FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast to Southend-on-Sea 30th April 2010
- Thread starter dellzeqq
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
Bollo said:
I'm going to the IoW again this Summer for another ride, I fancy seeing how fast I can do it....give me two months!!!
Can I just say that, as a complete noob who has read about the friday night rides here and elsewhere and always thought that they sounded fairly cool, reading about how this one didn't run as smoothly as usual doesn't in any way put me off trying one, if you know what I mean. Some stuff went wrong, everybody there dealt with it as well as they could and that's about all you can ask of them. Very glad to hear that the injuries aren't too bad, mind you!
I'm hoping to do the northern ride, and in all honesty the only reason I'd attempt a long (by my standards) night ride is because of the support (practical, mechanical, navigational and social!) that these rides offer. But I'm an adult, capable of (hopefully) making adult decisions and more-or-less looking after myself - I expect to be responsible for myself and my own safety, and I accept that sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men go awry and stuff goes a bit pear-shaped.
The description on the blog as "a lark, a spree, an event and a romance" made me smile when I first read it, in the same way as reading people ride reports and seeing the youtube vids. Whilst I think it's a Good Thing that people think about this safety stuff, it would seem a bit sad for that rather splendid and appealing spirit of adventure to get drowned in excessive risk avoidance. Or tangled up in hi-vis sashes!
I'm hoping to do the northern ride, and in all honesty the only reason I'd attempt a long (by my standards) night ride is because of the support (practical, mechanical, navigational and social!) that these rides offer. But I'm an adult, capable of (hopefully) making adult decisions and more-or-less looking after myself - I expect to be responsible for myself and my own safety, and I accept that sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men go awry and stuff goes a bit pear-shaped.
The description on the blog as "a lark, a spree, an event and a romance" made me smile when I first read it, in the same way as reading people ride reports and seeing the youtube vids. Whilst I think it's a Good Thing that people think about this safety stuff, it would seem a bit sad for that rather splendid and appealing spirit of adventure to get drowned in excessive risk avoidance. Or tangled up in hi-vis sashes!
Wheeledweenie
Über Member
- Location
- Hanwell, west London
User10119 said:
What a marvellous way of putting it!
CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
Indeed.
Stuff happens at even the best-organised events, and as someone else who intends to make one of these rides but hasn't yet made it, the only thing that made me think twice about attending a future one is the dodgy weather-forecasting skills of Dell's cat.
Stuff happens at even the best-organised events, and as someone else who intends to make one of these rides but hasn't yet made it, the only thing that made me think twice about attending a future one is the dodgy weather-forecasting skills of Dell's cat.
arallsopp
Post of The Year 2009 winner
- Location
- Bromley, Kent
Ben Lovejoy said:
Oh, I don't think that's the case at all. I reckon the cat maintains a perfect record for predicting poor weather. The real change is that its clearly fallen out with its owner, and no longer wants to keep him dry. Maybe its pro the CTC takeover; perhaps a difference of opinion regards architecture; possibly Simon's thoughts about Croydon.
arallsopp said:Oh, I don't think that's the case at all. I reckon the cat maintains a perfect record for predicting poor weather. The real change is that its clearly fallen out with its owner, and no longer wants to keep him dry. Maybe its pro the CTC takeover; perhaps a difference of opinion regards architecture; possibly Simon's thoughts about Croydon.
Hmmm. I think it's more likely that The Cat's predictions are indeed faultless, but are systematically and cynically misrepresented to trusting FNRttCers. Word is he's had enough of being used as a literary device and is thinking of blowing the whistle...
CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
Perhaps negotiations with the feline forecaster could be held such that it arranges extremely narrow rain-clouds that track Simon unerringly while the rest of us cycle a short distance behind him.
the cat is an idiot, but he's crafty. He lies on the bed beside me at night, implanting prawn dreams in to my head, and I get up like some Pavlov's dog and fix his prawns in the morning at the same time I make the tea for the love of my life. He then pushes off to spend time with the very squirrels that tear up the contents of the flowerpots, before coming in at night with scars all over his ears that he gets from picking fights with every other cat in the neighbourhood. I see him walking down the middle of the road sometimes looking from side to side, asking the world if it 'wants to know'.
