FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast in aid of Martlets Hospice 3rd September 2010

[redflightuk]

Well that was fun.. Made my way to Sloane Square without getting lost, found a few familiar faces and was pointed in the direction of the signing in table. When we set off i wasn't too far behind the police van and after they peeled off at Mitcham(and peeled the lads off the back of the van)the ride soon thinned out , i rode with a small group that had a comfortable pace going. When we turned left onto the main road at Reigate I saw two peeps marshalling us across to the correct lane for the hill. As i went past i saw it was Susie and Claudine. After Reigate there were just two of us until we came across a group who were checking maps and garmins thinking they should turn down this road until we decided that the next turning was the right one(and it was). Riding through the dark lanes we found Adam marshalling and soon after was the refreshment stop. After a 40 min break it was back to the bike and by now the riders were flooding into the car park. Almost needed ear defenders with all the sqealing brakes coming down the drive. Back on the road again i soon caught up with a couple who had lost there map and rode with them until they were happy they were on the right route. I was in a group of four when we hit Slugwash lane and we stayed together until Ditchling, we picked up one guy who was going the other way thinking he'd gone wrong as he hadn't seen anyone for ages.
Going up Ditchling in the dark was a new experience and a little bit easier not seeing the wall and just praying that the next turn is the one with the horse sign. Straight into town from here and a first for me was green lights all the way down to the seafront.
After a leisurly breakfast i set off just after 6, back to the Beacon passing the long string of riders looking pleased that they were almost home. Tigerbitten winding up the pace down into town. Fab sight from the beacon of the mist with the sun just up, stopped to say high to Andy A & team and then onward to(how far i could get by 9) Reigate.
Thanks to all for another great night out.

see you all soon....

 

[thom]

A clear night, fun riding, suicidal badgers, cold misty hollows, chocolate-cornflake cakes, wide grins, tired legs.
Chilling out with Andy at Ditchling imploring a warming sun to come up I took some photos.
Here are some Whitstable ones from a week ago too.

Cheers,

Thom.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

He showed his guts by getting up the beacon and then the contents therein!

 

[rb58]

How much fun was that! A FNRttC with a difference.

Big thanks to Simon and all the team for the huge effort that must have gone into the arrangements and a special thanks to the marshals, several of whom were looking quite lonesome as I passed them by.

I rode with a good crowd from Mitcham, including Tessa on only her second FNRttC and Rob for whom this was his first. Oh, and his first ride in London, first ride at night, on a road bike, and in cleats. Brave soul. The crowd didn’t really thin until the hill at Coulsden. We passed the welcome wave and shouts of ‘no overtaking’ at the top of Reigate Hill, before wildly overtaking each other on the way down the hill. A small group of us wend our way to Copthorne, studying maps and GPSs as we went, although we weren’t sure which school we would be welcome at so we tried the first one up Mill lane. Nope, not that one!

After a short break I headed on and soon found myself alone. In the dark. An unusual experience on a FNRttC. The mist rolled off the fields as I sped down the lanes but the sky was still fairly light, glowing reflections from nearby towns and airports I’m guessing. Through Turners Hill and plunged once more into the dark. Only this time it was really dark. Beautifully dark. Couldn’t see a thing. I just had to stop and turn my lights off for a few moments, listen and admire the stars. Wonderful.

I reached Ditchling in the company of another rider proudly wearing his Martletts T-shirt, only for a car to roar up behind us like a getaway in Starsky and Hutch and the driver leap out to tell us we’d missed the Beacon turn off. Seems our plan to sneak round, rather than over, had been rumbled.

Full English, of course, shortly after 4.30am was most welcome and I hung around until about 5.30am chatting, before heading back. I wandered through Burgess Hill, Cuckfield, Balcombe on my way back to North Kent and had the company of hundreds of pheasant, a couple of deer grazing by the road and proper country foxes scurrying into the bushes.

A night I shall remember for a long time.

 

[arallsopp]

A clear night, fun riding, suicidal badgers, cold misty hollows, chocolate-cornflake cakes, wide grins, tired legs.
Chilling out with Andy at Ditchling imploring a warming sun to come up I took some photos.

Magical shot, mate. Just one fence between us and fairytale. Sleep deprived and chilled as we were, I rather fancy my sanity making a Steve McQueen style leap for freedom.

 

[marna]

That was awesome fun! I was incredibly impressed with the tenacity of all the riders. The first time I tried overnighting to Brighton I nearly pushed Adrian off the beacon when he - tec-ing me along patiently - gently pointed out that i'd stomped off my bike and started pushing it up before even changing down all my gears. And I had a whizzy bike and had done that sort of distance before, a few times. So huge, huge props especially to all the folk struggling along at the back. I wanted to give them all big hugs, but I reckoned they might not have loved me for it.

Also I have slightly sunburned cleavage from sitting drinking recovery drink in the sunshine all morning!

 

[slowmotion]

That was fun.

Best wishes for a swift recovery to the rider who came off.

I had only done one "Brighton Genteel" before, but this was six times bigger in numbers. What incredible organisation! It must have taken a huge effort.

The Met's two-wheeled Finest did a great job at keeping the road clear into the darkest reaches of South London. Many thanks to the marshalls and back-up crew who patiently stayed at sometimes lonely junctions for hours on end in the face of creeping hypothermia. That is sacrifice.

