FNRttC Southwold - Now Closed

[ianrauk]

What a fantastic ride. It couldn't have gone better. Weather was great, there was no rain, quite mild and a tailwind all the way. No mechanical's either. There really are some absolutely lovely cycling roads on this FNR. The run to the ferry (led by quick legs @Gordon P ) was a dream. Team fast arrived at Harwich at 7.28am precisely, where I hung around for a few minutes, said my goodbyes and then returned for my solo SMRbtH. Bumping into the second team shortly after. 187 miles on the old bike clock, batting a horrid headwing a lot of the way and a quick (refreshing) shower in Bexley. Walked through the door at about 2.30pm. Sat in chair and had an hours kip. Which wasn't bad considering a noisy little 3 year old was using me as a climbing frame.
I think this is my favourite FNR.

 

[User10571]

^
Nice one, mate.
Impressive mileage.
Don't suppose you clocked half a dozen or so LFGSS fixies heading for Clacton-on-sea in the course of your return run?
I was supposed to have been on that, but the duvet got the better of me this morning.

 

[theclaud]

I think this is my favourite FNR.

You might even finish it one day...

 

[ianrauk]

You might even finish it one day...

Oh don't you start Miss.

 

[ianrauk]

^
Nice one, mate.
Impressive mileage.
Don't suppose you clocked half a dozen or so LFGSS fixies heading for Clacton-on-sea in the course of your return run?
I was supposed to have been on that, but the duvet got the better of me this morning.

No mate.. not seen.

 

[andyman]

I have reliable intelligence that Adnams Ales are being consumed. Oodathortit?!

My assurance that the Adnams Gunhill ( http://adnams.co.uk/beer/our-beers/adnams-gunhill/ ) is a fine ale worth the trip

 

[andyman]

A few ales, a nap on arrival home, a (superb and very spicy) ckicken dhansak and a good nights sleep, I am now suitable recovered to blog this epic trip, its highs and low(s).

Living in the burbs my night began with a jaunt to the smoke courtesy of Greater Anglia (much the same as most of my fellow iders would endure to end their trips). Normally uneventful but tonight with a twist.

Wishing to park as close to the guards van and my beloved steed, I found myself 'in the back row' amongst the normal train travelling faces. As soon as we departed it was clear the solitude of my journey would be interrupted by the largish guy sitting adjacent to me with an ipad, no earphones and one of those kids cartoons and associated sounds of mayhem, playing at full tilt.

"Suffer it Andy" I thought.

Alas was not to be, by Manningtree no amount of Metro meditation could take my mind off the interminable racket.

"Excuse me I wonder if I could ask you to tun the volume down, or perhaps use some earphones?"
.....
"Oh, sorry, you dont speak English"
..... gestures, hands to ears, fingers to device....

Seemed to do the trick, down came the volume.

Oh dear, out comes mobile I see (from the corner of my eye) and then follows 10-15 minutes of highly excited, very loud diatribe of a foreign tongue supplemented with full windmill arm gestures. The only thing I could make out was the occasional '*uck' and '*hit".

To say my mind began racing would of course be an understatement. I could see it now as I lay on a Liverpool St station broken body alongside broken bike, why did I have to ask him to turn the bloody thing down?

It didnt work out that way of course, it was my mind going off on a line of thought that festers and becomes mentally intolerable but in reality far from the truth.

And that same mental thing happened a second time to me that night after the Maldon-Mersea time trial led by the oldest swinger in town, dear Gordon.

It was annoying coming across town from L St to Victoria to meet the group, I know that area very well after living there for five years, but every corner presented new road works, new diversions, blocked off alleys (I cant wait to review my GPS!). In the end I made it in good time and enjoyed pre ride banter and the obligatory Nero coffee with my peers.

HPC was very uneventful. Our lord and master had requested an early meet and a swift getaway. "Hello. OK we are all her. Lets go." and we did!

The run out East through town, out to Ilford came and went quickly and before long we were in pastures green and the first (very timely) convenience stop. Coffee I am told brings on a greater than actual need to relieve oneself.

