FNRttC October 6, 2017 - London to Brighton

[Tim Hall]

[QUOTE 4987960, member: 21629"]Just have came back home. 94.94 km on Garmin from BFI to Brighton. Wanted to make 100k but 94.94 is more interesting number.

Thanks Adrian for the ride and thank you Adam you know what for. This ride was a proper mental relax for me.[/QUOTE]
@User21629, "proper mental relax" sums up the FNRttC in three well chosen words.

 

[mmmmartin]

two chains beyond the inner ring of the cassette

When this happens it can be absolutely infuriating and hard to fix.
It happened to me in a remote part of Spain during a rainstorm. Golly I was p!ssed off. So I bought a Deda Dog Fang for every bike I own. Never ever happened after that. Recommended.
Well done for fixing it. Twice.

 

[Tim Hall]

When this happens it can be absolutely infuriating and hard to fix.
It happened to me in a remote part of Spain during a rainstorm. Golly I was p!ssed off. So I bought a Deda Dog Fang for every bike I own. Never ever happened after that. Recommended.
Well done for fixing it. Twice.

I fixed one such instance many years back on an FNRttC in Reigate by removing the chainset, as I was packing a crank remover in my tool kit. @Aperitif was very impressed by my Stanley Phillips screwdriver also in the kit. I was more impressed by him identifying the model number and hazarding a guess as to the vintage.

 

[StuAff]

Almost certainly my last FNRttC of the year- though there is the annual London-Pompey ride in a fortnight, I put details here. I doubt I'll attend the Christmas ride, though I had a (IMHO) excellent idea for the next one so 2018 for that perhaps? A rather stressful week, but a good end to it. @Flying Dodo Thanks for the diplomacy. I'm well aware that there is no right course of action, but I'll try and take the least wrong.

Got out of work in time to make the 2138 train, which was nice. @AKA Bob was sadly stricken by illness, but Adrian stepped up to the plate with aplomb. @mikeee back at last! Did an excellent job at fixing his own (er,fixed...) puncture, which prompted a debate about adjustable wrenches, merits (or not) thereof. And as ever, a pleasure to ride with you. Gatwick was the usual overpriced mess populated by the orange and the miserable, but does the job for a half way. Devil's Dyke....hmmm. I still prefer the Beacon, but pleasant enough. Though we could have done without the wind and drizzle! Team Silly/People Who Actually Like A Bit Of Climbing claimed its just reward for the hard work and got to Wetherspoons before Team Sensible/People Who Run Away From Inclines. Wetherspoons breakfast was its usual serviceable self- no black pudding though- before I made my way to the station (it never fails to amaze me how slow that little ride can be). Even if I wasn't going to be entertained by Josh Davis tonight, it wasn't a day for riding home (50 miles into a mahoosive headwind, and drizzle? Nope). Back home just after 10.30, and a kip soon after that. Off up to the smoke again this evening.

Thanks everyone. See you all soon.

Edit: My one and only photo, of probably the best nightclub sign...in the world...

 

[rockpig]

My first FNRttC and it definitely won't be the last. Thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome, it was an amazing experience.

Meeting @mikeee and finding out we're both from Hull was pretty special/surreal. Massive thanks for your company at various points along the route, I'm still amazed how far you rode with a flat front tyre wanting to get to the lay-by before Reigate Hill so you could change the tube in a lit space.

Thanks to Adrian and Titus for answering my questions before the ride and the superb organisation. You really did help to convince me that I should try this.

I am currently walking round with a grin like a cheshire cat and expect I will be for quite some time.

 

[hatler]

When this happens it can be absolutely infuriating and hard to fix.
It happened to me in a remote part of Spain during a rainstorm. Golly I was p!ssed off. So I bought a Deda Dog Fang for every bike I own. Never ever happened after that. Recommended.
Well done for fixing it. Twice.

Not guilty (of fixing it) your honour. On both occasions this was done before we got to it. Well done whoever you were (I'm crap at catching and remembering names in the dark).

 

[hatler]

I fixed one such instance many years back on an FNRttC in Reigate by removing the chainset, as I was packing a crank remover in my tool kit. @Aperitif was very impressed by my Stanley Phillips screwdriver also in the kit. I was more impressed by him identifying the model number and hazarding a guess as to the vintage.

