Central London CTC blog

Resolved to improve my form this year, I hit on the Chiltern Classics. Riding the series would, I figured, give me a good platform for summer fitness. It all got off to a late start however.

The first of the six 100-km events, which run on consecutive Sundays, was the Harp RC’s promotion on 25 January. This is stated by the organiser to be ‘particularly demanding’ and is known in folklore as the Harp Hilly 100. Apparently, back in the day when men were men, and boys and girls were men too, the course was Imperial. One dreads to think of the toll exacted on the riders, so early in the season, by 100 miles sawing back and forth over the toughest climbs the Chilterns have to offer. The event starts at the Hemel Hempstead CC’s base, which makes driving the preferred means of getting there. Entry on the line was a tenner — a pretty tall price. And on Saturday night, the weather forecast was atrocious. Awakening to a steady downpour at 6 am, I felt no shame in pulling the duvet over my head.

By the following Sunday, the Team Quest event out of Ickenham, the weather had changed. Now it was cold. Actually, it was perishing. A blustery north-easterly imparted a serious wind chill and heavy yellow-purple clouds held the promise of snow. In the circs, I decided a 112-km balls-out bash with fit club lads would be overdoing it, and slid down to the Fire Station in Euston Road to join Paul’s posse for a sally to Box Hill. And yes it did snow. In fact so cold did I get that on my return home, I slipped under the covers with the electric blanket on for another shameless sojourn in Morpheus’ arms.

Must do better, I told myself, and scoped out attentively the route of the next event, Hemel Hempstead CC’s. This one is also described as particularly demanding, taking in as it does Chinnor, Small Dean Lane (1 in 4!), and Frith Hill. Well, we all know what happened to the weather that week. It snowed. It froze. It poured. It froze again. Cycling in those lanes, or anywhere for that matter, was plainly too hazardous. The event was cancelled, as was our own ride: another buckshee lie-in.

So it was not until 15 February, Edgware RC’s event out of Denham Country Park, that I got to ride my first reliability of the year. It runs westwards and is billed as a rather more forgiving course than those that go further north. I opted for the intermediate group which was off at 9:10. We charged up the access road and turned the wrong way. Oops. A quick chase and the group was back together, setting a crisp but tolerable pace under grey skies with only a light westerly breeze. The organiser had done a grand job of marking turns with arrows on the road, so the group was able to make pretty purposeful progress.

So purposeful indeed that, as we turned this way and that in the hilly commons around Burnham Beeches, I slowly and surely went out the back. Several times I thought I would rejoin the group, only for it to recede again. Sometime after the bridge over the Thames at Cookham, I deemed the effort fruitless. Pausing briefly before the big hill at Honey Lane, signposted for the splendidly named Dew Drop Inn, I was joined by a couple of other distanced riders. Together we rounded the far side of Maidenhead at a sensible pace and were joined by a couple of other intermediate riders, sharing turns at the front. Shortly after this the lead fast group came blasting past us, a compact and homogeneous peloton of club racers. We were able to admire their form as they receded into the distance on the long perspective of the A308 eastbound into Windsor. I didn’t think we were doing too bad ourselves as I twirled along on the front in 48×13.

So it was a pity two of us missed the turn to Langley after Windsor, losing several minutes and, more importantly, contact with our fellows. Happily my companion knew the way in, so I settled in on his wheel and let him tow me back in to Denham Country Park. We checked in at 12:45 for a time of 3:35. I’m not too unhappy with that. Next week, the Willesden’s ride (Bledlow Ridge and Cryer’s Hill); then the CC Luton event, featuring Tom’s Hill. Arrgh! No rolling along in top gear there then!

(To be continued)