As I cornered the fence of a suitably remote property, my front light beam shone straight across my path and unfortunately for me, masked the near four foot ditch I was about to drop into. It wasn't so much the drop, or the firm landing. Not even the embarrassing shriek I let out (much to the amusement of several of my colleagues that were close) but the fact that I grabbed the fence with my left hand meant my left shoulder twisted violently as I went down. Ouch!

Comedy over, no real harm done and after all I did get to relieve myself.

We got to Brentwood in good time, helped probably by a complete lack of red lights (unlike the previous week I hear) and a group that were clearly not going to be separated - this was to be another memory of the ride. Every time Simon called a stop to regroup "....are we all up? Oh, we are all up. OK, lets push on" It became amusing!

The banana that had resided in my rear pocket I'm afraid was an unknown casualty of the ditch incident. Had I had two pieces of bread, it might of made a decent sandwich, but as an unintended puree I'm afraid it hit the bin - well, not the bit that now lined my packet!

The roads were extremely wet after our stop, I dont think there was a person that hadn't banked on the rain beginning at anytime. But it didn't, it simply hid itself from us only leaving behind its trace. It was actually quite cooling having that wheel spray on the occasional speedy sections.

And so to Maldon where I managed to find a Rocket Fuel coffee. I was surprised at how few of my night riding pals had never seen these 'heat in a can' coffees now available at most supermarkets. Anyway it went down a treat.

In order to negate an extended wait on the beach at Mersea whilst waiting for the turn around of the ferry, the group split into two groups. The first setting off very quickly with the second, at a more leisurely pace to create said gap between arrivals.

For what ever reason, Simon deemed that I be in the fast group and so began my first experience of something on these rides.

Interlude - off to watch race in Ipswich, (comes pas my house) more to follow later...

 

[ianrauk]

Oh yes @Gordon P 's most excellent race with a rabbit.... the rabbit won...just..I though it had decided to take the Mersea ferry with us.

 

[Gordon P]

Others have (& continue) written about how sublime this ride is: the skies, the sunrise, the roads. After the arrivee at Southwold however, it is the subliminals that sneak in...

Having sworn myself to Darsham following last week's stretch of a return ride to Ipswich, I found myself all too easily persuaded to return to my adolescence & join Team Mad again. This week's version included Redfalo & Eddie_ C.

We self-diagnosed as more sane than last week's & cut down the self-medication to only 1 pint of brown beer each (although I think Prof Dellzeqq, PhD (Bandaged Ukneewersity) wanted to prescribe more strong drink). We also visited a deli to take quantities of flavoursome filled carbohydrate on board to avoid the awkward surgery hours of the chip shop in Leiston.

A mellow warm following wind had taken us north but now we were immediately into a much wilder ride. The wind off the sea as we pedalled back across the valley to Walberswick had me hallucinating flight. Forget the simple concepts of tail or head wind: this one swirled around us like mental demons attacking on all fronts at once (what does Adnam’s put in its beer?)

But it is a curious thing, repeating a long ride within a week. Every one of the 164 miles was familiar & they all rolled out in front of us, leaving more room for enjoyment of the cumulus scudding across the blue sky, the sun dodging in front & behind them, the huge fields, the rolling flatlands (?).

In Leiston we swapped last week’s low wall for the scruffy tarmac of an abandoned boozer by the traffic lights & took stock as we refuelled. We seemed to have plenty of time but agreed that we had to stay focus before the fatigue of prolonged sleeplessness was added to the accumulated miles. We pressed on, revisited the by road that took us to Snape, glimpsed the “Woodbridge 10” sign, crossed the Melton level crossing & took another break on a grass verge.

A navigational error occurred: I took the wrong exit at a roundabout & realised I had led my comrades on to the A12!!! OMG. Paranoia is a terrible thing & so real! I hugged the narrow ribbon to the left of the rumble strip (Eddie later revealed his concern that the rumble strip is to wake up dozing drivers), was grateful for the “Park & Ride 1 mile” sign - & then saw a sign that suggested we had to move across 2 lanes to the outside lane & turn right! How the **** was that going to happen. Happily it was only across a queue of cars at lights but it all meant that we arrived into Ipswich on something more like the Romford Road than we had last week. Flatter & noisier than the peaceful but steep Beacon Hill so a mixed blessing.

