FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Burnham-on-Crouch 24th May

[redfalo]

Another FNRttC first for me. After some Bavarian beer tasting at LMNH, I was home at 2.30pm and went for a short nap. When I woke up again, it was midnight. . Neither my alarm clock nor Katharina, wo rang several times on all available phones, could wake me up. I missed a colleague's BBQ party as well as the footie. Being in Germany over the weekend, poor Katharina already started to fret about my material wellbeing....

Anyway, it was - once again - a great ride with an epic sunrise and some really amazing vistas of dreamlike Essex under the full moon. Thanks to Simon!

Here's the track, including the Witham leg: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=kyhfrxffqnmjzvim

 

[Mice]

Mice merges two days together 82 Miles 12.4 ave, top speed 27.9 on the Road Bike.
36 hours after a fabulous trip to Normandy I was off to Hyde Park Corner to meet up with the Fridays to ride to Burham on Crouch.

My recently acquired Cyo 2 light and hub dynamo thingy (luckily specced directly to the shop by Arallsopp who knows a thing or two about - well everything!) had done me well in France. Fit and Forget was the expression Mmmartin had used. No batteries, extra lights, faffing, are they on or off - nothing to think about. Apart from the battle of the Shimano Adjuster which was battling with the light switch.

A pootle round Hyde Park proved the point when I could not change into the big ring at the front. Turning up at an FNRttC with a mechanical is not what night riding is about. Very, very luckily for me the Lovely CharlieB, Flying Dodo and TimH armed with a cable tie fixed the problem during the safety talk. Thank you peeps. Truly.

This meant that I couldnt spend as much time gawping at Flying Dodo and Rebecca Olds tandem. I have been so excited about them doing a ride on their bike since the moment they bought it last year. And here it was. I tried to take as many photos of it and them as possible.

Despite the concern of the cable, there is something completely magical about reaching Hyde Park Corner for an FNRttC. The little lights flashing, the hellos to people you know as friends and those who soon become them, the sounds of laughter about nothing in particular, the worries about the wardrobe and the wager on whether a certain cyclist with legs longer than I have ever seen will be there before midnight... (he was)! The Banter, the bicycles - will Ianrauk notice how clean my bike is (he did!) It's all fantastic.

The safety talk was completed, the All Up Man was frozen up in South London so the Agent H took the role and stayed at the back of the ride in his place. We weaved our way down to Parliament Square, along the embankment and eastwards to Essex.

Regrouping at various spots on the way, waymarkers marking the way, the night life of London full of alcohol, high heels and mild hysteria. The welcome to Essex from a chap staggering out of a pub "F+++ in Ell - it's the F+++ in Tour de France innit!"

A turn to the right, to the left, up to Brentwood and out into the countryside. It was cold - the Nelson Carradice is perfect for extra gloves, socks, jackets, gilets and indeed a fleece (I hate being cold) none of which I needed for quite some time.

I never quite know where I am on these rides but suddenly we are in the countryside. The sky was clear and the moon was full and visible. We swooped past houses, up and down hills twisting and turning as we weaved our way towards Stock. I did a wayfaring stint on the way and once the All Up words were heard headed off admiring the power of my new light highlighting potholes and things not to cycle over. This included Stuaff! He was in the middle of the road kindly guiding us all over a little bridge rather than go through a ford. I thought he might have trouble persuading Olav to use the bridge...! (When Olav and I cycled to Germany in November we went through fords that covered his Moulton Hub!)

There was a moment when the moon high in the sky could be seen at the same time that a tiny but very powerful orange ball could be seen peeping from the horizon. Beautiful. Little did I know what was to follow.

Arriving in Stock Village Hall always makes me smile. It's one of my favourite stopsies. The welcome so warm, the food fantastic and the lovely Tully family serving smiles and sandwiches without a hint of what time it really is! Not forgetting their Bakewell Tart which is the very best ever.

It's always colder after a stop. I put on another layer and we headed out into the dawn. What a dawn. The red sky was breathtaking in itself but nothing prepared me for the sunrise. I don't remember ever seeing something so beautiful. The sun had three wisps of cloud across it - like a Christmas tree decoration. It truly took my breath away.

The roads ahead were typical FNRttC standard. Narrow, weaving, rolling, full of laughter and enormous fun. Heading towards Burnham on Crouch I waymarked another turn. What a spot. A lovely little lane which gave me the opportunity to take pics of peeps as they headed towards me. Burnham on Crouch is a marvellous place. The cafe is absolutely tops. How they keep us all so well fed, so efficiently with great service I have no idea.

After breakfast I was allowed to have a ride on the Tandem. OMG! How exciting was that! We rode up and down the waterside - it was really comfortable and I loved it! Thank you Flying Dodo and Rebecca O!

A further 17 miles later found us past Morden isnt it great that I knew where we were oops thank you Ianrauk) Malden and at Witham where mathematicians did their Group Save Stuff! About a mile later from Liverpool Street Station we were in Look Mum No Hands (or rather Look Mum No Chips) for beersies.

