Issue 25 - September 2009

Special Features :
Hadrian’s Wall Ride ·
Epic Randonneur ·
Dun Run 2009 ·
TT Trophy Winners ·
HORSHAM CYCLING
Visit the website and members’ forum at:
www.horshamcycling.co.uk
for the latest news, photo galleries and details of up-coming club events.
is affiliated to
CTC, British Cycling, CTT,
Southern Counties Cycling Union,
Sussex Cyclist's Association & East Sussex Cycling Association
COMMITTEE MATTERS
At the last Committee Meeting, the ideas put
forward at the General Meeting were discussed and
progressed where possible.
Editorial
September 2009
The 2008-2009 accounts were formally approved
ready to be circulated to the membership with the
annual statement.
Some glitches with the new clothing set-up were
reported and are being acted upon.
Here we are again with the September issue of Chain
Line, it does not seem like three months since the last
one. In this issue you can read about some of the rides
our members have done through the summer. These
include Lorraine Barratt’s coast to coast Hadrian’s
Wall ride and this year’s Dunwich Dynamo written by
Robin Bigwood, a newbie to the ride.
Also, with the time trial season at a end, you can read
about the events and winners of this year’s trophies.
Many cyclists are obsessed about the weather
conditions for their next ride. We constantly find
ourselves checking the forecast on TV or on the net.
Stuart Stone has produced an article in which he
assesses the short range forecast which will determine
whether we get a wet or dry ride.
Finally, the next issue of Chain Line is due out early
December and article, should be with me
[email protected]
by
the
beginning of November.
The ride speeds and riding etiquette have been
causing concern and measures were agreed to help
improve the situation.
It was decided to hold the Club Christmas Dinner
at The Hornbrook once again (see further details on
page 3).
The big news was the new website which Ian H
demonstrated. It is hoped it will go live at about the
time of this CL publication and bring a more up to
date image to the Club.
As always, your ideas, suggestions and feedback
are vital in keeping the Club relevant to the
membership, so please keep them coming.
Anne Maher
Club Secretary
Front cover photo by Keith Shuttlewood
CHAIN LINE CONTACT DETAILS
Stewart Forbes, 21 Fenby Close, Horsham, RH13 6RP
Tel: (01403) 756271
Email: [email protected]
2 Chain Line
CHAINLINE
Welcome Aboard
Club Pub Night
There has been a bumper crop of new members since the last edition of
Chain Line – 15 in all. Welcome to Neil Ware, Michael James, Declan
Dunne, Claire Naylor, Ash Boniface, Paul Hunter, James Egerton,
Matthew Bates, Tim Gardner, Sabina Hickmet, Andrew Brown, Craig
Sharman, Stuart Papworth, Garry Clarke and Jon Fry. We wish you
safe and enjoyable riding with Horsham Cycling.
The next pub night is on
Wednesday 28 October 2009.
This time at The Black Jug,
North Street Horsham from
8.30pm
XMAS DINNER-BOOKING NOW!
October Reliability TrialThe first event of
Tuesday 15th DECEMBER at
the Hornbrook Pub, Brighton Road
(next to Hilliers Garden Centre)
7 for 7.30 pm
Seating is limited to around 30.
£5 deposit now, please, to reserve your place!
Cheques payable to The Hornbrook, please.
and sent to Morag Warrack
24 Hamilton Road, Horsham, RH12 2JJ
the autumn/winter season will be held on Sunday 11
October 2009.
Ÿ This time there will be three rides consisting of
distances of 60, 45 and 30 miles, all covering set
routes with route sheets to navigate you along the
way.
Ÿ The HQ will be the Forest School Youth Wing
which will be open from 8.30am
Rides will depart between 9am an 10am
depending on distance.
More details in E-News and website nearer the time.
Menu to follow!
Riding Safely
Just a few dos and don’ts to avoid confrontation with motorists - both
to ensure your own safety and promote the good name of
Horsham Cycling.
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Don’t lose your temper
Don’t rise to challenges
Do acknowledge your mistakes
Do say thank you with a friendly wave
Do keep your emotions under control
Why I wear a Helmet
by Robbie Calder
Last September whilst on the most excellent Southern
Sportive walloping down the last big hill from East
Meon, I decided that brakes were for wimps. I have
since changed my mind and now realize they are
more for normal people. At the bottom of the hill was
a nasty left hand bend on gravelly roads, needless to
say I never made it and slammed into a flint wall at
about 20mph. I had in my panic managed to scrub
some speed but alas not enough. My helmet was
knackered but my head, unlike my leg, arm, shoulder
and chest, was ok. Don’t worry about the helmet it has
now got a new task as it can’t be worn any more and
I didn’t want to throw it away as it was only about 6
months old.
