Very glad that worked out. Congratulations
FNRttC London to Maldon, Friday May 18
- Thread starter Nick Saddlesore
- Start date
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OP
OP
Nick Saddlesore
Über Member
- Location
- London
Thanks to all of you for making leading such a treat. Special thanks of course to the 'team' - Martin for all his support and being a glowing all-upper, Gordon as Wingman for pacing me and looking after the corners, Anton and Tom for being redundant Tecs. Rob for leading a group of us to Witham, a much better option than Hatfield Peveral.
36 (I think) started, 37 after 20k, a couple left at halfway and a few more skipped breakfast. I don't think I lost anyone.
Some lessons:
Close the ride (at latest) on Friday lunchtime - last sign-up was 9.30 p.m.
Remind riders to go straight unless clearly waymarked otherwise. If not, some will stray, even if it's a no right turn.
Check your Device is set properly beforehand. I'd turned off the backlight, so was mainly on memory till dawn. Hence 2 about-turn overshoots
Places look different at night. Hence meltdown panic on nasty roundabout when I didn't believe said Garmin.
More cheese. Or maybe order only veggie sandwiches. You'll manage.
Don't tell people it'll be cold. They won't beleve you.
Dress to undress - I boiled on the way home. Good excuse to buy yet another Carradice.
36 (I think) started, 37 after 20k, a couple left at halfway and a few more skipped breakfast. I don't think I lost anyone.
Some lessons:
Close the ride (at latest) on Friday lunchtime - last sign-up was 9.30 p.m.
Remind riders to go straight unless clearly waymarked otherwise. If not, some will stray, even if it's a no right turn.
Check your Device is set properly beforehand. I'd turned off the backlight, so was mainly on memory till dawn. Hence 2 about-turn overshoots
Places look different at night. Hence meltdown panic on nasty roundabout when I didn't believe said Garmin.
More cheese. Or maybe order only veggie sandwiches. You'll manage.
Don't tell people it'll be cold. They won't beleve you.
Dress to undress - I boiled on the way home. Good excuse to buy yet another Carradice.
Last edited:
You did well Nick. I managed 3 on the way to Shenfield without the excuse of darkness.....
Nick done it right, nice relaxing pace a new route out of town a new destination.
It was a little bit chilly but a couple of waymarking dashes to the front sorted that. The group was small enough that waymarking was a 5 minute job.
Thanks Nick (and Rob for escorting us to the station)
(Did you like my jacket?)
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmc6ZqN5
It was a little bit chilly but a couple of waymarking dashes to the front sorted that. The group was small enough that waymarking was a 5 minute job.
Thanks Nick (and Rob for escorting us to the station)
(Did you like my jacket?)
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmc6ZqN5
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Nice shots as always Dave. And upside-down selfies present and correct
bobcolover
Guru
- Location
- south london
well done nick and all;
lovely ride from start to finish
bob
lovely ride from start to finish
bob
Mr Orange
Senior Member
Great ride to Maldon. Perhaps the powers that be will consider having this in the mix for next year? My thoughts should you be interested.
https://www.myorangebrompton.com/2018/05/london-to-maldon-overnight-on-orange.html
https://www.myorangebrompton.com/2018/05/london-to-maldon-overnight-on-orange.html
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Jolly (Sailor) good ride. A new champion in the from-London ride category? I think so. Great route, great halfway stop, and a most excellent pub breakfast (though the service was a little chaotic). OK, Dr Beeching put paid to a direct train to points homeward, but it's not much bother to get six or seven miles to the nearest station, or to bail at Hatfield Peverel if you're knackered/have Real Life getting in the way/whatever else.
Back to Friday night. As ever, 9.38 Post Work Sprint Challenge not helped by work going down to the 9.30 wire. I nonetheless win the challenge, out the car park at 9.33, on the platform at 9.36. Just my luck, train is running late, by eight or nine minutes. Hardly a problem, still into Waterloo before eleven, where Martin and Tom were already at the Costa, then round to the NT.
