Club run reports - 4th December

Category 6 ride led by Pete Kelleway

Well….it all started before it started. Tony (I must have been putting out at least 1000 W) snapped his chain, fell off, tore his bib tights and hurt his knee on the way to the start. Fortunately Kate (International Rescue) leapt to his aid to take him home. The group were prepared to wait for Kate only to be informed while she was next to Tony she “had no clothes on” and we had to go without her. Two down before the start which soon became three when Leigh suddenly changed allegiances to category 4!
So finally a band of six was just about to set off when an out of breath Ian arrived (sorry I had problem with my contact lenses). To be fair he didn’t mention the ‘early start’.
Finally we were off. David (call me the bugler, and what a fantastic job he did) took the rear gunner position as only the two of us had downloaded the route. Seven miles in and seven became eight when Graham (I thought you were going to wait for Kate - what a gent) caught us up. Thank goodness he learned this week how to add mile markers to the Garmin route and didn’t try to catch us by going the other way round. And then eight became nine as Dan (I got to lie in and only had to cycle part of the route) joined us as planned. Surely now everyone could have a relaxing ride. But no. Chris suddenly announced he had forgot to bring cash despite being reminded by Clare before we set off. Fortunately Clare had a credit card and was able to get cash for him. I can’t imagine how many ‘brownie’ points that cost.
The route was quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The possible reasons suggested were - No Tony, no Leigh, no swearing no Carolyn, or it was so cold our lips were frozen. Oh, and we chose a route which was virtually car free.
Cafe Mocha as usual did a grand job. All fed and watered Dan decided he had had enough of us and was going home. Graham almost waited for him; having got left behind the last time he went to Mocha you would think he would have learned.
I realised on the way back that Adrian had had his bike fixed. ‘’All I had asked for was the cable to be replaced and I got a full service!” It did look very clean and ran without issues, so who can complain. And throughout the ride Valdis was always nicely positioned and of no concern for the leader. If I was a school teacher I would have given him a gold star (but I’m not, so I didn’t).
All got back safely. No one left behind. Not bad for the novice leader.
Thanks to all for a very pleasant ride.
Oh….and Ian won the King of the Mountains. Who would believe that!

Category 4 ride led by Enzo Misuraca

Winter wear was the order of the day, as 8 Wheelers set off from the Hoddesdon Clock Tower, collecting a ninth a couple of miles in.  The cafe destination was Tealicious in Brookmans Park, a mere 25 miles away.

The riders set off gingerly, as the temperature gauge struggled to reach over 3 degrees centigrade, meaning a chilly start for the extremities.  However, ride leader Enzo M had envisaged such a scenario and ensured the route included enough challenges to help keep the brave cyclists warm and tingly on the inside.  

Surprisingly, they didn't appear too thankful of such a gesture, the ungrateful so and so's, as climb after climb raised temperatures on the outside as well as in.

An early climb, up and around Haileybury School in Hertford Heath soon got the bloody coursing, and the riders cursing, setting the tone for the rest of the 45 mile round trip.

With Tealicious being relatively close to the start point as the crow flies, the ride had to be ‘inventive’ in order to make it worthy of a category 4 ride.  Leigh P joked that the route looked like it had been drawn using an Etch-a-Sketch and quite honestly, he wasn’t too far off the mark.  

However, his amusement at the course design was short lived, as climb after climb ensured he concentrated more on his breathing than on his tomfoolery.

The clickety-clack of gear changes could be heard for miles around as the hills pushed both riders and bicycles to their limits.  The sounds emanating from Ian B, both vocal and mechanical, were the most prominent of the lot.  ‘You little ba****d’, was soon followed by a huge clunk and thud as Ian toppled over and hit the tarmac.  

His chain had jammed between hub and cassette (just as it had the previous week), locked his rear wheel sending the big northerner into the ground.  But Ian is made of tough stuff (and full English breakfasts). He dusted himself off, whipped the chain back onto the cassette and, ignoring the blood seeping down his leg, got back into the saddle soldiered on… still muttering the odd B word as he pedalled.

Essendon Hill continued not only the tone set by the ride leader, but also the huffing and puffing by the cyclists.  The arrival into Brookmans Park and the cafe brought some welcome respite.  Food and drink was consumed, with the highlight of the stop being Peter B’s cycling spectacles, which resembled something a Hogwarts Teacher of Dark Arts might wear.  Shame he couldn’t magic us some wings to help get over the next set of hills that lay in wait.

And so the trip back to Hoddeson followed a similar pattern of ups and downs, with the ups far outweighing the downs.  An effort up and over Carbone Hill was a stretch too much for Lisa R’s rear tyre, as the pressure finally gave out to a potential puncture.

Lisa watched expertly as Ian B and Peter B swapped out the tired inner tube for a fresh one, ensuring they followed the correct procedure.  With their efforts carried out to her satisfaction and a tyre glider working its magic in the hands of Professor Bloomfield, everyone set off for the final leg of the journey back home.

Well done to all the above mentioned as well as Graham K, Steve G, Alex P and Mike E for turning a cold Sunday into warm fun...day (sorry, that was rubbish!)