That’s why I wear a helmet. It probably won’t help
much in a full on RTA, but it sure as hell combats
stupidity.
Robbie.
Oh, one more thing, it didn’t stop the nettles stinging
the hell out of my legs either.
Chain Line
3
HORSHAM CYCLING
A guide to meteorological websites,
by Stuart Stone.
Those of you who know me will know that I like to
keep my new bike dry, at least until the winter. I like
to keep myself dry too, so am a regular visitor to
several weather web sites that provide some useful
information. Irrespective of all other conditions that
we may have to endure, I find getting wet and cold the
most unpleasant.
Conventional sources of forecasts, such as radio or
television, are accurate to a point, but often have to
provide information for quite a large area. Even the
forecast pages on the Met Office web site are usually
only updated two or three times per day when the
prevailing conditions are benign. So, taking this in to
account, a forecast of no rain until lunchtime that was
made the evening before could result in a good
soaking!
The question is then, how do you know if it is going to
remain dry on a Sunday morning between 9 and 12?
Obtaining accurate and (almost) real-time data
is the key, and there are two very good and free
sources of this.
The first is actually on the Met Office web site,
but is not on the forecast pages and not
immediately apparent. This is the UK rainfall
radar and can be found by going to
www.metoffice.gov.uk and clicking on
‘Weather’ on the menu bar at top left. Then
select ‘UK’ and, on the right hand side,
‘Latest/recent past’ and ‘Rainfall radar’.
This opens a page showing a UK map with
rainfall radar data updated every half an hour at
15 and 45 minutes past the hour. You can
even run the entire sequence of the last six
hours to give an indication of the trend and
speed of movement of an approaching, or
departing, weather system.
To the right is a snapshot that shows the
radar for 7 June. During the early hours,
heavy rain had moved through our area,
but by the time we assembled in the
Carfax it was clear.
Subsequent to this some showers did
develop, but unfortunately these are very
difficult to predict, even for the Met Office
supercomputers. The best way to avoid
those is often to look up to the sky, see
what is happening above and cycle in the
opposite direction!
One other web site that provides almost
real time data is XC Weather (see
www.xcweather.co.uk).
4 Chain Line
This lists observations from various airfields and
weather stations across the UK and in to Europe.
When opening the main page, use the buttons on the
left hand side to select the parameter you wish to
display – for instance wind, temperature or weather.
Again, below, is the page for Sunday 7 June 2009.
Compare this to the image above.
Using your mouse to hover over a location will give a
5 day forecast, but it is more useful to be able to look
at current readings. Log on and have an experiment
to see what you can find.
So, in summary, for those of you who are like me and
like the dry, have a go at doing a bit of forecasting for
yourself. You’ll be surprised how accurate you can be
by using these sources and looking out of the window.
It is very useful to know if there is rain on the way or if
it has passed.
If you do get wet though, you can only blame yourself!
British Isles: Rainfall Radar
Image for 08:00hrs on Sunday 7th June 2009.
CHAINLINE
SIGNS ‘R’ US
The evening times trials take quite a bit
of organising and so this year Jim
Evans spoke to other members to ask
them if they would help with the
signing. He was successful in his
efforts and he got a team together now
known as Signs ‘R’ Us. A rota was
produced and someone on each time
trail evening was responsible for
putting out the signs late afternoon and
collecting them in the evening after the
event. A good two hours’ work is
involved with this task!
Thanks to the team who were made up
of Jim Evans, Robert Skeet, Barry
Harwood, Bill Wood, Alan Dolan, Ian
Holder, Peter and James Delve.
L- R Peter Delve, James Delve, Jim Evans
and Robert Skeet
Their help was very much appreciated.
Calshot Track Sessions
Winter 2009/10
by Keith Carter.
Once again winter is just around the corner so that
must mean it's almost time for our training sessions
down on the velodrome at Calshot. Last winter we had
a good and varied group of Horsham cyclists travel
down to Southampton.
DATE
Saturdays
10 October 2009
24 October 2009
7 November 2009
28 November 2009
12 December 2009
19 December 2009
START TIME
10.40 am
1.50 pm
1.50 pm
1.50 pm
1.50 pm
1.50 pm
FINISH TIME
1.40 pm
4.50 pm
4.50 pm
4.50 pm
4.50 pm
4.50 pm
The sessions last for 3 hours and the cost
is around £10/£12 + bike hire at about £5.
It's great to do something a bit different
over the winter and riding a fixed gear
bike with no brakes around a velodrome
in a good size group will do wonders for
your bike handling skills on the road.
One of the best things is thatyou get to
stay dry. No rain or wet slippery roads to
mess around with.
