Rapha West
Posted on Tuesday 2 September 2008 by Martin Hayman
…is the only mass-start ride I’ve ever been on where I lost the entire field within 15 minutes and didn’t see them again until the pub at the finish!
I had carefully studied the route promulgated on the Rapha website and memorized it. West London is my patch and, apart from a little vagueness near Chelsea Harbour, I knew where I was going without referring to instructions. That meant I didn’t take the route sheet at the start at Smithfield, so I don’t know what was indicated for Hyde Park Corner. What I do know is that Grosvenor Crescent is mos def left, not right, so I was astonished, after reaching the top of Birdcage Walk at the head of a pretty untidy peloton and plunging into the roundabout, to look over my shoulder and see everyone streaming through the Wellington Arch.
There’s no nice way to get into Grosvenor Crescent from there and after the left turn I found myself sailing down Belgrave Street tout seul. And so it remained as I forged westwards through Belgravia. I wondered if I might be reunited with the pack as I crossed Chelsea Bridge Road into Royal Hospital Road, and again when forking left off Chelsea Embankment into Lots Road. But no. I met several detached riders I thought were plausible candidates, but all were mystified when I asked if they were on the Rapha West ride: ‘Just going home, mate.’
Anyway, it was a still evening, and I was going quite well, so what the hell? I thought there was a fair chance of picking up some other riders at Putney Bridge, but none was there. I latched on to the back of an Ozzie who was making a good pace on Richmond Road and stuck with him until the left turn up Priory Lane leading to the Roehampton Gate into Richmond Park. By now it was quite dark. Should I turn left and do ‘a couple of laps’ as the ride briefing suggested, or straight ahead for Richmond Gate and the pub?
For form’s sake I thought I really ought to do a lap. The Park is closed to motor traffic at this time, and the empty roads have a weird gleam. In the soft darkness, the usual visual cues for speed are almost entirely absent, so bowling along has a curious but pleasantly detached feel to it. This feeling of effortless motion is banished as one addresses the hills and wonders if the fixed were the right tool for the job. It was now at last that I spotted a rider from the start — a club guy, Rupert I discovered, on a Litespeed. Together we headed for the Roebuck and guess what? Ken, with a couple of other lads I, Ollie and Rob, was already there! Cut across Shorty, that’s what Miss Lucy said!
There ensued a pretty lively, companionable session. Drink was taken, but in moderation only, with some of us set to return as far as Bethnal Green. It must have been a good half-hour before the main field came in, claiming to have done several circuits. After that, my own home leg, an intricate mess of zig-zags from Hammersmith via Notting Hill to Kilburn, has never seemed to fly past so quickly.
CLCTC/Rapha Rides…gotta love ‘em! Let’s have ‘em in the calendar again next year.