New to the forum

[buzzy-beans]

Hello one and all, I am yet another new kid on the block, although by saying kid, that is a joke as I am a very young 68 retiree from Lincolnshire.

I used to ride bikes a lot way back in my school days and actually did quite a bit of racing, but once the motorbikes and cars kicked in I am afraid to say that I didn't ride at all until I was 38 and only did so then because some blokes at the company I was then working for were all in training for the London Brighton ride, so I asked what times they had recorded for the ride last year and was amazed to hear that they thought that times of well in excess of 3 hours was fast.
So they then asked me how fast I would do it in and I said "if I couldn't do it in under 2hrs 30 mins I would be ashamed", so they then all laughed and put a sizeable bet on me that I wouldn't be able to. The joke was I didn't even own a bike, so I went out and bought the cheapest drop handle bar Raleigh bike that I could find and started 6 weeks of intensive training. On the day in question, it took me 2 hours 14 mins the result of which was that I made a donation of considerably over £1,000 to the British Heart Foundation.

I am now looking to join a club close to my new home in Woolsthorpe By Colsterworth and will be buying myself a half-decent road bike to back up my quite old and heavy straight bar touring bike and am intending to do quite a lot of quite hard road work.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Today the L2B, tomorrow the TdF.

 

[welsh dragon]

Hello and welcome

 

[jay clock]

Hello one and all, I am yet another new kid on the block, although by saying kid, that is a joke as I am a very young 68 retiree from Lincolnshire.

I used to ride bikes a lot way back in my school days and actually did quite a bit of racing, but once the motorbikes and cars kicked in I am afraid to say that I didn't ride at all until I was 38 and only did so then because some blokes at the company I was then working for were all in training for the London Brighton ride, so I asked what times they had recorded for the ride last year and was amazed to hear that they thought that times of well in excess of 3 hours was fast.
So they then asked me how fast I would do it in and I said "if I couldn't do it in under 2hrs 30 mins I would be ashamed", so they then all laughed and put a sizeable bet on me that I wouldn't be able to. The joke was I didn't even own a bike, so I went out and bought the cheapest drop handle bar Raleigh bike that I could find and started 6 weeks of intensive training. On the day in question, it took me 2 hours 14 mins the result of which was that I made a donation of considerably over £1,000 to the British Heart Foundation.

I am now looking to join a club close to my new home in Woolsthorpe By Colsterworth and will be buying myself a half-decent road bike to back up my quite old and heavy straight bar touring bike and am intending to do quite a lot of quite hard road work.

impressive!

 

[13 rider]

Hello and from the county to the West ,

 

[J1888]

You did the L2B in 2 hours and 14 minutes?

Farking hell

 

[Jason]

60 miles give or take means you averaged something approaching 27mph!
You sure this bike you bought didn't come with a motor,clutch and brakes?

 

[Sharky]

When I road the L2B, back in the 80's, it was taking me 8 hrs to get down to Brighton. There was so many riders that it was taking about 30 mins to get through at every junction. The ride back, though only took 4 hours.

 

[Jason]

Yeah 4 hours is perfectly do able, and a racing whippet could probably do it in 3 with a 20mph average

 

[raleighnut]

 

[buzzy-beans]

You did the L2B in 2 hours and 14 minutes?

Farking hell

Honestly, totally honestly that was the time I did it in, the ride was flagged off at 06.00hrs and my card was stamped in at 08.14, the main trouble with our arrival so early was that they were still setting up ! At the time of this first L-B I was 38 year old and weighed 86kg.

The first year I did it there were approx. 26,000 participants of which I guess the first 3 to 4,000 or so were club cyclists. I made certain I was right at the front before the off and for most of the ride there was next to no traffic to bother about. That year I was sponsored by the company Teleflorist who were one of my customers, but I did have to think twice about wearing one of their bright pink 'T' shirts when riding into Brighton!!

The following year with only 2 weeks of training under the wheels, on the same very heavy Raleigh I did it in 2 hours 20 and by the way that year, I rode most of the way alongside someone who was wearing a pin striped suit and who had a leather briefcase on his bikes back rack! He was sponsored by a large City banking Group and I had my main sponsorship from the printing group I was then with.

Now at 68 and riding a quite heavy straight bar hybrid Claud Butler, I am gradually building up my ride distances and am doing it all against a strict exercise routine all in readiness for when I buy my new road bike.

 

[raleighnut]

Honestly, totally honestly that was the time I did it in, the ride was flagged off at 06.00hrs and my card was stamped in at 08.14, the main trouble with our arrival so early was that they were still setting up ! At the time of this first L-B I was 38 year old and weighed 86kg.

The first year I did it there were approx. 26,000 participants of which I guess the first 3 to 4,000 or so were club cyclists. I made certain I was right at the front before the off and for most of the ride there was next to no traffic to bother about. That year I was sponsored by the company Teleflorist who were one of my customers, but I did have to think twice about wearing one of their bright pink 'T' shirts when riding into Brighton!!

The following year with only 2 weeks of training under the wheels, on the same very heavy Raleigh I did it in 2 hours 20 and by the way that year, I rode most of the way alongside someone who was wearing a pin striped suit and who had a leather briefcase on his bikes back rack! He was sponsored by a large City banking Group and I had my main sponsorship from the printing group I was then with.

Now at 68 and riding a quite heavy straight bar hybrid Claud Butler, I am gradually building up my ride distances and am doing it all against a strict exercise routine all in readiness for when I buy my new road bike.

Just don't get 'sucked in' to the 'Carbon is wonderful' thing, this is my 'fast' bike,

One of the last 'Worksop' built Raleigh Road Ace frames in 531c

 

[buzzy-beans]

And is that a Brooks saddle?

 

[raleighnut]

And is that a Brooks saddle?

Yep, It's a 2004 Limited Edition Swallow Titanium, bought before they re-launched them in standard form.

 

[Widge]

You did the L2B in 2 hours and 14 minutes?

Farking hell

Crikey, Buzzy-Beans...it takes me 2 hours just to get mi bike out of the shed. And I'm only 59 years old!

And WeLc0mE.

w