ft or thereabouts of climbing (not a lot, really), moving average 12.5 mph, and a new Second Longest Ride Ever. Stats here.

And one must not forget the outstanding candidate for Rider of the Night, young Joe Hatler. Chapeau, again!

Next up for me, Flandering in Brussels....
Thanks, one and all!
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2


Cheers TC1. I really should grow up and stop making silly shapes for the camera. :thumbsup:

So, it was another brilliant ride to the coast and probably my favourite of the FNRttC season. I really do enjoy the long stretches of uninterrupted country lane cycling on this one. A chance to give the legs a really nice workout. Even adding on the extra 4 miles additional (fast) miles due to a mudguard failure which caused 3 of us to lose the back of the ride. I won't mention who's mudguard it was lest he own up himself. ;).
The weather behaved itself by not dropping below 6degs, which meant fingerless gloves for the whole ride and just having to resort to the windcheater leaving the Cabin just to keep the 'we're on our way' chill at bay.

The dawn chorus was simply stunning, a cacophony of bird song that could stir even the coldest of hearts. I don't think I have ever heard it so loud and concentrated before. Wonderful.

The Cabin at Faygate was a welcome sight as I was dying for a good cup o' tea and a slice of their legendary brick sized portion of bread pudding. Except the boss had asked them to cut down the size. WHAT!. Never mind, as usual there where a few bit's on the tables left over to hoover up and stash in the bag in my jersey pocket for later.

Arriving last at the Lobster Pot with rb58 and User30090, We saw the mega queue for brekkie, as we wanted a quick turnaround and getaway we decided to decamp to The Boathouse. We did shout a few goodbyes, so sorry for not saying cheerio to all. The Boathouse was, as expected deserted. Full English brekkie's all round were ordered, and I have to admit, it was much better fare then I had remembered them serving.

At The Boathouse I did hear a couple of locals having a little moan as they had tried the Lobster Pot only to be surprised that it was so full of people that time of morning. :smile:

It was a tough old ride home, fairly hilly along the A29 with a fair strong headwind to boot. As people know, on the SMRbtH we are no slouches so the hard work was taking it's toll. I left rb58 at Horsham as he was meeting his brother and I buggered off on my ownesome. I did have evil thoughts of getting a train at Crawley, but by that time the roads had flattened out and I knew that the last 25 miles home were mainly flat. So just gritted my teeth, threw some bit's of Black pudding down my neck and scooted home at a fair respectable pace in the end.

So here's the map for the ride, outward and return. 152 miles on the clock, 10 and half hours in the saddle.
Cheer's to one an all, The Boss, the Boss' lady, My fellow TEC's, The waymarkers and the brilliant band of riders, Yet another brilliant FNRttC.

180414.jpg


EDIT: Oh yes.. how could one not be cheered at the sight of that chaps yellow bibs...:laugh:
 
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hatler

Guru
Huzzah ! More news from mini-h. The experience of spending 33 miles in the company of you lot hasn't put him off one jot. He's keen to join us whenever he can, though the luxury of a four day weekend has meant that the disruption to his sleep patterns won't interfere with schooling. It may be that we have to wait to the Summer Hols before his next adventure with us.

Hats off to Simon for letting mini-h join us. It would be very easy for him to say no on the grounds of insurance.

And a huge vote of thanks too to Charlie for taking mini under his wing on the Betchworth - Faygate stretch. That is really appreciated.
 

hatler

Guru
That was a cracker. I especially liked the bit where three of us became separated from the main peloton just before Newdigate when we took a wrong turn. Once we'd realised we'd gone the wrong way, we set off on a high speed chase down to re-join the ride. A 30 minute dash that warmed us up nicely just before we arrived at The Cabin. We should make that a 'feature' of all future rides.

Now that explains one little mystery.

I was discreetly following the back of the ride from Betchworth in my car. Every time I caught sight of a flashing red light I stopped to let you all get further away. I wanted to be close enough to be able to scoop mini-h up if he needed it, but not so close that I spoiled the ride with the clacking sound of an infernal combustion engine. I was absolutely sure I hadn't overtaken the back of the ride, so it was a bit of a surprise when three of you appeared in my mirror. I pulled over and let you past. You were certainly setting a cracking pace.
 

hatler

Guru
Oh! And much respect to Mini Hatler, Rob.
It'd be nice to think that it's a night he'll remember - in a good way :smile:
As an aside... was he up for more?

JB
No. He was pretty much pooped by the time he got to Faygate. There again, he was also pretty knackered when we turned off the A217, but a shot of Lucozade there seemed to work wonders. Perhaps I should try him with some Red Bull next time. :smile:
 

A Rider

Regular
Great ride indeed. It was my first time and I really enjoyed it, thank you for such a great night!
I've also got a few photos, let's see if it works:


13929452486_80e69339d0_h.jpg



The group at Arundel Castle
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Being thankful at The Lobster Pot:
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And a lucky shot on the train back, with memoooooories:
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StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
No. He was pretty much pooped by the time he got to Faygate. There again, he was also pretty knackered when we turned off the A217, but a shot of Lucozade there seemed to work wonders. Perhaps I should try him with some Red Bull next time. :smile:
Red Bull? Vile stuff that'll have him bouncing off the walls.

Cake, obviously......;)
 
As the pedals turned, my speed and sense of anticipation of what lay ahead grew stronger and stronger. London's streets were empty, cars packed with baggage and chocolate had cleared out for Easter and the only aroma was that of alcohol spilling out of the pub goers as they were tottering their way home to slumber. Little did they know that a very special party was just starting....

http://www.the5milecyclist.com/apps/blog/show/42136217-the-flight-of-the-silvery-moon-

Thank you Your DZships. That was very, very special.

Mice :hello:
 

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srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
I gather da kidz drink it with Jaegermeister these days.
 
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