If you would like to know more, drop me
an e-mail:
[email protected] or if you see me just ask
and I will probably not stop talking about
the very excellent track sessions.
REMEMBER, HORSHAM CYCLING
STRONGLY RECOMMENDS
WEARING A HELMET
ON ALL RIDES
Chain Line 5
HORSHAM CYCLING
Time Trial Report
By Stewart Forbes - Racing Secretary
presented with this very large
trophy and he will require
assistance to take it home.
One of our junior
members Patrick Harris
obtained a pb of 24.32
and I am sure that next
year this times will
reduce even more.
Another youngster is
James Egerton, who
clocked 26.50 in his first
TT with the club.
Keith Carter
The time trials for this season are
almost at an end as I write this
article; with the club hill climb still
to go and also the Social Group
Downhill Event which take place
on Sunday 27 September 2009.
Numbers taking part in this year’s
events are slightly down on last
season’s, mainly due to the fact
that not so many guests or triathletes are entering our events.
This has resulted in a smoother
signing on process at the start of
each event.
Many of our members who are still
relatively new to time trailing are
continuing to improve with many
more
personal
bests
(pb)
achieved.
Patrick Harris
Sabina, who just joined the club
earlier this summer, did her very
first event on the 10 course and
completed it in 29.36 an excellent
result and a lot of potential for
improvement next season.
6 Chain Line
The winners for the
Club’s trophies for this
year are:
Scratch Trophy - Neil Houldey
Handicap Trophy – Alan Dolan
Veterans Trophy - Brian Flint
Points Trophy – Keith Carter & Ian
Hiscock (equal)
Ladies Trophy – Miranda Oberman
Hill Climb – Neil Clarke
The Trophies will be presented at
the Christmas Evening at the
Hornbrook
on
Tuesday
15
December.
For the full results, go to the racing
page of:www.horshamcycling.co.uk
Ian Hiscock
Finally thanks to everyone who
helped to make these events such
a success. They included the
racing sub-committee, Colin Ferry
(our new time keeper) young
James Delve, Jim Evans and his
Signs R Us team, all those who
helped in pushing off.
This
year,
more
members
participated in open events and, in
a few of them, the club won the
team prize. This was helped by
riders such as Neil Houldey and
Paul Mellen and the fact that
others are becoming faster
and stronger too.
At the end of July a few of us
took part in the Crawley
Wheelers open 10tt on the
Horsham – Crawley course.
Peter Delve won the Ernie
Dore trophy for achieving a
time close to 24 minutes for
the first time ever in an open
time trail. That means for
the second year running the
trophy remains with Horsham
Cycling. Well done Peter. Dave
Homewood currently holds the
trophy from his win last year.
I am sure that a number of us will
attend the Wheelers annual dinner
and awards where Peter will be
Miranda Oberman
I hope you have all enjoyed the
events this year, the most we have
ever staged. Anytime now your
racing sub-committee will be
planning and submitting the
proposed events for the 2010
season.
CHAINLINE
Dunwich Dynamo 2009
By Robin Bigwood
If you’ve ever had a hard time
explaining the delights of a Sunday
club run to your non-cycling
friends, then do yourself a favour
and don’t even bother mentioning
the Dunwich Dynamo. They
definitely won’t get it.
You ride for the best part of 120
miles. The start and finish
locations – Hackney in London and
Dunwich on the Suffolk coast –
seem arbitrary. You can’t actually
enter the event – you just show up,
and then ride unsupported, without
race number, timing chip or
expensive entry fee. Best of all,
you do all of this overnight, starting
around 8pm, finishing whenever
you can manage it the next
morning, and spending several
dark hours totally reliant on your
lights. Crazy! And yet somehow
this unique event has a magical
quality which brings riders back to
it year after year. What makes it so
special?
I’d wanted to ride the Dynamo for
the past couple of years – I think I’d
heard about it originally on the
Horsham Cycling website forum –
but work commitments had
previously denied me. Not so this
year, and it was a great pleasure to
be able to hook up with Horsham
riders Malcolm Rowe, Dave
Homewood, Brian Flint and
Stewart Forbes, three of whom
had ridden it at least once before.
and idiots. Team Horsham
put down a blistering pace
through the grim suburban
sprawl, which gradually
gave way to heathland on
the edge of the city. The
pace was being stoked up
by Malcolm on his fixed
single speed with a 50x18,
and despite the rest of us
Cyclists pretty much took over one corner trying to take our turn on
of London Fields, at least for an hour or so. the front, he demolished us
on every hill and rise. As
After a day of music teaching in the light of a beautiful summer
south London, I set off for evening began to fade, a bunch of
Hackney, a little bit nervous about guys in a lay-by mooned us as we
riding across town. In the end it went by, shouting something
couldn’t have been easier, and in unintelligible. The sublime and the
no time at all I was at the start – the ridiculous.
