FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast 24th September to Southend-on-Sea 2010

[TimO]

... and for front light alert (I had two with me but both failed) ...

Supporting my two spare lights argument.

We was spotted?? Hopefully cycling then...

Yes, a quick flash of high-vis yellow was spotted as we went past you, near Leigh-on-Sea I think.

 

[frank9755]

It was a great ride out and it was nice to ride back. Although the actual roads and traffic on the return weren't the greatest, the company, banter and lunch made up for it.

I got home mid-afternoon yesterday having had 120 mile total round trip. I stayed up for a couple of hours but was starting to nod off in inappropriate places round the house so thought I'd better go to bed, around 6pm. A few hours sleep then up for something to eat about midnight. Legs felt very sore, as I had rather enjoyed trying out my new bike!

Then back to bed about 2am and some more sleep, until 6:30 this morning when the alarm went off, to wake me for a time trial. Legs still felt very stiff and thought seriously about staying in bed, but went out and did it. Horrible ride - very windy, went a couple of minutes slower than I should have done, legs not getting any less sore. But at the end I found out I had won a club trophy - by one second!

 

[Aperitif]

It was a great ride out and it was nice to ride back. Although the actual roads and traffic on the return weren't the greatest, the company, banter and lunch made up for it.

I got home mid-afternoon yesterday having had 120 mile total round trip. I stayed up for a couple of hours but was starting to nod off in inappropriate places round the house so thought I'd better go to bed, around 6pm. A few hours sleep then up for something to eat about midnight. Legs felt very sore, as I had rather enjoyed trying out my new bike!

Then back to bed about 2am and some more sleep, until 6:30 this morning when the alarm went off, to wake me for a time trial. Legs still felt very stiff and thought seriously about staying in bed, but went out and did it. Horrible ride - very windy, went a couple of minutes slower than I should have done, legs not getting any less sore. But at the end I found out I had won a club trophy - by one second!

Well done Frank! What club. Hounsolow Wheelers? Every second counts eh?


Come on eveyone else who did the Southend ride - you have an audience ready to devour the observation that passed through your conciousness (and the photos to back it up) Come on - get writing!

 

[frank9755]

Well done Frank! What club?

Thanks 'Teef
Westerley

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Just typed up the ride, my computer timed out and now it's gawn ... grrr!

 

[Origamist]

A bracing, but not finger freezingly cold ride. I'm guessing there were about 50-60 on the road to Southend and with no headwind, precious few mechanicals and flat terrain we were always in danger of arriving at the cafe before 5am! Thankfully, a prolonged toilet stop (only one cubicle available), a queue for refreshmenst at the (charmless but warm) service station and a brave attempt by a select few at getting lost meant we made it to the cafe at 6.50. As usual, the service was great and we were scoffing a full english within 15mins of arrival.

I saw one minor mishap - a chap tried to bunny hop a kerb at the service station and ended up sprawled on the floor. Thankfully only his pride seemed to be injured.

I chatted to Wowbagger about the travails of Southend United as he escorted us along the seafront (after his late, cameo) but I was distracted, from time to time, by various wading birds.

We also got to see the new cycling facility and for those that had not seen it, a bit of the bandaged one's impressive architecture...

I did think about riding back from this ride, but a head cold led me to eschew alcohol and opt for the train with 3BM. I was back in Tooting Towers by 9.30 - which is record, as I usually make it back home closer to 9.30pm.

Thanks to everyone who made it run so smoothly...

 

[CharlieB]

Trying to explain the attraction of these to a group of (largely) non-cycling buddies at the voluntary organisation I work for this evening proved difficult. I was trying to convey the romance (in the poetic sense) of a full moonlit, starlit, and on this occasion Jupiter-lit ride, but failing miserably.
Loved the little cobbled stretch of cute (fishermen's?) cottages in old Leigh.
As already observed, an almost mechanical failure-free night, but less than two miles out on a 20 mile ride to work this afternoon I'd a visit from the fairy…

Thank you all again for another wonderfully organised ride.

Roll on Whitstable…

 

[StuAff]

meant we made it to the cafe at 6.50. As usual, the service was great and we were scoffing a full english within 15mins of arrival.

You did better than my table did Matt, Andrijj was one of the first in there and we didn't get ours till 7.30 or so....worth the wait though, it was splendid.

 

[StuAff]

Trying to explain the attraction of these to a group of (largely) non-cycling buddies at the voluntary organisation I work for this evening proved difficult. I was trying to convey the romance (in the poetic sense) of a full moonlit, starlit, and on this occasion Jupiter-lit ride, but failing miserably.
As already observed, an almost mechanical failure-free night, but less than two miles out on a 20 mile ride to work this afternoon I'd a visit from the fairy…

Thank you all again for another wonderfully organised ride.