The Martlets helpers were just wonderful. Everbody gave us thanks and greetings at all stages on the route from start to finish. The thanks seemed strange...I should have thanked them for another chance to experience the dark side of cycling.

I accompanied Mrs rich P out through inner London at a sedate pace. She reached Brighton two hours ahead of me, despite my break-away attempt somewhere near the first loo stop. Sometime between one and two in the morning, we passed a trio of juiced-up young ladies encouraging the peleton and commenting raucously on various parts of their anatomy. A giggle.

The break at Copthorne was like an oasis and it was hard to leave to face the gentle climb to Turners Hill. Loads of fun to pootle along alone in the darkness, down Slugwash Lane, and see the mist over sunrise approaching Ditchling. Total humiliation on the Beacon, but I did learn that pushing a bike is at least the same effort as riding it. The friendly reception at the top lifted my spirits and gave me some kind of determination to trip the camera on the way into town. That one will have to wait. {How fast do you have to go to trip a 30 mph camera?}

Shortly after a brief breakfast, some people felt a need for rehydration.

I took the train back to London in exalted company.

Many thanks to the friendly crew.

 

[arallsopp]

(having failed, with Adrian, in a two man assault on the speed camera)

{How fast do you have to go to trip a 30 mph camera?}

Adam maybe tripped it at a touch over 35.
Personally, I think he must have broken it, or the rest of us just aren't metal enough to set it off.

Believe me, I gave it a damn good try.

Rode down from Ditchling with the ever lovely Susie, but gallantry and companionship are the first casualty of GATSOs

GPS log of the route we took is here: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/100815

52 mph? Sh1t! I hope that wasn't on Reigate.

 

[rich p]

Andy, where was the maximum gradient of 17% ?

 

[theclaud]

Great fun. Pics here

Tim - that shot of Adrian is worth the standing-and-freezing-in-the-middle-of-the-dual-carriageway-for-an-hour-shouting-"STOP or you will DIE!"-up-Blackhorse-Lane all by itself. La Nouvelle Vague de FNRttC est arriveé!

Fab ride, everyone. Arthur's and Tim's pics are so lovely it would be hard to add anything, but I'll see if I've got a few incriminating snaps of Rich to throw in...

 

[arallsopp]

Andy, where was the maximum gradient of 17% ?

I don't think Ditchling ever registers much beyond 15.5, so I'd wager its a GPS / mapping anomaly. Probably either the track crossing a map-tile boundary, or the device calibrating after a power cycle.
I powered off at the stops, and the Etrex's initial guess is always a bit skew. Chances are it guessed low, adjusted when it got a better lock, and drew a 17% hill to span the 3ft between the two.

There's an odd water feature thing in Lindfield, they say, but as far as I can tell its almost entirely flat.

Edit: Oops. Max speed was Reigate, but apparently I still passed the camera at 50. Wasn't my fault, guv. I didn't have the benefits of TC and Susie yelling slow down at me. I reckon my GPS is on the blink. I *always* observe the speed limit.

 

[dellzeqq]

Tim - that shot of Adrian is worth the standing-and-freezing-in-the-middle-of-the-dual-carriageway-for-an-hour-shouting-"STOP or you will DIE!"-up-Blackhorse-Lane all by itself. La Nouvelle Vague de FNRttC est arriveé! Fab ride, everyone. Arthur's and Tim's pics are so lovely it would be hard to add anything, but <STRONG>I'll see if I've got a few incriminating snaps of Rich </STRONG>to throw in...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommers/4960373420/in/set-72157624759349895/ courtesy of Thom. I see no hand signals....

 

[theclaud]

There's an odd water feature thing in Lindfield, they say, but as far as I can tell its almost entirely flat.

Really? I must look out for that next time...

 

[theclaud]

http://www.flickr.co...57624759349895/ courtesy of Thom. I see no hand signals....

We Safety Sirens, Dellzeqq, consider that it is proper form to put both hands back on the bars just after signalling and glancing right, and before turning*. Perhaps you should incorporate this small point into your talk?


*Some formalities can be overlooked when one is engaged on a hopeless quest to reel in Dan and Teef on the Whitstable run-in...

 

[Aperitif]

I don't think Ditchling ever registers much beyond 15.5, so I'd wager its a GPS / mapping anomaly. Probably either the track crossing a map-tile boundary, or the device calibrating after a power cycle.
I powered off at the stops, and the Etrex's initial guess is always a bit skew. Chances are it guessed low, adjusted when it got a better lock, and drew a 17% hill to span the 3ft between the two.

There's an odd water feature thing in Lindfield, they say, but as far as I can tell its almost entirely flat.

Edit: Oops. Max speed was Reigate, but apparently I still passed the camera at 50. Wasn't my fault, guv. I didn't have the benefits of TC and Susie yelling slow down at me. I reckon my GPS is on the blink. I *always* observe the speed limit.

Nice one Andy! Big speed. I don't think I was anywhere near that. Adrian probably was but politness held him back.
At the junction of Lewes Rd and West St, Beacon Rd etc...the gradient is showing 16.4%. Road hump probs.