srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
The superfluous 'e' makes this one of the more preposterous claims of the day.
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Salty seadog
Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
Salty seadog
Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
Great ride to break my duck ending with a welcome short hop back home. Intended to ride but Saturday morning with the tiredness and yawns hitting the train seemed too easy. Never been through Greenwich before, the Cutty Sark looked fabulous lit up and the navel college and surrounds looks impressive so a revisit one day is due.
Got a little lonely on one particular waymarking duty inside the M25 just after a long couple of drags uphill, might have been out of Greenhithe and the group was very stretched out. I was on a suberburn junction in the middle of the night all alone for large portions, I kept looking over my shoulder...
and was glad to finally see @User round the bend giving the royal wave.
Great halfway stop and as advised by a few of the group you really feel the chill when you step back out of the hall.
Was lucky enough to see the barn owl along the marshes and it flew in front of us for a couple of hundred yards.
Many thanks to @rb58 for the route and organisation and lead ably assisted by @CharlieB and the techs @GrumpyGregry and @sagefly and Adrian at the back. And of course thanks to @Trickedem and his good lady for the hospitality.
Looking forward to more.
Got a little lonely on one particular waymarking duty inside the M25 just after a long couple of drags uphill, might have been out of Greenhithe and the group was very stretched out. I was on a suberburn junction in the middle of the night all alone for large portions, I kept looking over my shoulder...
and was glad to finally see @User round the bend giving the royal wave.
Great halfway stop and as advised by a few of the group you really feel the chill when you step back out of the hall.
Was lucky enough to see the barn owl along the marshes and it flew in front of us for a couple of hundred yards.
Many thanks to @rb58 for the route and organisation and lead ably assisted by @CharlieB and the techs @GrumpyGregry and @sagefly and Adrian at the back. And of course thanks to @Trickedem and his good lady for the hospitality.
Looking forward to more.
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StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
OP
OP
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
Nothing like a Fridays ride early in the year to remind you how unfit you are despite cycle commuting/shopping etc in your locality year round 
. I actually managed to waymark. That's my cycling objective achieved!! My sprint attempt at the end died before it started, but I hope to do better next time. Thanks Ross, Charlie, Adrian, Greg 1&2 and everybody else I threatened/spoke with. Whitstable remains one of my favourite rides and not just cos the Vikky sponge is worth fighting for. I may have 'forgotten' to hand over two slices to my nieces 
.
On my return home I had a nap before meeting family for a relaxed meal. For the avoidance of doubt, Five Guys is NOT the place for anything other than a snack, but my young niece chose it so I couldn't complain too much. We will not be going there again
Had planned on taking part in a charity bike ride this morning, but my legs complained and the weather gods agreed.
Til next time.......
. I actually managed to waymark. That's my cycling objective achieved!! My sprint attempt at the end died before it started, but I hope to do better next time. Thanks Ross, Charlie, Adrian, Greg 1&2 and everybody else I threatened/spoke with. Whitstable remains one of my favourite rides and not just cos the Vikky sponge is worth fighting for. I may have 'forgotten' to hand over two slices to my nieces . On my return home I had a nap before meeting family for a relaxed meal. For the avoidance of doubt, Five Guys is NOT the place for anything other than a snack, but my young niece chose it so I couldn't complain too much. We will not be going there again
Had planned on taking part in a charity bike ride this morning, but my legs complained and the weather gods agreed.
Til next time.......
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Apparently, it's very popular with the young people. As so often in life, what do they know?For the avoidance of doubt, Five Guys is NOT the place for anything other than a snack, but my young niece chose it so I couldn't complain too much. We will not be going there again
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
Fantastic story. Thanks Stu.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Excellent evening, though the start of it could have gone better. As so often (at a rough guess, 99% of the time), work went right to the 9.30 wire, leaving me with the usual post-work FNR sprint challenge. Get to my locker. Get gear on. Get bike from secure shed. Get to the northbound platform (three quarters of a mile away), board 9.38 train. Seven and a half minutes. No pressure...I got rolling at 9.33, so not too bad....what was bad was not quite securing the Garmin in its mount. Going round the roundabout I hear a thump, think I've gone over a bit of rubbish…then look down and see the Garmin is missing. Whoops. I pull over, and go looking for it. It was of course in the last place I looked, not the first, trying to spot a small black object in the dark from a distance and on a busy road isn't easy....By the time I'd found it, made my way over and picked it up and got back to the bike (thankfully undamaged, it had landed right by the roundabout and so safe from the traffic) it was 9.39. Next train it was then. Enough time to change in non-moving facilities (airport terminal) before the 10.08, which was into Waterloo on time despite running late earlier on. In view of the time (11.23) I opted just to nod to the select gathering by Costa before making my way round to the NT.