Roll on Whitstable…

And thank you for the splendid Welsh cakes!
Plenty of people just don't get it- there are some (even cyclists) who think fifteen miles in daylight's 'a long way', let alone getting their heads round 50-60-70 in the (mostly) dark. And I'm doing the Dun Run rerun this weekend......!!

 

[frank9755]

You did better than my table did Matt, Andrijj was one of the first in there and we didn't get ours till 7.30 or so....worth the wait though, it was splendid.

Worse than that - Andrij was first in and I was second...


The injustice of it was almost as hard to bear on our table as the cold and the hunger - until our tea and breakfast came!

 

[redjedi]

Well I'm glad I took Origamist's advice on the bib longs and winter top. There was definitely a chill in the air. I think my toes have just about defrosted

On the other hand it was probably one of the easiest FNR I have participated in. A pleasant tail wind made the miles fly by, and with the lack of mechanicals the stops weren't too long.

The ride back was equally as pleasant. The slight headwind was countered by the warming sun and was a very pleasant morning for riding back to the big city.
CS3 was a pleasant way to avoid the metal cages all fighting for road space in east London, although I have now discovered that my GPS cannot be trusted when surrounded by buildings. It didn't know where I was, which direction I was going in or that it was physically impossible for me to cycle through the side of a block of flats . Luckily Abs' Garmin was behaving its self a little better, and managed to get us to Look Mum No Hands, where well deserved coffee, pies, bacon sandwiches, cakes and beer were consumed (not all by me ).

After a couple of Dark Hares I decided that the 1.5 mile ride to Waterloo was a lot more appealing than the 10 mile ride home

Roll on Whitstable

 

[dellzeqq]

I saw one minor mishap - a chap tried to bunny hop a kerb at the service station and ended up sprawled on the floor. Thankfully only his pride seemed to be injured.

you'd have thought that, at 68 years of age, he'd have known better..........

 

[HaloJ]

Superb ride under a perfectly clear but cold sky. It's not often I get to see more than a handful of stars due to city glow so I was very pleased.

We had an interesting ride through the city and into Ilford with such wonderful highlights of a chav leaning fully out of the passenger window of a passing vehicle threatening some form of violence 2 against 50, um yeah. Thankfully Ilford was soon left far behind as we headed for the almost silent roads of Romford and Rainham. Took a stint at way marking before racing Frank to the head of the group both far too evenly matched on pace. Way marking is fun.

Onwards to the services and past without incident chatting merrily to a gentleman on a Moulton-a-like and admiring the stars.

At a later stop I lingered at the back of the pack offering batteries and lights to Raptochick before making a break for the front. Not seeing the waymarker (who I'm sure wasn't at the junction due to our delay) I followed my nose and the signs to Southend at a healthy pace. It was only when I crested a small rise and was able to see the road ahead and to the right clearly that I realised I may have made a wrong turn. Pulling over to check Google maps I was greeted by a cheery call from Simon requesting that I turn around shortly followed by me spotting User10571 catching up. A slight emergency followed on the regrouping leg as we scrabbled about in the dark looking for the lens that fell out of User10571's glasses during cleaning. Quite a top bit of leg stretching before regrouping and taking the hill by storm.

Almost there but my approach to Southend was slightly marred by me nursing a slow puncture which I suspect I exasperated when I failed to bunny hop a speed bump after clearing the first two. Tucked into breakfast then dived out side with the help of Ianrauk to get the puncture repaired as fast as possible ready for the return journey.

Which is another story (with pictures) .....

Abs

 

[StuAff]

Onwards to the services and past without incident chatting merrily to a gentleman on a Moulton-a-like and admiring the stars.

Not a Moulton-a-like, it was a TSR30 (built by the Pashley factory in Stratford-upon-Avon, formerly sold as Pashley-Moultons, but now the Moulton Bicycle Company). Looked lovely.

 

[StuAff]

At a later stop I lingered at the back of the pack offering batteries and lights to Raptochick before making a break for the front. Not seeing the waymarker (who I'm sure wasn't at the junction due to our delay) I followed my nose and the signs to Southend at a healthy pace. It was only when I crested a small rise and was able to see the road ahead and to the right clearly that I realised I may have made a wrong turn. Pulling over to check Google maps I was greeted by a cheery call from Simon requesting that I turn around shortly followed by me spotting User10571 catching up. A slight emergency followed on the regrouping leg as we scrabbled about in the dark looking for the lens that fell out of User10571's glasses during cleaning. Quite a top bit of leg stretching before regrouping and taking the hill by storm.

Ah, that's how it happened......!