FNRttC October 6, 2017 - London to Brighton

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I can do plenty of quality....life is too short to drink sch1tt beer.
You are so, so right FF.
Your spelling of the descriptive brings back bad memories of drinking some awful 'mercan muck called Schlitz. I nearly fell off my barstool in a dark seedy joint, probably upstate noo yawk, when the barman suggested I try the stuff - never again!


Except in emergencies.
 

rb58

Enigma
Location
Bexley, Kent
Top marks to @User for a well run ride. A lovely route too. Thank you. I've been suffering from a sore knee since I slipped over on our Geneva to Calais tour a few weeks ago and it doesn't seem to be healing, so I'd resolved to trundle along at the back of the ride to resist temptation to work it too hard. Revealing this to our leader, had me assigned 'all up' duties for the night. This was fun. Fortunately, there was very little for us to do at the back other than a little mudguard fettling (@Flying Dodo adopted the less subtle 'rip it off' method); gear adjusting (@hatler - I found a great web page which explains the difference between the H and the L screw ;-) ) and a single puncture repair. There was rumours of another puncture, but that had been dealt with before we got there. Oh, and @Flying Dodo also collected enough cycling accessories strewn along one of the lanes to open up his own bike shop. It wasn't long before these were reunited with their owner, and amazingly, nothing was lost. Gatwick worked well, and the M&S coffee was good - definitely a better option that the Costa queue. The rain held off, mostly. Lovely to see just about the whole ride opt for the ascent of the Dyke, and chapeau to the lady who rode with the tail of the ride up the hill, without any complaint, or hint that it was an effort. My knee had been grumbling all ride, but I had an appointment with the Century A Month Challenge so opted to ride back. Strangely, it grumbled far less when we were pushing the pace, until we got to the hill through Bolney. At that point it started to scream. Oddly, when i ascended Handcross Hill a few miles further on it was fine again. I did go up it extremely slowly though - sorry @robjh and @sagefly ! I'd already decided to jump a train at Three Bridges as the century was in the bag, so the rest was easy.

I've been out again this morning as a final recce for next week's Sunday London Ride: Tiny Edition. Tried a different bike. Still got a sore knee!
 

StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
You are so, so right FF.
Your spelling of the descriptive brings back bad memories of drinking some awful 'mercan muck called Schlitz. I nearly fell off my barstool in a dark seedy joint, probably upstate noo yawk, when the barman suggested I try the stuff - never again!


Except in emergencies.
You mean it was Schlit?
 
Location
Brussels
Mr first FNRttC in 2 years, my first from the Sarf Bank and the first with @User at the helm and it was just as much fun as I remember.

Many thanks to Adrian for taking charge at the last minute, it all went splendidly. I would only add that you may want tomip the volume on the safety talk a little.

Thanks also to the TECs, the wayfinders and the bikeminders at Gatwick.

Lastly, thanks to @hatler for the company on the train back
 

StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
Devil's Dyke....hmmm. I still prefer the Beacon, but pleasant enough. Though we could have done without the wind and drizzle!]
I had the thought at the summit that though the Devil has all the best tunes, he doesn't have the best climb. And in view of the somewhat stormy weather during our ascent, the earworm was appropriate for two reasons....

 

kimble

Veteran
I'm not riding tonight as the 'sedate' hen do I'm attending has been upgraded to 'wild'

It wasn't in Leeds, was it?

As previously mentioned, I headed north in search of Proper Hills™. Those I found in abundance, with bonus Type 2 Fun involving wading through a bog and jumping across streams with a mountain bike because by that point I'd climbed to ~550m ASL and was too stubborn to turn back and try again by road. All good for a laugh. My shoes should be dry by the end of the week.

A Fridays-compatible sleep cycle was ensured by a snorer who shall remain nameless in Bunk Room Six.

And the train back from Darlington was a full-on hen party on rails. Like the one after the Hull ride, but louder. Meant I didn't fall asleep and miss my connection at least...
 

StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
And the train back from Darlington was a full-on hen party on rails. Like the one after the Hull ride, but louder. Meant I didn't fall asleep and miss my connection at least...
On my train heading back south from Lancaster after the Morecambe I encountered a bloke in a dress. Not on the LGBQT spectrum, I think it was a stag do.....
 
U

User482

Guest
All in all, I thought that was splendid: with Lonesome Lane, Gatwick Surprise and Warninglid, it felt like we were playing the FNRttC greatest hits compilation. Devil's Dyke was new to me, and I think I prefer it to Ditchling: fewer changes in gradient and fewer impatient motorists, but still with a lovely view at the top. My friends from Bristol are both keen to do another London ride, and it was great to see so many first-timers.

So, well done @User and here's to FNRttC 2018.
 
Finally got around to putting some more words down.

The original idea had been to give Brighton a rest this year, but Titus pointed out it made sense to go there, rather than doing another Southend for the final FNRttC of the year. Contrary to popular belief, Titus didn't turn up at South Bank just before midnight and then decide to pull a sickie (as if!), as they'd agreed several weeks ago that as Adrian was doing the recce, it made sense for him to also lead the ride.

Adrian quite rightly had been a bit vague about the weather so his range of 5-10° was spot on, so I think everyone was well prepared. I wasn't on my normal road bike, but was on my commuter with a big heavy pannier full of tools and other useful stuff, none of which got used, apart from my lock. The pannier was useful though for stuffing things in as we went along, including a rubbing mudguard from another rider, and an eclectic assortment of things from someone else's bag, as mentioned above, found strewn all over the road. I also had to lend one of my 2 spare rear lights.

So nothing much really to do at the back until Devil's Dyke, when Adrian, being the chivalrous gentleman that he is, offered to show a gentle route using the A23 cycle path for anyone not wanting to bust a gut going up and over. At that point I should have taken him up on his kind offer, as my commuter bike is a standard double, so my lowest gear is 39 x 27, and I really felt the extra weight as we headed upwards, so it wasn't surprising that a few overtook me. I've only done Devil's Dyke once before on a FNRttC, at least 7 years ago, so it did make a nice change from Ditchling Beacon, and it is definitely easier overall. I was very impressed that all but 3 riders opted for the hill, so well done to everyone, especially those clearly out of their comfort zone.

It was a shame the weather turned at the top with strong wind and drizzle, as initially it was a lovely view. Still, at least we're not as crazy as the people playing golf at that time! Then it was downhill to Wetherspoons.

I see Adrian has done an excellent email to those who came along, so I can't really add anything else to that, apart from a general thank you to everyone, and here's to 2018. I may have more time for planning other destinations.......

The rest of the photos I took are shown below:



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StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
as my commuter bike is a standard double, so my lowest gear is 39 x 27, and I really felt the extra weight as we headed upwards, so it wasn't surprising that a few overtook me.
And on flat pedals to boot!! I got down to 34x28, still had the 32 in reserve.....rather my gears than yours!!
 
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