Thank you Eddie & Redfalo for cutting me slack about putting your lives so at risk. Soon after, the Vorsprung durch Technik GPS leadership on the Moulton’s bars led us on a shorter route than thee ring road to the railway station, although it did involve a multi-lane one way system & a hill…

There we had time for 2 pints (each) of yellow & black beer & an extraordinary encounter with a Glaswegian (see the account on FB). Too happy & excited to sleep on the train we talked all the way to Liv St.

I arrived home at 8.30 with a broad smile on my face at the end of a wonderful day. Thank you to all 13 fellow riders.

 

[StuAff]

I could write (at length) about the issues I have with this ride on paper, and in practice. If it were down to me, I'd cut out the ferries and their associated faffage and expense (I like those almost aspects as much as I like Bog Road), and give everyone (and there could be lots more people) at least three hours extra drinking/eating/sleeping time, or for AH's entreaties for a breather to get more frequent answers. But it isn't down to me, and I know that would fall on deaf ears. I might as well try to argue that Simon needs a compact chainset and/or nice sensible cassette Take those issues as read. But if one's going to faff around on boats or waiting for them, there's no finer bunch of people to do it with.

I missed the first ride last year, as a (most splendid) night out Saturday made a straight choice between one or the other, with combining the two impossible. No such conflicts this time round, and I'd booked the time off work as well. Five days of leave had been whittled down to two for other outings, but that still left a nice, relaxing day out on Thursday (119 miles, 6,300 ft of climbing in 25 degrees....), and the pleasant change of preparing for an FNRttC without work getting in the way. Last minute checks, a nap in the afternoon (even with time off I don't usually, but then we've usually arrived at our destination in the morning, so more rest seemed prudent), and an earlier, faster train. Over to Victoria for food shopping (memories of what seemed like a five-minute stop in Maldon on my last visit fresh in my mind) and a more-select-than-usual meet-up. And then over to HPC. No safety talk (!) and as the fourteen attendees were all in place, we left early, which proved very advantageous later on.

The exit of London was fairly uneventful- relatively few incidences of numpty drivers, and in my case the minor annoyance of forgetting to turn the Garmin on again until I got to the Embankment (I'm sure I must have lost a Strava KOM or two....ha ha). The usual Essex nightlife tottering about and making itself heard in relatively amusing fashion (the idea that people cycle, and at night, never ceases to amaze them). On past Brentwood (dear Essex County Council. Tear up those blasted cobblestones. Thanks) and through Buttsbury Ford. Yes, through, snorkels not required. When we got to Maldon, our rapid tailwind-assisted progress meant that (praise be) we had enough time for a proper stop without the immediate need for someone to start hammering up the road in order to make Ferry no.1. After a decent interval, Team Gordon was dispatched onwards, and as the Normandy veterans know, our leader's seemingly found some form of EPO-enhanced vegetation for his diet. Andy wasn't the only one who wished for the pace to ease a touch at times, though I generally found it comfortably testing (I tend to not push myself as hard as I can manage on my own, so this is certainly not a complaint). I found myself TEC a few times, but the trail of red lights stayed fairly constant. As I approached the beach, I did wonder if I'd gone the right way (that stretch does go on a bit), but Olaf came along, confirmed it was the one true path, and I followed him on till the ferry. A little breather at Brightlingsea (sand removal opportunity, plus we were still making great time) before on to Harwich, at slightly gentler pace (or so it seemed) and ferry two. We bid farewell to Ian and waited for the ferry. And waited. Team Slightly Less Quick joined us. The wait was so long, even the cafe was open (special Harwich veteran reference there....).