No 11 speed chains were harmed on this ride. And normal Soreen service was resumed. Phew.
As lovely as it is to see all the new people who've heard about the rides and thought they'd join us (a couple on Friday discovered it through word of mouth), it's always nice to see a good number of fellow regulars (or old lags
), apart from being good to see them, it definitely helps when you have a good core of People Who Know What We're Doing And How To Do It Right. That said, as with Saarfend, plenty of newcomers took their turn waymarking, and did a good job. No repeat of The Case of The Empty Roundabout from last year, thankfully. @CharlieB was in the new role of Waymarking Selection Officer, and that worked out nicely. Adrian and Gregs (plural) did exemplary service at the back, and it seemed like a quiet night. A few fairy visits, an errant cleat bolt (been there done that), and I think that was about it for mechanicals. I never seemed to have a long wait marking, nor in getting back to the front. Not that being astride the Viner doesn't help in that. She hadn't been on a long outing for a while (mudguards and discs rule for winter riding, thank you very much), but it takes, oh, half a nanosecond tops, before I am reminded why she remains Best Bike- Litespeed is Other Best Bike, natch. Floats like a butterfly, flies like a missile (admittedly one with a sub-par engine, he is old and scrawny). And now, unfortunately, she is covered in ****. Oi! Weather gods! Leave it out! White carbon frames are a bugger to clean.
The early part of the ride remains a bit of a schlep through suburbia (plus the obligatory bit of verbal Sarf London 'colour'). Quite glad about not having a long wait when waymarking outside the Sainsbury's distribution centre in Dartford this time! On the roundabout in Gravesend, a couple of locals enquired why we were riding. 'Fun'. Where from and to? On hearing my answer, 'I couldn't ride up the road' And then we roll into the lanes…aah that's better. Also better, Mr and Mrs Decker's Emporium of Cakey Goodness. The light to the darkness of Junction 31. As per usual, my extensive carb-loading/reloading (there was the breakfast sprint to consider, and possible completion of this month's century) was most delicious. @wanda2010 was not required to kick shins in order to get Victoria sponge, and no-one got between me and the bread pudding Tim was so keen to duck out of cleaning up he decided to do a century instead!
Raspberry Hill Lane is indeed a massive improvement on Basser Hill (I miss that like a hole in the head...). And then, the sprint challenge. Time to burn that cake off and make room for the Large Waterfront. @Mr Orange made a valiant effort to compete, and proved fastest......of those on a Brompton. My time was pretty good considering the headwind (for the Strava segment of 4.3 miles, 16:17, 16.1 mph average) but a long way back from my best time (2011- 11:52, 21.9 mph average. And 203W estimated power. Yeah, right, ha ha…). Somehow finished top ten. Decline of competition rather than down to my performance!
In view of the inclement weather, decided not to ride back to Rochester in order to complete the ton, and I let HS1 take the strain all the way. It promptly stopped raining. Damn you, weather gods (again)! Uneventful journey apart from some pillock deciding the bike was in his way (no it wasn't). From St Pancras to Euston in search of getting my bike reservations for Manchester-Llandudno printed out. Expected orange cardboard. Got a printout with the reservation numbers etc. Like I could have done myself.
Then back to Waterloo, just made the noon train home. And a rather necessary nap.
Thanks everyone! Bognor? Naturally (my banker for the April ton, apart from anything else!)....
No 11 speed chains were harmed on this ride. And normal Soreen service was resumed. Phew.