Now that is pro-TECcing.

 

[hatler]

When this happens it can be absolutely infuriating and hard to fix.
It happened to me in a remote part of Spain during a rainstorm. Golly I was p!ssed off. So I bought a Deda Dog Fang for every bike I own. Never ever happened after that. Recommended.

But doesn't the dog fang stop the chain winding off the granny ring.

Surely the thing you need for rear cassette chain woes is : -
a) A properly adjusted stop screw, and
b) One of those nifty tools which allows you to undo the cassette lock ring.

 

[hatler]

Fist bumps to Adrian for stepping up to the plate at short notice; all the first timers (that's a brave thing to do to join a bunch of unknown johnnies on a night ride in October); Adam, Ross and Greg who did the tail end thing so uncomplainingly; all the waymarkers (who performed faultlessly); and all those who came from afar, notably Balkan Express (from Brussels), Mikeeeeeee from 'ull and the three (?) from Bristol. (And apologies if I missed any other long distance travellers out, I didn't get to mix with the ride much as I spent most of it at the back.)

I was chatting with Balkan Express on the way back in the train at how embedded the ride management has become in the way that the Fridays operate. We also pondered and marvelled at the enormity of what SL accomplished in his years at the helm. Remember the later years where he was running approx 12 rides a year. The capacity of the chap (and his patience) are remarkable.

 

[swansonj]

....
@mikeee back at last! Did an excellent job at fixing his own (er,fixed...) puncture, which prompted a debate about adjustable wrenches, merits (or not) thereof. And as ever, a pleasure to ride with you. Gatwick was the usual overpriced mess populated by the orange and the miserable, but does the job for a half way. Devil's Dyke....hmmm. I still prefer the Beacon, but pleasant enough. Though we could have done without the wind and drizzle! Team Silly/People Who Actually Like A Bit Of Climbing claimed its just reward for the hard work and got to Wetherspoons before Team Sensible/People Who Run Away From Inclines. Wetherspoons breakfast was its usual serviceable self- no black pudding though- before I made my way to the station (it never fails to amaze me how slow that little ride can be). Even if I wasn't going to be entertained by Josh Davis tonight, it wasn't a day for riding home (50 miles into a mahoosive headwind, and drizzle? Nope). Back home just after 10.30, and a kip soon after that. Off up to the smoke again this evening.

Thanks everyone. See you all soon.

Edit: My one and only photo, of probably the best nightclub sign...in the world...
View attachment 377456

Did you reach a conclusion? Someone at work once pronounced (while we were overseeing selection tasks for prospective apprentices) "no true engineer would ever voluntarily use an adjustable spanner". I kept quiet.

 

[AlexB]

A great ride and some great conversations. I really enjoyed the route variations on the familiar ride. The devil's dyke in particular was spectacular.

 

[swansonj]

They are of the devil.

You can have a job as one of our apprentices. No chance for me though.

 

[Tim Hall]

They are of the devil.

The Wise Old Elf has spoken.

 

[Tim Hall]

Now I may be being a bit of a snob here but seeing @mikeee produce a 10" adjustable spanner to remove a wheel nut offended my sensibilities.

Had I been there, mine would have been too. I carry a cut down ring spanner for my wheel removal duties. The cutting down was to enable it to fit neatly in my seat pack and was to such a degree as to still provide sufficient leverage to do the job required.

 

[Tim Hall]

But doesn't the dog fang stop the chain winding off the granny ring.

Surely the thing you need for rear cassette chain woes is : -
a) A properly adjusted stop screw, and
b) One of those nifty tools which allows you to undo the cassette lock ring.

Good points, both well made. I should read what is written, as my Reigate incident involved a chain, an inner chain ring and an amount of Bad Swears.

@mmmmartin does indeed carry one of those nifty tools (Next Best Thing, or in this case an NBT2), which we deployed on the run in to Shoreham airport a couple of years ago. I vaguely recall we had to chop a bit of chain out too, as the jamming had damaged a side plate. I think it was @jiberjaber 's bike, BICBW.