A truly great Friday Night Ride with fab peeps and lots of fun. Thank you everyone - and extra enormous thanks as ever to Their Leggships who make cycling - daytime or night time - the very best cycling experience ever - every single time. I took some pics https://picasaweb.google.com/108733...authkey=Gv1sRgCI2A7KKdqo_ChwE&feat=directlink

Mice





.

 

[Dibdib]

It's always colder after a stop. I put on another layer and we headed out into the dawn. What a dawn. The red sky was breathtaking in itself but nothing prepared me for the sunrise. I don't remember ever seeing something so beautiful. The sun had three wisps of cloud across it - like a Christmas tree decoration. It truly took my breath away.

Oh my, absolutely. All morning I was wishing that I'd stopped and taken a picture of it, but yours is so good that I'm glad I didn't bother :-)

 

[dellzeqq]

Another FNRttC first for me. After some Bavarian beer tasting at LMNH, I was home at 2.30pm and went for a short nap. When I woke up again, it was midnight. . Neither my alarm clock nor Katharina, wo rang several times on all available phones, could wake me up. I missed a colleague's BBQ party as well as the footie. Being in Germany over the weekend, poor Katharina already started to fret about my material wellbeing....

Anyway, it was - once again - a great ride with an epic sunrise and some really amazing vistas of dreamlike Essex under the full moon. Thanks to Simon!

Here's the track, including the Witham leg: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=kyhfrxffqnmjzvim

ah-ha! Our beer consumption precluded riding home. We hailed a taxi. He looked doubtful. 'Streatham Hill?' So I said 'the question is this - do you want to take us or not. Because if you don't, we don't want to get in to the cab'. Pleasantries were exchanged, and the next cab pulled over and took us to Streatham Hill, during which time we talked about riding bicycles through the night and all sorts of good stuff, and he laughed and we laughed, and we gave him thirty quid, so, listen up black cab drivers - if you can't do it with a smile, don't bother!

And then we went to sleep. And woke at 7.40. Not knowing whether it was 7.40 in the evening, or 7.40 in the morning. I devised a simple test. If channel 3 was showing a fantastic game of footy it was 7.40 in the evening. Which it was!

 

[dellzeqq]

On the subject of calling "car up", I have to say that the group of fourteen that rode to Witham were very well behaved on that score. I guess being compact enough to shout from the back to the front in one go helps.
On the subject of calling "all up" I think we should just buy a small bugle and be done with it.
On the subject of being all round good eggs, Olaf. Thanks for fixing my loose mudguard stay while I was eating sandwiches and cake (N.B. Frank, yes both of those). That was above and beyond.
On the subject of beer, yellow is not necessarily inferior.

 

[Dibdib]

Also, in a service to all London-dwelling FNRttCers, I seem to have just picked half of the capital's gutter-glass out of my tyres. You're all welcome.

 

[ianrauk]

Also, in a service to all London-dwelling FNRttCers, I seem to have just picked half of the capital's gutter-glass out of my tyres. You're all welcome.

How come?
Checked mine this morning and was happy to see didn't pick up a single bit of glass, stone or other crap

 

[Dibdib]

How come?
Checked mine this morning and was happy to see didn't pick up a single bit of glass, stone or other crap

Combination of vacuum tyres and riding from LMNH to Paddington half-cut.

I did leave one bit of glass for you though, on a pavement somewhere near Paddington, after drunkenly picking it out of my inner tube *grumble grumble*

 

[ianrauk]

Combination of vacuum tyres and riding from LMNH to Paddington half-cut.

I did leave one bit of glass for you though, on a pavement somewhere near Paddington, after drunkenly picking it out of my inner tube *grumble grumble*

ouch!!

 

[ianrauk]

While we're on the subject, can someone just clear something up for me? I always thought the shout of 'CAR UP!' was an indication that rider/s should get back in line smartish because a car was approaching from behind (cf. Adam's post earlier). Likewise the shout of 'CAR DOWN!' means a car is approaching from the opposite direction, and the shouter has seen it before the rest of the bunch has done so. Safety procedure. With me so far?

Is it really necessary to bellow 'CAR UP', 'CAR DOWN', etc, for every vehicle, in situations where everyone can see/hear the vehicle for themselves and everyone's in single file anyway? I mean, come on - there's enough pointless noise in the world already, without adding to it unnecessarily and straining one's vocal cords with all this bloody SHOUTING in the peaceful country lanes of, for example, Essex.

Just sayin'.

Yup to point 1
And yup to point 2.. put a bloody cork in it

 

[StuAff]

I did a wayfaring stint on the way and once the All Up words were heard headed off admiring the power of my new light highlighting potholes and things not to cycle over. This included Stuaff! He was in the middle of the road kindly guiding us all over a little bridge rather than go through a ford.

Ahem. StuartG was Ford Prefect for the evening. I did however act as Crater Monitor later on.......