Decided it was about time Chutney got an airing (having been resting since last year…!!), and to their credit no-one needed to have the laws of physics explained to them (i.e. 'Don't you have to pedal really fast with those little wheels', etc- as opposed to those larger, heavier, higher drag, slower-accelerating ones, of course ). I took it for a spin Thursday morning, and got reminded what a fun ride the little scamp is. And definitely not slow. I've done Brighton and back at a 13.7 mph rolling average, the ride from Eastleigh station to work on Friday was 15 mph average. No problems, most of the ride, bombing along very nicely. Though certainly better when you have the DualDrive hub gear working properly…more on that anon. In view of The Chain Incident, which Nick naturally referenced in the safety talk, and the Non-Standard Parts, I went for the belt and braces approach on spares…all four of my 20" inner tubes, pedal wrench (for the bolts on the hub gear), plus PDF manual on how to remove & reinstall the rear wheel (as with most hub gear systems, not exactly a simple or straightforward procedure)…of course, none of those were needed. Something else would be....
First stretch didn't quite go to plan. About half of the ride ended up going the wrong way! We should have gone up Farringdon Road as far as Rosebery Avenue. For some reason (as Martin stated, the consensus later being reached that Random Bloke with a Bike At A Junction was confused with a wayfinder) we ended up going right onto Charterhouse Street. Those of us who knew which way we should be going made the necessary arrangements and we got the group back on track, before I went back down Farringdon Road to check no-one had got left behind marking (been there, done that). Back on course, and onto that remarkable thing, a segregated British cycle route that doesn't suck. Warnings about possible ne'er do wells in Wood Green and its environs proved thankfully unprophetic. After 20km, we got a bonus rider. James and his very nice Mercian, with somewhat unusual gearing (inner ring barely smaller than outer) asked what we were doing, asked if he could tag along, though he wasn't intending to go as far as Maldon, he ended up riding from the pub to the pub .
Apart from being joined by James, the 'burbs proved uneventful. And once out into the countryside, a very fine route indeed. Certainly not the most direct route, but we've been that way before. Romford? Brentwood? We could do better, and we did. On past Sawbridgeworth to Hatfield Heath and our halfway stop, the Village Tea Rooms. Host Jackie did a very fine job. I agree with Nick that cheese and cheese alone would have been fine for the sarnies. As for the cakes: nom nom nom. And I'm sure we all appreciated the commemorative bunting in our honour! I will be back (just been checking out the menu...yup, good stuff).
What was good in the second half? Pretty much everything. What wasn't? My front shifter cable. The DualDrive hub is a 3 speed, that unlike most hub gears is designed to work in combination with a rear derailleur and cassette. Instead of, or in addition to, multiple chainrings, the hub gives you 37% extra upper/lower range, you can shift at a stop if you're in too high a gear, no cross chaining, and it's particularly handy with smaller rear wheels. SRAM did dedicated shifters, but it also works with regular Shimano STIs. Chutney effectively has, with a single 53t chainring, something like 53/39/30 on a 700c bike. Top gear is just as high, bottom as low or lower. Well, it did until all of a sudden the hub didn't seem to be shifting, at all. The cable coming out of the left hand shifter was very loose. And entirely non functional at the other end. I think it left me in the top gear. Climbing on 53x27, even in Essex, isn't that easy (good job the 6% was out of the way in the first half). Rather more grinding, and walking, than I'd have liked for the rest of the ride. Will be going to the LBS in the morning to get that sorted, or booked in if need be. Bob offered to try fitting a new cable on the train, but I declined (I know from past experience what a faff these hubs can be when they have Issues....).
On to Maldon, as lovely as I remembered from the previous visit. The Jolly Sailor's ordering system seemed a little chaotic (if you've got a table number for an order, why not take the order to that table...?) but everyone got the food soon enough, it was good and the view was lovely. In view of the hub problem, plans to ride to Shenfield for the train home were canned, and I joined Team Rob heading to Witham. Good call- more trains than Hatfield Peveral and nearly as close. A bit grindy, again, but no real problems. Train back to LST was a bit sardines, we were all crammed into doorways, but no real problem. The ride south to Waterloo was thankfully quick, and I made the next fast train south.
