FNRttC London to BOGNOR REGIS (okay, Felpham) - 1st September 2017

[User10571]

Bognor to Deal....

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That looks lovely.

 

[mmmmartin]

the London-Edinburgh-London

Good to have you along @Redlight you were a great companion and brought much to the group. Thanks for coming. The Fridays does have a reinvigorating effect, I think it's a combination of the mutual support, adrenalin and endorphins, not to mention the banter which is excellent.

Your blog is an excellently edited summary of LEL: "cycling the best part of 1,000km in the UK before having my life seriously threatened is pretty good going, though" just about sums up UK riding (in the daylight, at least!).
And: "Maybe I can do this after all. Hell, I’m going to give it a go."

Not to mention the rising tension as we all know for sure you simply can't make it in time and are bound to fail. How you document this inevitable failure in every minute detail is excellent writing, there's a real narrative. I was spellbound as I read it, even though I knew you were bound to fail, as indeed, I did in 2013.

Then, after 1,430 kilometres and five days on the bike, this: "One person takes my brevet card while another passes me a medal. “Well done,” she says with a smile. It’s 7.54. I’m 11 minutes within the time limit."

I was at the Loughton reception, we had one who was three minutes inside the time. And a few who collapsed on arrival.

In 2013 I packed at Moffat, and on PBP at Fougeres. So 600k would seem to be my limit as I'm too slow to build up the time to get sleep.

(On the Bognor ride we had you in the LEL riders' jersey and @ianmac62 in the volunteers' jersey. Of course any wearer of your jersey is a god of the cycling world. I don't know of any one them who wouldn't bend a knee to the wearer of the volunteers' jersey.) Please wear the same jersey on other Fridays rides: you'll find yourself with others who also rode.

And yes, it is the "we're all in this together" culture that makes a difference. A bit like audax in fact. I'm in Spain to improve my language skills on the night of the very excellent Brighton ride (good halfway stop, Ditchling Beacon maybe, and a 'Spoons at the end, plus easy trains to London afterwards) on October 6 so won't see you, but there's a small chance of a ride on November 3 then the London Christmas ride (this year the theme might, or might not, be "the origins of Christmas" (hint - brush up on your German)) and hope to see your LEL jersey on display then. Loads of people have a year off after PBP and LEL - it's normal. I'll see you in 2021 and I'll be in the red t-shirt.

 

[mmmmartin]

Great pix, @Fab Foodie - these are the sort of distances you'd be doing if you were training for a long ride. F'r instance, London to er, Scotland and back? (Asking for a friend, you understand.)

 

[StuAff]

there's a small chance of a ride on November 3

Southend, perhaps?
As @Redlight may have seen on the other place, there's also a London-Pompey night ride on October 20, run by Hummers & likely to feature a number of LEL veterans.

Apropos of nothing but the mention of the Christmas ride reminded me, I have an idea for next year's theme....

 

[Fab Foodie]

That looks lovely.

It was lovely! Sustrans niggles apart it's a ride well worth doing...just don't ride down from London to start it!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Great pix, @Fab Foodie - these are the sort of distances you'd be doing if you were training for a long ride. F'r instance, London to er, Scotland and back? (Asking for a friend, you understand.)

Ha! I feel honoured to be asked, but I'm not going to get time for such a venture just yet....

 

[Fab Foodie]

Southend, perhaps?
As @Redlight may have seen on the other place, there's also a London-Pompey night ride on October 20, run by Hummers & likely to feature a number of LEL veterans.

Apropos of nothing but the mention of the Christmas ride reminded me, I have an idea for next year's theme....

Mmmm Sarfend you say? I have a score to settle wiv Sarfend...

 

[AlexB]

@AlexB As discussed at breakfast, a route from Bognor to Pompey https://www.plotaroute.com/route/489670 should work pretty well.

You total star sir!

 

[Low Gear Guy]

Great pics!
I have to ask, in preparation for myself and my OH to join one of these rides next year, is it, you know, the done thing (ahem) to join in on an ebike?
This is most probably the only way we ( one of us, I won't say whom!) would be able to join up!

With electric assistance you could get cold at times. When pedalling the body creates extra warmth so you don't feel the cold until you stop.
Better put on some warm clothing or wire in some electric heated gloves.

 

[kimble]

With electric assistance you could get cold at times. When pedalling the body creates extra warmth so you don't feel the cold until you stop.
Better put on some warm clothing or wire in some electric heated gloves.

That's a good point that anyone with sufficient e-bike experience to contemplate a long night ride will surely be aware of already. You get the wind chill without as much heat generation so you need to dress warmer, but since your effort level is more consistent it's easier to regulate temperature.

They'd have the advantage of not getting cold while waiting around to regroup. That's what I find hardest about Fridays rides (you can't really add layers for the stops when the TECs could appear round the corner at any moment). When it's cold I tend to stick to the back of the group to minimise hanging around.

 

[BromyG]

I'm struggling to picture you in any sort of hat, let alone a 'bent deployed as one.
ETA - Top boggle for thinking outside of the box.

Like this . . . . .

 

[User10571]

The struggle is over.
Thank you.

 

[kimble]

Like this . . . . . View attachment 371748

Yeah, didn't really work. The whole bike wants to tip forwards, and the funky folding steerer wants to dangle downwards - which is no good for negotiating gates - or with some extra persuasion, occupy approximately the same space as my neck.

There's a photo of me doing the same manoeuvre with the Streetmachine somewhere. That actually worked, as the balance point is right in the base of the seat and the USS handlebars don't get in the way. I just needed a spotter to tell me what the back end was doing, and someone to operate the gate. Which worked out to be slightly easier than passing 24kg+bag of HPVelotechnik's finest German overengineering over a fence when most of the people involved have no real idea where the centre of mass is and the bike is covered in oily bits and non-structural grabbable-looking things.

If I was a several of inches taller, I wouldn't need the spotter.

 

[Tim Hall]

Yeah, didn't really work. The whole bike wants to tip forwards, and the funky folding steerer wants to dangle downwards - which is no good for negotiating gates - or with some extra persuasion, occupy approximately the same space as my neck.

There's a photo of me doing the same manoeuvre with the Streetmachine somewhere. That actually worked, as the balance point is right in the base of the seat and the USS handlebars don't get in the way. I just needed a spotter to tell me what the back end was doing, and someone to operate the gate. Which worked out to be slightly easier than passing 24kg+bag of HPVelotechnik's finest German overengineering over a fence when most of the people involved have no real idea where the centre of mass is and the bike is covered in oily bits and non-structural grabbable-looking things.

If I was a several of inches taller, I wouldn't need the spotter.

Here's how a taller person, such as @arallsopp, handles a lighter bike (although he did get an oily arm).

 

[User10571]

Which ride was that then?
I'm trying to figure where we go, where we are that close to a container port?