next time you see Susie, take a look at her derriere (you'd not be alone in this, and, yes, you two, I know where you live...). Deportmental perfection on a Spesh saddle with not a scrap of leather.
FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast 21st March - Burnham-on-Crouch via Junction 31
- Thread starter dellzeqq
- Start date
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slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I left home at 23:00hrs just as the skies opened. By HPC, I was was thoroughly drenched below the waist . DZ asked me to help out and sent me towards a photographer and his lighting man lurking in the darkness outside Wellington Arch. A cruel trick. Well, I attempted to look like a suave Bullingdon member. The reality is almost certainly the horrendous spectacle of a totally unphotogenic old man with a £7 George at Asda acrylic sweater hanging limply and soaked somewhere below his knees. All the CGI in the world won't rescue those shots.
It was wet and cold. Passing a couple of Premier Inns, I was tempted. By Junction 13 , my hands were so numb that I couldn't operate the shifters properly.
Back on the road in slightly better shape, Cruel Fortuna ground me to a halt on The Hill and I walked the top bit. Anyway, the rain held off and the prospect of warmth spurred me on to the finish.
A great time was had in the café and later on at LMNH with TMN, Adrian and TC. Beer and laughs. Thank you to all the movers and shakers, especially Simon and the gang. A great character-building night out. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
It was wet and cold. Passing a couple of Premier Inns, I was tempted. By Junction 13 , my hands were so numb that I couldn't operate the shifters properly.
Back on the road in slightly better shape, Cruel Fortuna ground me to a halt on The Hill and I walked the top bit. Anyway, the rain held off and the prospect of warmth spurred me on to the finish.
A great time was had in the café and later on at LMNH with TMN, Adrian and TC. Beer and laughs. Thank you to all the movers and shakers, especially Simon and the gang. A great character-building night out. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
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velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
I have got a Selle SMP on my new Enigma which I absolutely love and I'll be trying to replace various Brooks on other roadbikes with similar.
However, the tandem requires an upright position. Yes, looking at Specialized!
humbert15
Über Member
Hello all - Martin here (Simpson mag editor). I've now joined Cyclechat because my judgement is still impaired due to the inordinately long time I spent in the saddle over the past 24 hours. Just wanted to say thanks again for such a wonderful ride to B-on-C. Special thanks to Ian and Martin for seeing me safely back to Dartford so selflessly this morning (I was, to put it bluntly, rather slower than them but they were very kind about it). I eventually got home to Brighton around 3.30, with a slow puncture and 115 miles on the clock - more than I've ridden for several years. It was great to meet some of you last night - looking forward to meeting more on future rides. Yes I'm hooked...just hope I can make the diary work).
U
User10571
Guest
It's a thought that has never occurred to me....
Perhaps it should.
There's an attractive decadence about the idea.
Which swiftly vanishes with the absence of Pol Roger from their wine list.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I suspect the only liquid refreshment available at that time of night might be a sachet of Nescafe and some "non-dairy creamer".
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
Great to see you Martin, and I'm looking forward to reading your piece and seeing the photos.
In some ways that was an epic ride, and could the Gods have spoken more clearly? You leave the right side of the river at your peril. We entered the Rotherhithe tunnel whilst admiring the clear skies and bright moon, and emerged on the northern side into a hail storm. These are the things legends are made of.
There was A Hill. Who knew South Essex could be so flirtatious! It was a bit of a grind for me on the Fixed wheel, especially towards the end, but going slowly give me a chance to admire the view and it was well worth the effort.
Was I hallucinating, or were there a million Bromptons on this ride? @AKA Bob and I spent a good few miles together playing catch up with the peloton, and I tell you, he can really make that small wheeled machine shift. Chapeau!
And in other news, I got a train. Only three stops, and only because there was no boat, but nevertheless, I Got A Train. I dropped by my Mum's in Hadleigh for a flying visit, then headed back to The Right Side of the river via the Dartford Crossing - and the tail wind that was so flattering in our quest for the Burnham Banger, was not so kind in its strong headwind form on the way back. Nevertheless, I arrived home happy and content and with 111 miles on the clock.
Big thanks to Simon and Susie for all the hard work (not forgetting the pre-work) that keeps these adventures alive. Really. Big. Thanks.
You're nutters, the lot of you. Bring on Felpham.
Getting a round of applause from the assembled masses, as I recall.
I've just emerged from my bed, having had to hit it fairly early, and miss out on the delights of LMNH, but my body wasn't willing to accept staying awake any longer. I've yet to investigate why my first new tyre failed, but the original failed when I cycled into a kerb, having managed to not notice it whilst chatting and being a bit dopey. Luckily, having run out of spare tyres, I then completed the rest of the ride, and the journey home with no further problems. Red is going to need some TLC though, as the front brake started playing silly buggers, I think from all the crud thrown onto it during the ride.
That wasn't the wettest ride we've had, but we did get a couple of brief very heavy bursts, just to make sure that we were really wet, and not just faking it. Trying to change a flat when you're wearing mitts, becomes "interesting" due to the inability of fingers to move in the cold, so thanks to all those who helped. Luckily that tyre is easy to get on and off, I dread to think what it would have been like with a metal beaded Marathon Plus, or whatever it was that defeated us near Greenwich, some years back.
