FNRttC The Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Whitstable 27th August 2010

[Wobblers]

Hi all - being a noob and all have been thinking about this - what do people tend to do as preparation on the day of the ride itself ?(I'm sure the answer in a lot of cases will be "a day's work, cycle home, quick bite to eat".....).


I've thunk ahead and booked the day off, but should I spend it trying to sleep as much as possible or fettling the bike to within an inch of its life??

My usual routine is to:
Check the bike over the night before.
Get a good night's sleep and roll up to work slightly later than usual.
Plan to leave work early.
Actually get cornered by my supervisor, so end up leaving desperately late.
Frantically pedal home only to realise I haven't the time to make a proper meal.
Throw everything I might just possibly need into a bag (having a huge pannier bag helps for this).
Find my railcard is missing.
Realise I'm late for my train.
Pedal frantically to the station.
Somehow manage to catch train with ten minutes to spare.
Realise I've forgotten my house keys as said train pulls out of Birmingham.

It's probably worthwhile being a little more organised than I am....

I'd check the bike at least the day before, so you don't get any nasty surprises on Friday. I've never tried napping beforehand but I find I don't get tired during the ride. Usually fall asleep on the train back though - it's quite nice waking up with the train pulling into your station! I think as long as you have a nice big meal beforehand for the energy you'll be fine.

PS: another for a soggy bacon roll, please!

 

[StuartG]

Bacon Express please. Perhaps we could have numbered tickets for the loo instead of a queue?

 

[Aperitif]

Bacon Express please. Perhaps we could have numbered tickets for the loo instead of a queue?

Fly-by-nights wait their turn...

 

[Aperitif]

Only Stuart's flies will be harmed if the queue length = 'p+1'

 

[rb58]

Bacon Express please. Perhaps we could have numbered tickets for the loo instead of a queue?

Unless I went in completely the wrong direction, the loo in Andy's Cafe seemed to be have a fully made bed in it. It was sooooo tempting.

 

[martint235]

you're on the list...keep those bacon sandwich orders coming, peeps!

I was one of the quick off the mark orders so has mine been counted or do I need to order a bacon sarnie again??

Ta

 

[dellzeqq]

I was one of the quick off the mark orders so has mine been counted or do I need to order a bacon sarnie again??

Ta

you're on the bacon sarnie list

 

[Origamist]

Hi all - being a noob and all have been thinking about this - what do people tend to do as preparation on the day of the ride itself ?(I'm sure the answer in a lot of cases will be "a day's work, cycle home, quick bite to eat".....).


I've thunk ahead and booked the day off, but should I spend it trying to sleep as much as possible or fettling the bike to within an inch of its life??

Don't worry too much about Friday, but you should put a bit of thought into what you will do on Saturday morning/afternoon - many "old hands" like to have a beverage or twelve two in the bar (which conveniently opens at 10.00) after the ride.

I also believe I'm getting the first round...

 

[ianrauk]

"Curses oneself for not making this ride"

Don't worry too much about Friday, but you should put a bit of thought into what you will do on Saturday morning/afternoon - many "old hands" like to have a beverage or twelve two in the bar (which conveniently opens at 10.00) after the ride.

I also believe I'm getting the first round...

 

[martint235]

Curses oneself for being committed to making the ride back....

Don't worry too much about Friday, but you should put a bit of thought into what you will do on Saturday morning/afternoon - many "old hands" like to have a beverage or twelve two in the bar (which conveniently opens at 10.00) after the ride.

I also believe I'm getting the first round...

 

[TimO]

For most of the recent rides, I've hung around at work all evening, including a dive into Sainsburys for supper. This works for me, since I work about a mile from HPC! This month I'm going to have to do things differently, since Talisker (my cat) has been having some medical issues, so I'm going to have to go home, check he's OK, feed him, lock him in the house etc, and then cycle up to HPC before the ride. This will add another 23 miles to my days cycling, but can't be avoided if I want to limit the number of £100+ vet visits he makes!

I've never had much success sleeping during the day prior to the ride, and interestingly sitting around outside the restaurant after breakfast, chatting, drinking beer, and getting sunburnt actually seemed to help me with getting my sleeping pattern back to normal.

 

[dellzeqq]

For most of the recent rides, I've hung around at work all evening, including a dive into Sainsburys for supper. This works for me, since I work about a mile from HPC! This month I'm going to have to do things differently, since Talisker (my cat) has been having some medical issues, so I'm going to have to go home, check he's OK, feed him, lock him in the house etc, and then cycle up to HPC before the ride. This will add another 23 miles to my days cycling, but can't be avoided if I want to limit the number of £100+ vet visits he makes!

I've never had much success sleeping during the day prior to the ride, and interestingly sitting around outside the restaurant after breakfast, chatting, drinking beer, and getting sunburnt actually seemed to help me with getting my sleeping pattern back to normal.

Yes indeed. My beer drinking is intended only to recalibrate my Circadean rhythm

 

[Becs]

Any room for another one? Not done one of these before but the Sunday ride peeps said it would be fun . . . . let me know and I'll go and buy some decent lights!

 

[actonblue]

Simon I do not appear to be on the list. Can you add me?

Cheers.

Colin.

 

[dellzeqq]

Simon I do not appear to be on the list. Can you add me?

Cheers.

Colin.

a pleasure