Five things I learnt.
1. Starting at the South Bank is fine. It's by the river, it's sheltered, it's got toilets to hand, and the acoustics are extraordinary, but it lacks the star quality of Hyde Park Corner, and I missed the sightseers special along the Thames
2. I've got to make the TEC system a lot more rigid, and pick teams accordingly. Tim O struggled valiantly with the naff tyre/wheel that cost us 35 minutes, but if Adrian had been there he'd have whipped out the FNRttC Derringer and hailed a taxi almost straight away (and handed the taxi driver a tax bill). I've got to ensure Davy becomes a power-crazed mini-megalomaniac, so that he can get people working as a team. Oh - and the basics is going to include something along the lines of 'borrowed bikes - no thankyou'.
3. I've got to be a bit direct when it comes to people riding at the front of the ride. The punctures meant that our Wayfinding system was stretched almost to breaking point - indeed, it parted company at two points, causing Bruce to miss a turn (for which apologies). I found myself dropping back down the line to search for people who would do the job - not such a big deal on the big roads round Woolwich and Dartford, but it would have been tricky out in the sticks.
4. The village hall/scout hut/church hall format is the way to go. It wasn't just that Team Tim did us proud - let's be honest - if we'd have pitched up at Andy's Cafe, even with a fully fit Kieran, we'd have been bloody miserable. And Strood is so much better a bet than Rochester because we don't have to post seven Wayfinders who, of necessity, wind up at the back of the queue for their sarnies. On the other hand.....if it were not for User10571 'recruiting' Kieran there wouldn't be a Whitstable ride, so I've got to do some thinking about where we go from here.
5. Davy has to come on every ride. He's got to become the FNRttC icon. I'm toying with the idea of giving him his own page on the new FNRttC website.
This was a tricky ride. Without User10571 taking the front, and the stream of information from Davy at the back we'd have been all over the shop (or North Kent). Thanks, chaps. Thanks (and apologies) to those of you who stood by the side of the road for half an hour at a time, and to those of you who laboured with (nine?) punctures. It was a real team effort.
That's the stuff over with. For the rest........people, including the newcomers, seemed very much at home with the ride, which was good, and it was nice to welcome back some old friends. I've got in to a really bad habit with my gear changes, and unshipped my chain (not for the first time) so I'm going to have to start concentrating a bit rather than take it for granted. I found the send-off from Strood strangely affecting. The ride in to Whitstable was terrific, with Mickey, User10571, Kevon, Sam, Charlie and others piling along at a fantastic rate of knots, with me making the occasional desperate lunge to the front and then doing my best to cut the speed down - a tactic that proved surprisingly effective with a bunch of cyclists whose innocence was as boundless as their energy. And the Waterfront - what a wonderful place to end a ride that is!
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