Getting away from Burnham promised to be interesting, but luckily the train that turned up was four carriages long, having been told that they were only two carriages, so we did manage to fit a substantial number of bikes onto it, and then onto the London bound train from Wickford. The novelty of travelling home that early did demonstrate that there are a lot less people around than there typically are some hours later, when I've more often returned from a FNRttC.
As ever thanks to all those involved, a little damp, but a fine start to the season.
U
User10571
Guest
Lovely
redfalo
known as Olaf in real life
- Location
- Brexit Boomtown
First of all, it's just great that the night riding season has finally started. Early year rides are always a gamble: odds are that they might be a slightly damp (think Brighton in February 2010, my first FNRttC ever and apparently the wettest one on redord) or a bid cold (think Felpham March 2013, when the water bottles froze in). This year, after three dry weeks of balmy spring weather, I was hoping for a mild and easy start into cycling at silly o'clock. Well, you can't always get what you want. Who would have expected a hail strom? Like the last Burnham ride – and the last Southend ride I did - I found this one not too easy.
But I've learned a few exciting new cycling insights:
Here are two Youtube vids from the ride:
View: http://youtu.be/yX8LbIvEPoI
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTmZse9KzKU
But I've learned a few exciting new cycling insights:
- It's nice to adjust the route to the weather. It did not rain at all in Rotherhithe tunnel.
- If you borrow a front wheel for a ride, make sure you borrow a fitting inner tube. From Susie, for instance.
- There are no hills in Essex. Apart from that one. Why did nobody tell us in advance?
- After three incidents I can't speak about due to TEC's obligation to secrecy, I'm starting to see the point of the mudguard taliban.
- One some days, one must not talk football. Simply must not. (Stop bragging, Ian! Just stop it!)
- Utopia is dead, merino rulez!
Here are two Youtube vids from the ride:
View: http://youtu.be/yX8LbIvEPoI
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTmZse9KzKU
Thanks to @dellzeqq and @Agent Hilda for all their efforts in making this such a successful ride. I'd been in two minds about doing this after failing to get much sleep for the previous couple of nights, but I managed a couple of naps on Friday and I didn't want to let the owners of the cafe down. Although in hindsight, I think they might have liked smaller numbers of riders.
It was great to see so many friends on the ride and also to chat to several other riders, some of who were doing this for the first time. The rain as we left London and the halfway destination bought back memories of my first FNRTTC in 2010, which was a memorable ride for many reasons, but I loved the madness of all and this is why I keep coming back.
I am not convinced that there is really such a thing as a truly waterproof cycling gear and my hands were freezing cold and wet for much of the first half of the ride. My goretex boots had also managed to get some water in them, presumably through the massive leg shaped holes in the top. But after a change of gloves and a bit of sock wringing at the services I was fine. The rest of the ride went in a bit of a blur, but I know I enjoyed it and it only seemed a moment before we were at Burnham.
I had decided to be a bit of a wimp and get the train home, but I am a miser at heart and the thought of paying nearly £30 for a 20 mile (as the crow flies) journey meant I only got the train as far as Wickford. I then cycled down to Tilbury and arrived just as the ferry to Gravesend was about to depart. I then cycled down the canal route back to Strood, which although a bit lumpy is still a delight. I got home with 83 miles on the clock.
As always I took a few pictures. Pm me if want a hi-rez one.
It was great to see so many friends on the ride and also to chat to several other riders, some of who were doing this for the first time. The rain as we left London and the halfway destination bought back memories of my first FNRTTC in 2010, which was a memorable ride for many reasons, but I loved the madness of all and this is why I keep coming back.
I am not convinced that there is really such a thing as a truly waterproof cycling gear and my hands were freezing cold and wet for much of the first half of the ride. My goretex boots had also managed to get some water in them, presumably through the massive leg shaped holes in the top. But after a change of gloves and a bit of sock wringing at the services I was fine. The rest of the ride went in a bit of a blur, but I know I enjoyed it and it only seemed a moment before we were at Burnham.
I had decided to be a bit of a wimp and get the train home, but I am a miser at heart and the thought of paying nearly £30 for a 20 mile (as the crow flies) journey meant I only got the train as far as Wickford. I then cycled down to Tilbury and arrived just as the ferry to Gravesend was about to depart. I then cycled down the canal route back to Strood, which although a bit lumpy is still a delight. I got home with 83 miles on the clock.
As always I took a few pictures. Pm me if want a hi-rez one.
Good to see you all. I have missed you. Currently on a train back to Swansea, which is between Cardiff and Bridgend and is hugging the Vale of Glamorgan coast in an FNRttC-themed diversion. I'm just passing the bit where we emerge from the Monknash road and turn towards Ogmore-by-Sea.
martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
That reminds me TC, how did you stop yourself killing the guy who nearly took your front wheel out during our all too brief chat?
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Every time I pass that stretch I fondly remember my night cycling friends in Wales
