Central London CTC blog

BANG! Clatter-clatter-clatter! “Oh b*llocks!” (or worse).

Thus the exploding transmission announces itself, generally on a hill as you’re putting your back into it, sometimes tromping across a major road through a gap in the onrushing traffic.

It can be a comedic moment for the subject’s fellows, though the guffaws soon die on their lips when they realize how long it’s going to take to fix. Let’s face it, repairing transmissions with the tools we generally take out on the road isn’t the matter of a moment. And standing around in a sodden hedgerow while the subject wrestles with the bike is no barrel of laughs. Funnily enough, it’s happened on my last three CTC rides. I forebear to name the guilty parties – they know who they are. more »

As you may know, the Hon Sec has something of a fix-ation. And a fondness for audaxes. So what better than the ‘Fixed Wheel Challenge’? Target:25 fixed points, a point per 100km of audaxing completed sans derailleur. Sort of like a coffee-shop loyalty card, except no free coffee. Thermos of tea, maybe? After a very very long time, he’s done it, with the ‘West London 3/4’. A rolling Rocco special. Not flat. Ouch. And over-distance, natch (legit this time, it was 150km). When presented with his award by the men in white coats, Nick commented ‘I just couldn’t stop’.

Martin Hayman was the only Central London member to ride the Muswell Hills 200k on July 27th, his report follows:

Sunday did not dawn promisingly.
At 0630 when I put my nose out of the door it was hissing down with rain, so I went back inside to take off my gilet and unpack my GoreTex jacket from my seatpack.
Waterproofed, I put my nose outside the door again to find the rain had stopped and it was getting brighter. So back indoors, fold jacket, put on gilet and finally go.
At Kings Cross in good time for the 0722 Stevenage Flyer, but what’s this? As it nestles in a handy puddle, my front tyre makes an interesting bubbling and hissing sound. more »

It wasn’t actually raining when I left the house, but it was by the time I met Nick in East Finchley. We remarked that it was what might be described as a particularly wet kind of rain. As we rode north west it became heavier, falling in drifts of fine spray. We arrived in Stanmore to find a surprisingly healthy Central London contingent gathering at the start, many suffering a motivational trough at the prospect of 162km in driving rain, but cheered by the knowledge that there were plenty of getting off places on the route.
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The weather forecast promised meteorological Armageddon (as usual – when will we ever learn), so the first mistake was to take ye olde all-steel bike with mudguards. I didn’t get wet all day, apart from a little light and cooling precipitation that was welcome on what turned out to be a good day for skin leakage (so I was glad I didn’t take my h*lm*t, and Mr Bloom was glad he forgot his).

The second mistake was to allow style to defeat club camaraderie and to turn up dressed in tasteful colours (i.e blue – and I’m still waiting for someone to donate the rest of the Quick-Step kit now I’ve got the hat). I spent all day with the matching but garish Purple Peloton. more »

It has not been merry bicycling weather. As last week went by, the forecast stayed resolute, and come Saturday, I was relieved work kept me indoors. But, just as predicted, the rain stopped in time for there to be no excuses. 08.32 Liverpool St to Chelmsford, slight deviation to find the start, Camille and I are signed to go, the only fixers on the ride, the only ones without mudguards. I inhale, Camille eats a banana. Then, once more exactly as forecast, it began to spit. And splot. A steady rain became a driving rain. more »