FNRttC The Fridays' - Windsor to Winchester Night Ride - Friday 13th March 2020

[AlexB]

The first rides were London-based tours of architecture that Simon had a fondness for.

 

[GetFatty]

Emsworth, April 2012, was 15 people - and the unhappy thread is still available. Not planned to be that small, but the weather was vile, vile, vile.

I remember it for worse reasons than the weather unfortunately

 

[GetFatty]

If I recall correctly, my debut in May 2009 had 92. Smallest official ride would have been one of the 'superspeedy' runs to Harwich, limited to 16 due to Simon's inexplicable fondness for complicated expensive small ferry journeys when there's a perfectly good road…my IOW runs have never got near double figures, the most I think we've had is seven. And there have been a few overnight runs with three or four…

Ah those ferries. I'm sure it would have been quicker by road. The Brightlingsea (I think) was my least favourite cos you had to walk quite a way to the pick up

 

[StuAff]

Ah those ferries. I'm sure it would have been quicker by road.

Hell yeah. The Southwold ride was the most egregious to my mind. Going to Suffolk. Eight miles, if that, from Dunwich. There isn't a well-tested route from London to Dunwich, is there? But no, Simon didn't like that…

 

[hatler]

I think Simon was keen to make the rides an event, something a little more memorable than just plugging away from A to B.

 

[StuAff]

I think Simon was keen to make the rides an event, something a little more memorable than just plugging away from A to B.

True, but they've always been an event. I'm not sure trudging across a beach and then cleaning a lot of grot out of my shoes so I can clip in again is the kind of memory I'd like to have…

 

[hatler]

Given that one element of the USP was that we ended up at the coast, I can easily see how the act of boarding a craft to cross the sea we had laboured to reach appealed to an inner sense of romance, or whimsy.

I certainly rue missing the 'Southwold via four ferries' ride a lot more than the DD.

 

[Wobblers]

I quite liked the Southwold route. I particularly enjoyed the dash across Mersea Island - I still have fond memories of my first time, clinging onto the back behind Adam, with us all pedalling into the predawn glow and Venus blazing away directly above us.

Plus it has the advantage of completely avoiding Cochester, which is No Bad Thing.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The Southwold rides were either before my time or they passed me by somehow.

 

[srw]

The Southwold rides were either before my time or they passed me by somehow.

https://www.cyclechat.net/search/51000/?q=Southwold&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

2012 to 2014. Always a small and select group.

The tandem didn't really fit in the landing craft, and one of the bigger ferries was grumpy about it. Going through Felixstowe and past Snape Maltings on the same trip was surreal, especially with the added benefit of a sleepless night. I seem to remember discovering that the flat lands of Suffolk were just rolling enough that we got dropped regularly, if only slightly, and had to brake on the downs because there wasn't quite enough space to overtake the soloists.

 

[Dogtrousers]

2012 to 2014. Always a small and select group.

I started in 2012. Obviously I wasn't select enough Almost certainly not small enough!

 

[ianrauk]

I started in 2012. Obviously I wasn't select enough Almost certainly not small enough!

If you had seen the threads you could have applied to join the group.

 

[Dogtrousers]

If you had seen the threads you could have applied to join the group.

I think I just missed it all to be honest, or maybe I saw them at the time and didn't fancy it and have since forgotten (most likely).

I had to look up where Southwold is.

 

[matticus]

Start at Southend and follow the coast north.