Great job Nick (we've all been there done that with the Garmin stuff!), and thanks everyone. Chapeau to @Salty seadog for getting that first ton (and 'hey, that's a[nother] nice bike').
Same again next week? Don't mind if I do.
PS: An odd coincidence. We passed south of Pleshey, noted in recent years for its pub, the Leather Bottle, in turn noted for its recent tenancy holder, Keith Flint. Yes, that Keith Flint, of The Prodigy. He had a charity swear box ready for when he lit the fire He gave up the tenancy suddenly last year (the pub has now reopened and is doing well under its new management, according to recent reviews). I saw the signs and that instantly came to mind. At Witham station, there's a news kiosk outside. Punter talking to the newsagent, about…Keith Flint giving up his pub!
Back to Friday night. As ever, 9.38 Post Work Sprint Challenge not helped by work going down to the 9.30 wire. I nonetheless win the challenge, out the car park at 9.33, on the platform at 9.36. Just my luck, train is running late, by eight or nine minutes. Hardly a problem, still into Waterloo before eleven, where Martin and Tom were already at the Costa, then round to the NT.
Decided it was about time Chutney got an airing (having been resting since last year…!!), and to their credit no-one needed to have the laws of physics explained to them (i.e. 'Don't you have to pedal really fast with those little wheels', etc- as opposed to those larger, heavier, higher drag, slower-accelerating ones, of course
). I took it for a spin Thursday morning, and got reminded what a fun ride the little scamp is. And definitely not slow. I've done Brighton and back at a 13.7 mph rolling average, the ride from Eastleigh station to work on Friday was 15 mph average. No problems, most of the ride, bombing along very nicely. Though certainly better when you have the DualDrive hub gear working properly…more on that anon. In view of The Chain Incident, which Nick naturally referenced in the safety talk, and the Non-Standard Parts, I went for the belt and braces approach on spares…all four of my 20" inner tubes, pedal wrench (for the bolts on the hub gear), plus PDF manual on how to remove & reinstall the rear wheel (as with most hub gear systems, not exactly a simple or straightforward procedure)…of course, none of those were needed. Something else would be....First stretch didn't quite go to plan. About half of the ride ended up going the wrong way! We should have gone up Farringdon Road as far as Rosebery Avenue. For some reason (as Martin stated, the consensus later being reached that Random Bloke with a Bike At A Junction was confused with a wayfinder) we ended up going right onto Charterhouse Street. Those of us who knew which way we should be going made the necessary arrangements and we got the group back on track, before I went back down Farringdon Road to check no-one had got left behind marking (been there, done that). Back on course, and onto that remarkable thing, a segregated British cycle route that doesn't suck. Warnings about possible ne'er do wells in Wood Green and its environs proved thankfully unprophetic. After 20km, we got a bonus rider. James and his very nice Mercian, with somewhat unusual gearing (inner ring barely smaller than outer) asked what we were doing, asked if he could tag along, though he wasn't intending to go as far as Maldon, he ended up riding from the pub to the pub
.Apart from being joined by James, the 'burbs proved uneventful. And once out into the countryside, a very fine route indeed. Certainly not the most direct route, but we've been that way before. Romford? Brentwood? We could do better, and we did. On past Sawbridgeworth to Hatfield Heath and our halfway stop, the Village Tea Rooms. Host Jackie did a very fine job. I agree with Nick that cheese and cheese alone would have been fine for the sarnies. As for the cakes: nom nom nom. And I'm sure we all appreciated the commemorative bunting in our honour!