 

[StuAff]

Another cracker. Evening began well for me, as self and colleagues got the all clear just after nine, which meant no issues making my train of choice (the 9.24 is the last direct service into London for an hour, and the next two services both involve little time to make a connection). Not only that, it was on time into Waterloo to boot. Which was nice. No problems making HPC in plenty of time for chinwagging with friends old and new. First bit of waymarking I did, inexplicably not mentioned by Mice in her otherwise comprehensive write-up, was at the entrance to the Blackfriars tunnel, in the objective of ensuring that following peeps went through said tunnel and did not instead bear left. Unfortunately, some modest, shy, retiring person loudly shouted 'LEFT!" several times as the bulk of the peloton approached, despite me standing there making instructions to the contrary (oh, and the searing back light on flash), leading to a number needing to make a U-turn sharpish. Who could that have been, eh?

Most of the remainder of the departure from the smoke was uneventful, bar a couple of ignorant motons who almost collected self and a few others on the east side of the Bow flyover (perhaps they thought right of way didn't apply to those strange two-wheeled things). Danger thankfully avoided, one can only hope the choice Anglo-Saxon invective encourages the dozy twits to take more care in future. Brentwood was as, er, colourful, as ever, well that tottering young lady was, and those darn cobblestones as painful. Once again, I decided not to try the wet approach in dealing with Buttsbury ford (Shimano waterproof boots are sadly equally good at holding water in once saturated, I didn't need to remind myself of that!). And once again, the Tully family excelled themselves, cracking grub served with a smile.

The rest of the ride seemed pretty uneventful, apart from all the punctures, so those at the front had a bit of a wait from time to time. Never mind, it was a lovely morning and the views were great. We made Burnham pretty much on the dot of seven. Fantastic breakfast at the Cabin Dairy. I'd already decided not to ride back into the smoke as doing that, and then a train home, left me even more knackered than usual. Thought about joining the first part of the SMRbtH as far as Rochford, but tickets from there were no cheaper than from Burnham. So groupsaving with FD, Rebecca and Recycle it was (along with Hellboy, Bane, Hong Kong Phooey et al). Just missed the next train out of Waterloo by about ninety seconds, but back home at about half-one. And a much-needed nap not long after that.

Thanks everyone. Same again this weekend?

 

[Dibdib]

... bar a couple of ignorant motons who almost collected self and a few others on the east side of the Bow flyover (perhaps they thought right of way didn't apply to those strange two-wheeled things). Danger thankfully avoided, one can only hope the choice Anglo-Saxon invective encourages the dozy twits to take more care in future.

Yup. All the twinkly LEDs in the world didn't seem to be a substitute for a 16 stone brummie screaming "OI!" and waving an SPD cleated foot at her wing mirror*.

(* an empty threat of course, far more paperwork than it's worth to actually kick a car, but it got her attention.)

 

[kimble]

Mind you, Kimble was occupied elsewhere last night, doing a night ride to Rollright Stones from Mordor Central Birmingham New Street.

McWobble was also with us. And very successful it was too. In the absence of a coastal destination, we made do with a nice big hill, and what we lacked in superheroes we made up for with nuns carrying inflatable sex dolls. We were united under the same giant moon, though.

Actually, I'm starting to wonder if maybe they weren't real nuns...

If I run the ride (or something similar) again, I'll endeavour not to clash with a FNRttC. I only did this time because the original date in March was plagued by heavy snow.


Flying Dodo has covered the train situation as well as I can, though also note that the Chiltern Line runs from Birmingham Snow Hill to London Marylebone, is slightly faster and about as bike-friendly as London Midland (they don't need reservations, but have a ban on bikes on peak-hours trains out of London, IIRC). I believe that's McWobble's train of choice.

 

[slowmotion]

We were lucky with the weather. I didn't need my immaculate new pair of neoprene overshoes, never worn before. Noticing them at a stop in east London, a young lady remarked that I must be an old hand at these rides. "Just old", I replied.

The last time I visited Brentwood there was a police helicopter circling with a searchlight overhead, five police cars on the streets, and young men being chased up alleys. This time, it was relatively tranquil. I hope that the guy who was doggedly ( and alarmingly) weaving his way up the hill into town , unsuccessfully following the white line in the middle of the road, eventually made it. Maybe his Hare Krishna-like progress ended in ultimate enlightenment. I hope so.

It was great to be away from the bright lights and heading for Stock on quiet roads. I had a visitation after the village sign and walked the bike to the warmth and welcome at the hall where I could fix it in comfort. Ian helped me find the offending tiny sliver of glass and I had some delicious rolls while he told me how Orpington could be the next Alberta when it comes to future fossil fuel extraction.

Once on the road again, we were treated to a fading full moon and a lovely rising sun over beautiful Essex countryside. It's a magic sight to see red lights ahead gently snaking through narrow deserted lanes. At my journey's end, I had a great breakfast in good company before heading home to Liverpool Street and beyond. A great night out. Thank you to Simon, the waymakers and TECs for making it another great ride, and to all you lovely people.

And thank you Miranda, who spontaneously bought me a cup of much needed coffee at Stocks when I was about to make a complete idiot of myself attempting to repair a p*ncture in front of a host of experts. A lovely gesture. Thank you.