Pub on the Park, at London Fields.
Although I was about two hours We hit the open road and turned
early I immediately noticed one or on front and rear LEDs as the
two cyclists sitting about on the daylight slipped away. Lumps and
grass, and the lights and luggage bumps into Essex before reaching
on their bikes suggested I was in beautiful fast stretches through
the right place. It was a great spot ancient towns and villages. A sky
to while away some time – the full of broken clouds caught the
smell of BBQs, kids whizzing by on very last red glimmers of sunset,
scooters, a cricket match going on and the wide-open fields were
– and as the hours ticked by, more bathed in moonlight as we rode on
and more riders appeared. By at 18mph. The flashing rear lights
about 6.30pm most of other riders would swim into
other park visitors view in the distance, beckoning us
were
noticing on – otherwise it was often pitch
something
was dark, and really quiet. Around
happening, and after midnight we arrived at the halfway
the rest of the food stop, at a village hall opened
Horsham
posse up and staffed by volunteers. Very
arrived I went to wait few riders were ahead of us, so we
with them on the road parked the bikes and got straight to
outside the pub, the food – pasta salad, soup, rolls,
which was now jam- tea and coffee. Within half an hour
packed
with the queue was out of the hall,
hundreds of riders. It down the drive, and into the road.
was
a
typical We spent an hour chatting, and
‘London’ mix - cyclists old and chilling out, and got back on the
road at 1.15am.
young, big and small,
on commuters, folders,
The midnight tea-stop
hybrids and beaten up
single-speeds,
along
with expensive Italian
racers and recumbents.
Suddenly people were
leaving, and at 8.20pm
we joined them to start
the haul out of town.
10 miles of urban grind
to begin, with buses
Chain Line
7
HORSHAM CYCLING
Now came the dark heart of the
ride - nothing visible except what
your headlight showed up, and it
had clouded over too. Colder, but
this close to midsummer I was
comfortable in just shorts, arms
warmers and gilet. Climbs came
out of nowhere, and not being able
to see the terrain you had no idea
how hard you could hit them. I
erred on the side of caution and
saved my legs on a few 10%-ers,
but there was never anything
serious. Warning lights on aerial
masts and water cooling towers
would float by in the darkness, but
as the night went on, glimmers of
dawn appeared on the horizon,
orange, then blue,
spreading over us.
Time
seemed
meaningless – the
early hours came and
went, and despite the
hypnotic rhythm of the
cadence
and
the
passing miles I never
felt the slightest bit
drowsy.
together. Lovely roads here, dead
quiet, and before we knew it there
was the whiff of sea air and
patches of sand in the road. We
rounded a corner to see Dunwich
beach, and the café I’d been
fantasizing about for the last
couple of hours, which marked the
end of the ride. Maybe 50 riders
were ahead of us, but we hardly
had to wait to get a heavenly fry-up
and coffee – all at about 5am.
Despite the hour, and having just
done 111 miles at 17mph, I felt
weirdly fresh, but whenever I
closed my eyes to relax some little
waves of sleep would start to lap
over me. Not surprising, maybe.
Dawn broke fast perhaps
only
30
minutes from relying
on your lights to not
9 hours after leaving London,
really needing them.
the altogether calmer
Around the 90 mile
surroundings of Dunwich beach.
mark we got caught up
in a big and strange group of Sometime after 7am, I think it was,
riders. Fast kids on road bikes, we got going, leaving the beach to
guys on mountain bikes and the riders who continued to arrive
folders. We’d try to ease by, but and were now waiting their turn for
then someone would go the wrong breakfast, and to the handful of
way, leading to frustrating U-turns. hardy types who’d freshened up
In the end we were glad to let them with a dip in the sea. Malcolm,
go ahead while we took a breather, Dave, Stewart and Brian were
sitting on the benches of a lovely riding on to Ipswich, where they’d
old war memorial just outside a left some for transport home. But
little town. Strangely we’d lost for me it was a further 34 rolling
Stewart, even though he’d been miles to Norwich, to throw myself
with us only minutes earlier. It on the mercy of the in-laws. Thank
turned out he’d punctured – our heavens for GPS – my little
one and only ‘technical’ – so we Garmin navigated me through the
waited for him, chilled out some middle of nowhere, through
more, and then we were ready for countless junctions with no
the final effort.
signposts, and through a vicious
downpour that went on for over an
The last 20 miles or so flew by, hour. Eventually I arrived, with the
under bright daylight once again, sun coming out again – the end of
and with the group working well a long and memorable ride. The
8 Chain Line
shower and second breakfast that
awaited me were predictably good,
and to be able to sit on a comfy
chair once again after 12 hours
and 150 miles of Fizik Arione was
a pleasure beyond description.