I will be back (just been checking out the menu...yup, good stuff). What was good in the second half? Pretty much everything. What wasn't? My front shifter cable. The DualDrive hub is a 3 speed, that unlike most hub gears is designed to work in combination with a rear derailleur and cassette. Instead of, or in addition to, multiple chainrings, the hub gives you 37% extra upper/lower range, you can shift at a stop if you're in too high a gear, no cross chaining, and it's particularly handy with smaller rear wheels. SRAM did dedicated shifters, but it also works with regular Shimano STIs. Chutney effectively has, with a single 53t chainring, something like 53/39/30 on a 700c bike. Top gear is just as high, bottom as low or lower. Well, it did until all of a sudden the hub didn't seem to be shifting, at all. The cable coming out of the left hand shifter was very loose. And entirely non functional at the other end. I think it left me in the top gear. Climbing on 53x27, even in Essex, isn't that easy (good job the 6% was out of the way in the first half). Rather more grinding, and walking, than I'd have liked for the rest of the ride. Will be going to the LBS in the morning to get that sorted, or booked in if need be. Bob offered to try fitting a new cable on the train, but I declined (I know from past experience what a faff these hubs can be when they have Issues....).
On to Maldon, as lovely as I remembered from the previous visit. The Jolly Sailor's ordering system seemed a little chaotic (if you've got a table number for an order, why not take the order to that table...?) but everyone got the food soon enough, it was good and the view was lovely. In view of the hub problem, plans to ride to Shenfield for the train home were canned, and I joined Team Rob heading to Witham. Good call- more trains than Hatfield Peveral and nearly as close. A bit grindy, again, but no real problems. Train back to LST was a bit sardines, we were all crammed into doorways, but no real problem. The ride south to Waterloo was thankfully quick, and I made the next fast train south.
Great job Nick (we've all been there done that with the Garmin stuff!), and thanks everyone. Chapeau to @Salty seadog for getting that first ton (and 'hey, that's a[nother] nice bike').
Same again next week? Don't mind if I do.
PS: An odd coincidence. We passed south of Pleshey, noted in recent years for its pub, the Leather Bottle, in turn noted for its recent tenancy holder, Keith Flint. Yes, that Keith Flint, of The Prodigy. He had a charity swear box ready for when he lit the fire
He gave up the tenancy suddenly last year (the pub has now reopened and is doing well under its new management, according to recent reviews). I saw the signs and that instantly came to mind. At Witham station, there's a news kiosk outside. Punter talking to the newsagent, about…Keith Flint giving up his pub!
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Great stuff John!
All of the above with knobs on. Excellent ride - including the best London exit of all time. Have you got any more up your sleeve Nick?
Yep - it was cold but that's the price to pay for a beautful serene mist-banked dawn. Unforgettable with the flat open Essex countryside. And a great ride was topped off with an unexpected great ride back to Shenfield following Nick's suggested route (or nearly - see Gordon's post above) at an exciting pace. Just more gorgeous Essex countryside and re-joining the old Southend via Stock route in reverse. A route I'd done many times but the first time in light!
If you are struggling to remember - it includes the infamous ford where we have, on different occasions, slid on ice and walked the bridge under water. Good news is it looked like Essex CC have just completed an upgrade with nice tarmaced ramps to the bridge making it rideable without dismounting. But of course if you want to get wet that option remains. @Gordon P took a photo ...
The Freedom Pass TfL train was empty at the start and not too busy at the other.
Yep - it was cold but that's the price to pay for a beautful serene mist-banked dawn. Unforgettable with the flat open Essex countryside. And a great ride was topped off with an unexpected great ride back to Shenfield following Nick's suggested route (or nearly - see Gordon's post above) at an exciting pace. Just more gorgeous Essex countryside and re-joining the old Southend via Stock route in reverse. A route I'd done many times but the first time in light!
If you are struggling to remember - it includes the infamous ford where we have, on different occasions, slid on ice and walked the bridge under water. Good news is it looked like Essex CC have just completed an upgrade with nice tarmaced ramps to the bridge making it rideable without dismounting. But of course if you want to get wet that option remains. @Gordon P took a photo ...
The Freedom Pass TfL train was empty at the start and not too busy at the other.
OP
OP
Nick Saddlesore
Über Member
- Location
- London
It just so happens (if @mmmmartin should wish)....
Oxford? Bit more clag on the exit, but soon in The Chilterns, wheeee down, flat finish. Just need to sort catering. Unless @CharlieB wants to get his apron out.
Friday Night Ride through the Chilterns. If only they had a website ....
