As I alluded to above, that was a logistically complex weekend, but I'll save the non-FNRttC stuff to the bottom of this post.
Anyhow, secure in the knowledge of a dry ride I came lightly dressed, and only included a waterproof jacket on the grounds it would be handy as a windproof on some of the downhill sections. I really should have taken a lesson from the last four weeks' worth of abysmal forecasting from the Beeb.
I always try to get a couple of hours lying down before the rides, but due to other commitments (see below), I only managed an hour, except that it should only have been 30 minutes as I had mis-set the alarm. Eeeeek ! Mild panic as I was due to meet three newbies under the clock at Waterloo and guide them to the start. This meant I had to resort to the train instead of pootling up there. Approaching Clapham I became aware of a weird thrumming sound from the roof of the train. The doors opened and the source of the sound became apparent - a tropical downpour. Erk.
At Waterloo the three newbies were looking a little concerned. One had never ridden in the dark before and two had certainly never covered this kind of distance before (at least, not for many years), so the extremely damp conditions outside weren't conducive to a sense of excitement.
We did the lap around Parliament Square (eschewing the new straight on cycle lane) to see the Jo Cox memorial and then Birdcage Walk and around the front of Buck House, getting soggier by the second. Thankfully at HPC there was both enough space under the arch and no wind whistling through, though it's still hard to stave off the chills when standing still for half an hour in soggy gear.
We set off into heavy rain, but it was definitely easing up, and continued to ease up from there on. I was TECing with
@User482 and we didn't have long to wait for the first puncture. Ross was the lucky feller on the incline up towards Clapham Common.
@Tim Hall had joined us by now so we were well set for full-on TEC action.
At the gathering on the Common
@Tim O was able to deploy his pliers on the failed v-brake of another newbie. (Apparently he had first encountered the ride when walking through the arch one Friday evening many moons ago and thought "I ought to do that one day.' Well, that day had come. Except that his front brake wasn't working.) All fixed and off we set.
New route, less rain, great new climb up the North Downs to Farthing Down with spectacular views all around at Toy Town Suburbia laid out below. And cattle grids !! You don't get too many of those in London.
More punctures, wibbly roads, surface gravel, the missing waymarker where I had to tear off after three riders (thank god for Tim H, his local knowledge and his GPS). The joy of the chat.
I've been very slack in recent weeks in keeping myself trim, so the gentle pace at the back was very welcome. It all went horribly wrong though with about 12 miles to go to Faygate when the waymarker got a puncture. I called FD and he decided to keep going with the group to the caff, and because Tim H had the route we wouldn't need the waymarkers. Puncture duly fixed and I'm now with three strong riders on a mission, and not a slow rider in sight. Ooo errrr. That was a little faster than I was really capable of. I pitched up at the caff red in the face and feeling a little pooped. (And a huge vote of thanks to the dedication shown by the waymarkers who did wait for us. I clocked
@robjh and Tim O, but there were a couple of others as well, so thank you all.)
Tea and bread pudding hit the spot (as ever), but sadly Michele (one of the three newbies) was having a knee-moment, and after a bit of advice from second newbie Sophie (a sports physio or something along those lines) it was determined that carrying on was not advisable. Directions were sought for the route to Horsham and Mark (that is the caff owner isn't it ?) fabulously volunteered to drop Michele and bike off there. What a sterling chap.
I was relieved of TEC duties from there on so was able to ride with newbie No. 3, Jacs. (It was Jacs whose interest in riding with us was piqued last New Year's Eve at a bash we were at. Silly girl, that'll teach her to commit to something after a couple of sharpeners.)
We left the caff at about 5.30 and the day was glorious. Roads were still damp but as far as I am aware there were no more punctures. At Cuckfield I headed off alone to collect little miss h and Timbo and his lad from Blackberry Wood who were joining us for the ride over the Beacon and into Brighton. We hit the centre of Ditchling just as the tail of the ride was passing through. Perfect timing.
To the greenhouses, a brief pause there and then up the hill. Sadly no coffee, but Mrs hatler was otherwise engaged (see below). All incident free after that. The rise up past the golf course has rarely seemed less daunting to little miss h and she whooped up it.
Then the bumpy ride through the rough-as-guts Brighton roads to the Madeira and more tea and food. The crowd thinned and the hatlers were left with two choices; brown coloured restorative rehydration in a nearby hostelry, or visiting little miss h's best buddy who lives about a quarter of a mile from the Madeira. I thought I stood a good chance of winning that one until I was reminded that the friends have just acquired two kittens. Game over.
Great route. Great ride. No two are ever the same, which is why I keep coming back. Fabulous. Thank you
@Flying Dodo. And thank you waymarkers, and my fellow TECers, sorry I had to abandon my post at half-distance.
That's enough for now. I'll add the weekend's complexities in a further post.