If I’ve made the Dunwich Dynamo
sound extreme, I haven’t meant to.
It’s the antithesis of glitzy, racy,
sportives, and although we
happened to ride reasonably fast
on the road, we took leisurely
breaks along the way. In fact
there’s no point going too fast –
unless you want to wait hours for
your
breakfast…
The
vibe
throughout was laid-back, fun and
supportive. The hundreds taking
part seemed united by
the ‘out there’ nature
of the event, but this
was
nothing
compared
to
everyone’s obvious
respect for cycling in
general – you could
seriously feel the love!
As such, I reckon it’d
be a great focus for
anyone’s first century
ride, even if you’d not
got very close to that
distance before. I felt
privileged to be a part
of it, and I want to say
thanks again to my
fellow Horsham riders for the
support and camaraderie along the
way, and perfect food-stop timing!
This is one event I will definitely be
doing again – hopefully for years to
come. As Stewart said to me the
other day: only another 11 months
to wait for the next one.
More info about the Dunwich
Dynamo, along with dates for next
year’s ride, at
www.southwarkcyclists.org.uk.
You can check out the route, and
my stats for it, at
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/
8022476
Next year it is planned to organise
a mini bus to take us to the start
and then back home from Dunwich
on the Sunday morning.
CHAINLINE
My first Super Randonnée
By Robbie Calder
Well, where to start. Te 200k was
a given as I was in the process of
completing
my
Randonnée
Round the Year award and had
been doing them monthly from
November 2008. (Start of
2008/2009 season) This was
finally achieved in February
2009. Both December 2008 and
January 2009 being terrible due
to the fact that if you are not
David Millar, you will need lights
at both ends of the day. It’s just
not long enough to fit in a 10 – 11
hour ride and I am not
fast/fit/stupid enough to do the
ride in 6 hours.
Next target was the 300k. Having
done one last year, I thought, in a
flash of brilliance/inspiration/
stupidity, that this year I would do
two a week apart. So the middle
two Saturdays in April were
spoken for. Both rides were
successful but the second one
took half an hour longer. Was this
my legs protesting or was it due to
the fact that the second ride was
one of Dave Hudson’s and he has
a bad habit of putting in long climbs
just for the sheer hell of it? Still, all
over now and four weeks before
the next test.
The 400k seemed to rush round
and was on me in no time. It didn’t
help that bowls season had begun
and the club TT events started on
the Tuesday before. Still, no
problems as I had done one last
year and knew I could do the
distance. Also the start time was
mid-day so a good nights kip on
the Friday before meant I wouldn’t
have to fall asleep during the ride,
unlike last year where I was rudely
woken up riding along one of the
wide low ditcher that adorn the
roads in the New Forest. Luckily I
didn’t fall off but it was enough of a
shock to get me to the next control
for a much needed coffee. The
only problem with this year’s ride
was the fact that it was two 200k
the day to get to the start. As it was
only Midhurst, I guess it could have
been worse. The first stage, 96k
to Great Bedwyn, passed off
uneventfully and beans on toast
was a welcome feast at the first
control and according to my own
schedule, I was only 10 minutes
behind.
The next stage passed by quite
quickly and my legs were feeling
ok. Into Cirencester and to the
Tesco’s control. It was turning
out to be a nice, sunny, day and
now I was 20 minutes ahead of
my schedule. I was feeling good.
Stage three to Newent, another
fairly long stage at 68k, but
surprisingly nothing major to
climb so far, although there was
one 25% kamikaze down hill on
a narrow road with high
hedgerows. Luckily nothing
wanted to drive up it or it could
have been painful. Into Newent
Co-op control and now nearly
half an hour up on time.
loops, and boy when you complete
the first loop and it’s dark and cold,
you need a will of iron to go back
out and do the next 200k. After a
nice bowl of spicy pasta and a bowl
of rice and peaches I felt better and
thought what the heck let’s go.
Mind you, not everybody had this
iron will and some went home
instead. But I was glad I had done
it and rolled in about lunch time on
the Sunday having had my hair
damped down not once but twice
before the end. There is
something, I don’t know, exciting,
about hiding under a big tree
watching the heavens open, or is
that just me? Any way I digress.
Next target the new distance for
me the 600k, the biggie, the top
billing and only a week away.
The big day was approaching the
only problem was, unlike the 400k,
I had to run the Bowls social
evening on the Friday night. So
home, coffee and straight to bed,
up again at some hideous hour of
Stage four and a quick dash to
Hay-on-Wye or it was meant to
be. We seemed to be heading into
a light headwind and the ground
always seemed to be going up, not
steep, only just noticeable, but
definitely up. At last into control for
teacakes and jam, bowl of soup
and rice pudding and fruit. Yummy,
but I was now 10 minutes behind.