None of this would be so odd if he didn't look like a girl. Women pick him up and say 'oooh, she's sooo pretty' and he just simpers at them, while planning his next expedition to beat up the neighbours cat in its own kitchen.
I put his run of 'bad form' down to the change from Science Diet to IAMs. He's just wreaking his twisted little revenge.
None of this would be so odd if he didn't look like a girl. Women pick him up and say 'oooh, she's sooo pretty' and he just simpers at them, while planning his next expedition to beat up the neighbours cat in its own kitchen.
I put his run of 'bad form' down to the change from Science Diet to IAMs. He's just wreaking his twisted little revenge.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Ben Lovejoy said:
Possibly there is an occassional FNRttC-er called Rob McKenna who signs up psuedonomously?
MacB said:
I've done the sunsea and sex festival IOW ride in September a couple of times.
http://www.sunseaandcycling.com/news/General/default.aspx
I may have mis-remembered the name!
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
rich p said:
makes me think of that tv ad with Paul Whitehouse as the ageing free love hippy, still trying after all these years.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
rich p said:
Oh, I'm glad to see they are still running the race across the Medina. I built my pedal boat to enter the very first one of those.... (I came third, behind a very sleek catamaran, and a Surfbike. Hilldodger was behind me, and the local lads on an oil-drum raft with paddlewheels brought up the rear...)
nuttycyclist
New Member
Oh my goodness me, what a delightful read I've just had. I had hoped to come out to play this time as I have an envelope I need to pass to Simon, but work and then family commitments meant I was in a different county instead of freewheeling down Bread and Cheese hill to meet you.
To those that found themselves on the A127, I take my hats off to you - I'll ride anything except the A1245. If you do it again then there's a good path alongside the A127 that you can follow either to the A129 back to Hadleigh & the route, or even the whole way to Southend (but that's not a pleasant route).
I think that the best (legal) route is the one I led you on when I joined in the whole ride. Having gone down Tattersall Gardens from the A13, stop to look at Hadleigh Castle behind you, then stay on the top of the cliffs through Leigh Broadway before then turning right to head for the seafront. You get the views over the River Thames and Canvey Island, an dno hills to climb.
As for improving the system, well I know Simon already does a fantastic job. I'm all for K.I.S.S. so web based GPS tracking on smart phones etc seems a bit over the top (how on earth did we survive a few years ago when these rides started?)
My tuppennies worth. Radios. PMR radios are pretty cheap (I saw a pair for around £20 in lidls the other day). ok they only have a range of a couple of miles, but if the TEC group had a handful of these all tuned to the same channel then there could be a constant live feed being passed up and down the chain when required, without any need for individuals to start phoning around. <Awaits first comment of "Rubber Duck we have a convoy>
I hope that these rides continue with the success they have to date, and that I can get out to play again one day. Also best wishes to Andrew.
To those that found themselves on the A127, I take my hats off to you - I'll ride anything except the A1245. If you do it again then there's a good path alongside the A127 that you can follow either to the A129 back to Hadleigh & the route, or even the whole way to Southend (but that's not a pleasant route).
TimO said:
I think that the best (legal) route is the one I led you on when I joined in the whole ride. Having gone down Tattersall Gardens from the A13, stop to look at Hadleigh Castle behind you, then stay on the top of the cliffs through Leigh Broadway before then turning right to head for the seafront. You get the views over the River Thames and Canvey Island, an dno hills to climb.
As for improving the system, well I know Simon already does a fantastic job. I'm all for K.I.S.S. so web based GPS tracking on smart phones etc seems a bit over the top (how on earth did we survive a few years ago when these rides started?)
My tuppennies worth. Radios. PMR radios are pretty cheap (I saw a pair for around £20 in lidls the other day). ok they only have a range of a couple of miles, but if the TEC group had a handful of these all tuned to the same channel then there could be a constant live feed being passed up and down the chain when required, without any need for individuals to start phoning around. <Awaits first comment of "Rubber Duck we have a convoy>
I hope that these rides continue with the success they have to date, and that I can get out to play again one day. Also best wishes to Andrew.