As lovely as it is to see all the new people who've heard about the rides and thought they'd join us (a couple on Friday discovered it through word of mouth), it's always nice to see a good number of fellow regulars (or old lags
), apart from being good to see them, it definitely helps when you have a good core of People Who Know What We're Doing And How To Do It Right. That said, as with Saarfend, plenty of newcomers took their turn waymarking, and did a good job. No repeat of The Case of The Empty Roundabout from last year, thankfully. @CharlieB was in the new role of Waymarking Selection Officer, and that worked out nicely. Adrian and Gregs (plural) did exemplary service at the back, and it seemed like a quiet night. A few fairy visits, an errant cleat bolt (been there done that), and I think that was about it for mechanicals. I never seemed to have a long wait marking, nor in getting back to the front. Not that being astride the Viner doesn't help in that. She hadn't been on a long outing for a while (mudguards and discs rule for winter riding, thank you very much), but it takes, oh, half a nanosecond tops, before I am reminded why she remains Best Bike- Litespeed is Other Best Bike, natch. Floats like a butterfly, flies like a missile (admittedly one with a sub-par engine, he is old and scrawny). And now, unfortunately, she is covered in ****. Oi! Weather gods! Leave it out! White carbon frames are a bugger to clean.The early part of the ride remains a bit of a schlep through suburbia (plus the obligatory bit of verbal Sarf London 'colour'). Quite glad about not having a long wait when waymarking outside the Sainsbury's distribution centre in Dartford this time! On the roundabout in Gravesend, a couple of locals enquired why we were riding. 'Fun'. Where from and to? On hearing my answer, 'I couldn't ride up the road'
And then we roll into the lanes…aah that's better. Also better, Mr and Mrs Decker's Emporium of Cakey Goodness. The light to the darkness of Junction 31. As per usual, my extensive carb-loading/reloading (there was the breakfast sprint to consider, and possible completion of this month's century) was most delicious. @wanda2010 was not required to kick shins in order to get Victoria sponge, and no-one got between me and the bread pudding Tim was so keen to duck out of cleaning up he decided to do a century instead! Raspberry Hill Lane is indeed a massive improvement on Basser Hill (I miss that like a hole in the head...). And then, the sprint challenge. Time to burn that cake off and make room for the Large Waterfront. @Mr Orange made a valiant effort to compete, and proved fastest......of those on a Brompton. My time was pretty good considering the headwind (for the Strava segment of 4.3 miles, 16:17, 16.1 mph average) but a long way back from my best time (2011- 11:52, 21.9 mph average. And 203W estimated power. Yeah, right, ha ha…). Somehow finished top ten. Decline of competition rather than down to my performance!
In view of the inclement weather, decided not to ride back to Rochester in order to complete the ton, and I let HS1 take the strain all the way. It promptly stopped raining. Damn you, weather gods (again)! Uneventful journey apart from some pillock deciding the bike was in his way (no it wasn't). From St Pancras to Euston in search of getting my bike reservations for Manchester-Llandudno printed out. Expected orange cardboard. Got a printout with the reservation numbers etc. Like I could have done myself.
Then back to Waterloo, just made the noon train home. And a rather necessary nap.Thanks everyone! Bognor? Naturally (my banker for the April ton, apart from anything else!)....
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GM
Legendary Member
- Location
- North of the river
3 times I've done the Whitstable ride, apart from being superbly organised what always makes me smile is the regrouping at Harmer St, Gravesend when the cars come round the corner not expecting to see 50 cyclists waiting there. The look on their faces of WTF is this!
OP
OP
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
I discovered that road by accident some years ago on an impromptu night ride to Whitstable when I missed the last train and could only get one as far as Gillingham, so had to ride the rest of the way home. In my tired and emotional state, I missed the turning for Basser Hill and didn't realise until the Sheppey bridge started to loom into view. I think that's what you call a happy accident, though it was a bit disconcerting at the time.
U
User10571
Guest
I remember when you posted that, having a quiet smirk to myself, that it was probably a healthier/more beneficial way of getting home..... ;-)
It has to be better than the Vomit Comet....
I can also picture why the experience might be entirely disconcerting ....
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