Next stage was 72k to Magor as
we retraced a fair bit of the road we
had used, it was good to be rattling
along at 35kph with not much
effort. I began to think I could make
up more time and have a bit longer
for some sleep, and more
importantly get my bahookie off
this damned saddle. Yes by now it
was beginning to complain about
the abuse it was suffering.
Unfortunately, this was the stage
the hills started and started bad.
Mind you at least my butt got a rest
on all those climbs, I was out of the
saddle grinding away on a 34-27
wishing I had more gears. I
eventually reached Magor services
and control 37 minutes down.
Chain Line 9
HORSHAM CYCLING
Knackered as I was, sleep seemed
to evade me so I went back out of
the services and into a bus shelter
and here I nodded off on the floor
(no seat). I don’t know how long I
slept but as a half burned cigar
was still in my hand I guess I
needed it, only now I was not
refreshed but cold and I couldn’t
get back to sleep so decided to
move on. Through some lanes and
back onto main roads and, oh look
another bus shelter only this time
with a bench. In I go, stretch out on
the bench, next thing I know my
phone alarm is twittering in my ear.
Off we go feeling good, this only
lasted about 10 minutes when I
discovered I was weaving all over
the road and losing small sections
of time. So into the next bus
shelter, and set the phone for
another half hour.
I woke up before the alarm and
thought all was ok had a cigar and
set off. All seemed well until I woke
up again lying in the grass verge.
Ah well, no damage done and into
the next bus shelter and set alarm
for another half hour. Again I woke
before the alarm but this time
another rider came along so I had
a bit of company and the day was
sunny and warming up nicely.
Over more hills and finally back to
Cirencester
Tesco’s
surprisingly only 45
behind schedule.
control,
minutes
Stage seven was 67k to Burbage.
This was to prove to be the hardest
section, my bahookie was on fire
and by now my feet had come out
in sympathy and, to top it all, my
bottom bracket cups had decided
to unwind them selves. Don’t ask
me how, I guess I hadn’t tightened
them up enough when I changed
the bottom bracket before the ride.
I noticed it when I couldn’t select
the big ring, so it was fingers
through the crank and wiggle and
twist until it was back in enough to
select the big ring and then limped
to Burbage control where I had a
better go at it. I got it almost all the
way in but I would have to keep an
eye on it as it was only going to
unwind again. As you can only
carry so many tools and a crank
puller and bottom bracket tool was
not on my list, well I had to make
do with what I did have. After a
good feed I felt better but was now
1 hour 40 minutes behind
schedule.
Stage eight to Alresford and only
55k and back to more normal (ie.
less hilly) roads and I managed in
company to get there without
having to stop. I was only 1 hour 16
minutes down but with only about
40k to go, I knew I had cracked it.
I even texted home stating this so
confident was I.
The last stage was 40k back to
Midhurst. I was in a funny sort of
way looking forward to this last
stage, but as I had forgotten about
my bottom bracket at Alresford I
had to stop at West Tistead and
wind it back in again. Over the
small but annoying hills and at
Petersfield back on the A272 with
only 13k to go I decided to stop
and wind the BB cups back in for
the last time. I also had a
celebratory cigar and pushed for
home. I say pushed, what I meant
was went as fast as my lardy butt
would let me. It was still on fire at
this point by the way, and with all
the aerodynamic characteristics of
a brick out-house I did my best. I
clocked in at Midhurst ATM at
21.01, only 1 hour 1 min. down on
my schedule, but 2 hours 19 min.
inside the actual ride time. With
618.22k on the computer. Was I
happy? You bet. Will I do it again,
probably but I would think very
hard before making that decision.
Will I do another 600k? Most
definitely, but a flatter option would
be best.
See you all awheel. Robbie.
Southwater Cycles
9 Lintot Square
Fairbank Road
Southwater
Horsham
West Sussex RH13 9LA
Tel: 01403 732561 Fax: 01403 730141
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CHAINLINE
Cycling Hadrian’s Wall 24-28th July 2009
By Lorraine Barratt
pace and the group split
slightly. I noticed that
one girl had got left
behind and decided to
wait for her. I ended up
spending my first day
with this lady and we
remained at the back of
the group.
For many years I have been keen
to visit Hadrian’s Wall and a few
months ago booked a cycling tour
with a company called Saddle
Skedaddle. I had great intentions
of training a little extra than the
weekly social ride but was struck
down with a virus that put me out
of action for about three weeks.