Team Gordon (slightly revised edition) took the first ferry. After the trip (crew members amiable enough, even if they don't like tandems) and yet another beach walk, on we went to our breakfast stop, via a lovely climb or two that I'm sure Susie didn't swear about at all. Splendid breakfasts rapidly demolished, and we were joined again by the second contingent. The next ferry ride (grumpier crew members), a short wait for the second ferry, and on the reunited group went. Warm weather required layer removals. Wind picking up, to the irritation of many. Scenery remained fab. Pause at Westleton for ice cream (I had neither the spare cash nor the inclination). On through Walberswick, past a rather splendid water tower, and on to Southwold at about a quarter to one. Very pretty, and if you like Adnam's I certainly can see the attraction (bit of a company town). The weather did the seafront no favours though. Looked grim out there. As I had plenty of time before my booked train, plenty of time for nattering, eating and shopping for my tea (just in case time pressed later on). Joined Paul and Mary on to Darsham- we allowed well over an hour but despite fatigue, the wind and lumpiness (oh, and my navigational query) we flew along and got to the station in under 45 minutes. Trains back to Liverpool Street were uneventful. Ride back to Waterloo sadly wasn't. I don't think I managed to go straight through one set of lights, seventeen minutes to travel barely two miles. Nonetheless, back in time for the next fast service to Pompey.

Thanks everyone.

Same time next week?

 

[BigGee]

Having sworn myself to Darsham following last week's stretch of a return ride to Ipswich, I found myself all too easily persuaded to return to my adolescence & join Team Mad again. This week's version included Redfalo & Eddie_ C.

Well done Gordon, we knew you could do it!

Never say never again!

 

[PaulRide]

A fab ride - many thanks to Simon for planning and managing an excursion that was seamless where we wanted it to be seamless (oh that roll down from Maldon to Mersea was dynamic perfection!) and pleasantly patchworked when that was what we preferred.

Lovely to meet some of the people who have become regulars on these rides while other bits of life kept me away. Thanks to Gordon for the cheery banter and compelling pacemaking, to Ian for finding my unsuccessful rabbit-hunting so entertaining, to Howard and Eddie and (I think) John for unwarranted generosity with Adnams, to Stuart and Mary for the company on the return leg, to Andy for his cheeriness at all times but particularly as he emerged from the ditch (and also his demonstration of how important breakfast is), to Olaf for navigational reassurance, to Susie for not swearing too much and for enjoying Jupiter, to Martin for using his rear mudguard to trick me into thinking he was using a bottle dynamo, and to Tacey for chat about faint memories of British Columbia and stuff.

What skies they were - I was suprised and delighted to see how bright the stars were as we emerged from Brentwood, and almost expected to catch their reflections in the shiny wet roads through Stock. And the bizarre absence of rain was a sign of something, I'm sure. The angry glare of Felixstowe's container terminal floodlights was clearly visible as we left Maldon, reflected off the underside of that dramatic bank of stormclouds that had clearly given Essex a pretty good soaking before we got there.

The curlews, lapwings and turnstones at East Mersea were being pleasantly vocal and, as I walked along the beach, I made the intriguing discovery that, like mice, turnstones will not move if you approach them with a bright bike light until you are just a few feet away. Guest appearances were made by a hedgehog (close escape for a number of us) and a wol. And several hundred dead partridges on the road up to Walberswick.

I now have a small packet containing the now dried out wallet that we ran over near Great Bentley and I sincerely hope that Mr Amos of Walton-on-the-Naze is pleased to get his driving licence, tesco club card, guitar pick etc back. Well done Andy (I think) for spotting that.

 

[ianrauk]

aaahh.. sorry @PaulRide , the race with the bunny was you wasn't it?
He must have covered a good 100 yards along the road as fast as his legs could carry him.

And a special mention to the Hedgehog for not getting run over.....just in time...

 

[PaulRide]

Oh, I've just remembered I need to report back on the wallet we picked up off the road near Gt Bentley.

I popped it in the post to the address given on the driving licence inside, and a couple of days later I got a grateful message from the owner's dad who seemed really pleased that there are decent folk out there.

 

[ianrauk]

Oh, I've just remembered I need to report back on the wallet we picked up off the road near Gt Bentley.

I popped it in the post to the address given on the driving licence inside, and a couple of days later I got a grateful message from the owner's dad who seemed really pleased that there are decent folk out there.

Nice one