About a week before the event I
contacted the company and was
assured it was a sedate ride of
about 35 miles per day. I set off on
the day confident that I would
‘crack’ this, after all we social
riders can do 25 in a morning! I
have also been on two cycling
holidays to Thailand and Central
America in the last couple of years
and felt sure I would manage this
as I had some experience of back
to back cycling in a climate where
the humidity was very high.
The first day was spent travelling
up to Newcastle where we all met
up and spent the evening at the
Hilton Hotel. There were 13 of us
in the group, a mixture of men,
women, some who were novices
and some more experienced
cyclists
who
had
recently
completed the C2C and Land’s
End to John O’Groats.
The following morning we were
driven to Bowness on Solway
where we would start. Our guide
provided us with maps and details
of stops at which we would meet,
where we would be provided with
refreshments and lunch. Within
about 20 minutes of setting off,
each rider found their comfortable
We got lost a little and
ended up with an extra
five mile loop. We went
through Burgh by Sands
and inland to Carlisle. At this point
another member of the group had
joined us and again we got lost
around the diversions put in place,
this added a couple of miles to our
ride. We cycled from Carlisle to
Brampton where we stopped for
lunch. There were many hills
during this route and the lack of
preparation and extra miles was
taking its toll. The trouble with
being later than the rest of the
group is that when you finally catch
up, you don’t get as much rest as
the others. My riding partner had
also had problems with her saddle
and that had slowed us down, as at
one point she had to cycle
standing up for sometime, which
tired her legs.
From Brampton we were headed
towards Gilsland where we were
staying overnight. After two miles
I decided that I could not cycle
anymore. I jumped on the support
vehicle; I wanted to save some
energy for the next day as I knew
that although the first day was the
furthest, the second day would be
tougher due to the amount of hills.
the group had to push their bikes
up this one. We were warned
about the climb at Crindledykes
which was 262 metres above sea
level, and then the climb up Steel
Rigg 256 metres. We carried on
through Haltwhistle, Hexham and
into Corbridge, passing through
some lovely villages with some
cheeky climbs and descents.
For some reason, after a hot
shower and some food I felt full of
energy, so much so that I lay
awake all through the night until I
fell asleep around 6am. It was
fortunate that our ride today was
fairly flat and on a descent at times
to Tynemouth. The last day was
about 35 miles but with very little
sleep, any small ascent felt like a
mountain.
However, I decided that I was not
going to be the last on the final
section, so for the last mile or so I
cycled as fast as I could, overtook
most of the riders, and arrived
second to a 24 year old who had
just finished the C2C last month.
He was very surprised to see me.
We had great weather, and only at
the moment we took our last
photographs did it rain a little.
Overall I had a fantastic ride, with
a great bunch of people. However,
I had not taken into consideration
the fact that there were many more
hills than I had experienced and
that I was not on my racing bike but
using a mountain bike with hybrid
tyres.
It has not put me off and I think I
have persuaded Fiona Ordidge to
cycle Land’s End to John
O’Groats!
I met the group at
Birdswald Roman Fort
where we were able to see
the remains of some
buildings and the wall with
spectacular views of the
countryside.
After some food and rest,
we set off the next morning.
Straight out of Gilsland we
had a tough climb; some of
Chain Line 11
HORSHAM CYCLING
HORSHAM CYCLING – RIDER PROFILE.
Meet Peter David
Where were you born?
Rochford, in Essex.
Do you remember your first bike?
Yes…...Oh, you want to know more.
It had 20” wheels, straight handlebars,
it was blue with matching metal
mudguards, and came from Kays’
Catalogue, no idea what the make
was – probably had stabilisers too!
What do you ride now?
An Omega Alchemy (relegated to
commuting and winter duties now), a
Storck Scenario (extremely light and
very stiff) and, my pride and joy, a
Colnago Extreme C (very light, very
comfortable and very pretty).
What do you enjoy most about
Horsham Cycling?
That they tolerate me clinging on at
the back of the Sunday morning rides!
Actually it is the strong social aspect of our rides which I find
the best part of the club. It turns what might otherwise be
a very solitary pursuit into an opportunity for genuine
camaraderie – without being overly serious, competitive or
elitist.
Which group do you usually ride with?
SG1 - but with occasional forays into SG2 when I feel like
a bit of a sprint (or don’t get to the Carfax in time for SG1)
or the Intermediates if I’ve had a few weeks off.
Any previous clubs?
Horsham Cycling was my first involvement with anything
even vaguely organized in relation to bikes. In fact, I don’t
think I’ve been a member of any clubs of any sort before HC.
What’s your favourite ride?
My favourite HC ride is whichever route we are taking when
the weather is good, the route is all on tarmac (Mike!), there
is a good number of like-minded souls in the group, and I’ve
been riding for at least four weeks in succession, so I’m in
half-way reasonable condition. Apart from that, the actual
route and destination doesn’t matter too much – but I do like
quiet roads and pretty scenery given a choice. I don’t even
mind a few hills if I’m feeling fit.
Toughest event you’ve competed in?
L’Etape du Tour 2006 from Gap to Alpe d’Huez. 191 km,
40°c, three huge cols. Finished less than five minutes
within maximum permitted time. Swore I’d never ride
another one after that.
And your best result?
Probably this year’s Etape du Tour from Montelimar to Mont
Ventoux. I took it fairly gently as I had been unwell the
previous week, but I still finished over an hour and a half
inside the time limit. (Yes, I know I swore I wouldn’t do it
again – but it seemed like a good idea last November).
What’s your greatest ambition in cycling?
Another Etape – but in a good time? (don’t tell my wife I said
that!) - that, and learning how to put on a rain cape to while
riding no-hands
12 Chain Line
How many miles do you ride each week?
On average over the year – probably 50 or 60 per week, but
it varies an awful lot.
What has been your most exciting time on a bike?
Hmm – exciting in the sense of short-term
adrenaline rush: when I locked up my rear
wheel and ended up sideways-on braking into
a hairpin bend while descending in the Alps at
about 40 mph. I had just selected the exact
point in the roadside ditch where I was going to
have my accident when I managed to get one
foot out of the pedals, regain some balance
and continue on my way unscathed - if a little
moist.
More enjoyable excitement has come in the
form of the beautiful, long, fast, sweeping
descents down various mountains in France
and Mallorca.
What other interests do you have?
Rock climbing and via ferrata – but I don’t do
much of either. Apparently I’m obsessed with
bikes these days! I do still ski occasionally
though – and I drink wine and eat lots of Italian
food – does that count?
What are your favourite book / film / piece of music?
Book – “The Big Sleep” – or any of Raymond Chandler’s
Philip Marlowe stories.
Film – “Stand By Me” – it must be my age or something, but
I love the rites of passage thing, the strength of childhood
friendships – very moving and it’s funny. “Breaking Away”
is nearly as good, with very similar themes – and it’s cycling
related too!
Music - Almost everything by Elvis Costello – but if you put
me on the spot, I would have to choose “(The Angels
Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes”.
What quality do you most admire in others?
Fortitude and retaining a sense of humour in the face of
adversity.
And what do you most dislike?
Selfishness. (We’re talking about others here right? I’m
allowed to be selfish still aren’t I?)
What is your most treasured possession?
I don’t really treasure possessions (well, maybe my
Colnago).
What would be your dream holiday?
A private villa, half way up a sunny, deserted, mountain –
accessed by beautiful, winding, quiet roads suitable for
cycling – but leading up to snow covered peaks suitable for
skiing, surrounded by rocky crags suitable for climbing –
and with its own swimming pool and a Jacuzzi suitable for
my wife – and with a view across a valley producing
wonderful sunsets. Actually, thinking about it, I’ve just
described a holiday we had in southern Spain a few years
ago – except I didn’t have a bike there and it was June so
there was no snow!
Any suggestions to improve the club?
I like it as it is, but we should always be prepared to change
anything that we do – as long as we don’t lose sight of the
fact that whatever we do should be fun – and should be fun
for as many of our members as possible.
CHAINLINE
ACCESSORY REVIEWS
Zipp Speed Cage (carbon bottle cage)
By Neil Clark
8/10
This is one for the time-trialist who has everything. It has apparently been designed and tested
for aerodynamic performance and weighs a mere 21g plus 4g for the two titanium bolts. My
dependable Tacx Tao Ultralite which is used by some of the top professional teams is 40g plus
7g for the steel bolts.
It does have quite a minimal sleek design and it held a Horsham Cycling bottle securely
enough, although I didn’t try hitting large potholes at speed. The retail price is £40 which is
over four times the price of the Tao and a lot of money to save 20g. The only good thing about
the price is it’s cheaper than the Campagnolo Record carbon cage at 18g and £80.
I obtained the Zipp Speed Cage brand new and boxed from a seller on ebay who had 50 of
them selling at £20 each. At that price it will make a nice finishing touch to a time-trial bike but
I’m sticking with the Tacx Tao for day to day use.
Helps treat and prevent sports injuries
Can also be effective for back, neck, shoulder pain and repetitive strain injury
[email protected]
01403 251360 or 09741898372
£25 per hour to Horsham Cycling Club Members
Checked out www.horshamcycling.co.uk recently?
Chain Line 13
HORSHAM CYCLING
QUALITY ROAD, TOURING, MTB BIKES AT COMPETITIVE PRICES
31 QUEEN STREET, HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX.
Telephone: 01403 258391 www.ad-cycles.co.uk
Discount to Club Members
14 Chain Line