The Spyride

I sometimes suspect that Network Rail has a specialist unit that monitors the CTC rides list and then plans engineering work to disrupt it. This time they pulled off a new trick. Due to timetable changes the riders arrived early! I’d planned on the basis that people would be arriving on the train from London at 10.24 and so arranged to a meeting time with Spokes of 10.30. However they arrived at 10.11 before most of the Spokes riders were there. The necessitated an impromptu coffee stop at the Junction Café near the station to keep people warm.

Once we had all joined up we had 17 riders in all who went on the planned coffee stop at Café Amici in Croxley Green, too much of a caffeine feast for some people. The ride proper got going up through, Wippenhall Wood to Chandlers Cross and then to Belsize and Flaunden. All the time we were climbing gradually to the top of this part of the Chilterns.

We stopped at The Green Dragon in Flaunden for lunch. Guy Burgess often stayed in the village and was a regular drinker at this pub. One day the landlord noticed Burgess in deep conversation that another man he did not recognize. Days later the papers were full of details of the defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean to Moscow complete with photos and the landlord recognised who the other man was – more details here.

The Green Dragon now serves Thai food and had a table reserved for us. Nice food and quick service – I’ll be back. After lunch we returned to Watford via Sarratt, which is the  home of the training school for agents in John Le Carre’s novels. We were going mainly down hill now and made it back to Watford in time for the 15.17 train.

My thanks to Dennis Fitton for acting as backstop and the all those who marked the junctions on a twisty route.

The usual suspects gathered at Marylebone: Martin Hayman, Keith and Naomi, Matthew Wright, Damian, Roger and Kay and Phil Coleman. Elevenses and late lunch rather than a long stop were planned and I think worked out OK.

Super picturesque Hambleden has the village shop for cake and coffee, and an interesting insight into rural life provided as I sat inside. A pair of locals discussed the tribulations of the farming community: “It was a drive by shooting…”.  I pricked up my ears – well you have to – to learn of a saga involving (allegedly) sheep worrying labradors and a farmer resorting to firearms to deal with the problem.

Up Pheasants Hill and through Marlow to the notorious one in three concrete ramp used for practising for the bergs of the Tour of Flanders randonee. It’s a good test in summer, but unfortunately there is just too much moss and lichen for anybody to do anything other than walk up – apart from Matt on his bomb-proof expedition tourer with tractor tyres and ultra-low gearing who rode all the way.

Then a late lunch at West Wycombe tea rooms. Naomi explained why she had decided against being named “Mrs. Woolf-Butcher” and Keith talked about jokes about elves. We still had a couple of hours to go before dark, so I suggested continuing the route of the “Chilly” to end up in Amersham, but this involves complications with trains, so most went straight back to Princes Risborough, with yours truly showing Matt a longer way back up a few extra hills.

Part of this involved descending Kop Hill: I reckon the best one to reach high speeds due to its long straight run. It’s where I do my Mark Cavendish impersonation, reaching 70 – 75 kph (OK, he has to pedal whereas I don’t). For the first time for many years, as soon as I hit 70 kph I got a severe speed wobble/shimmy. The physics and causes of this have long been debated: maybe the cause was the Race Guards catching wind. Whatever the cause, be assured this was nearly a brown bib-shorts moment. Not to be recommended, and if it does happen to you, don’t jam on the brakes. Also, one bit of advice is to grab the top tube with your knees.

“Did you know your back wheel was moving side to side Bob?” said Matt who was behind me. Yes, I did.

My thanks also to Tom and Ian for acting as backstops. Their job was essential as the route twisted and turned through the City and along the south bank of the Thames. Riders do need to get into the habit of looking behind at turns to check that the riders behind can see them.

For a 1* ride, it was well attended with over 20 joining the ride at either St Pancras or London Bridge. We followed a labyrinthine route I’d learned from my days at City University and once over the river followed LCN 4 to the museum in time for the descent into the former entrance lobby to Brunel’s Thames Tunnel. Most of us chose to go down it though some preferred to visit the nearby Decathlon store instead. This was the first tunnel under a river and pioneered many of the methods use in subsequent tunnels. It made possible the building of the London Underground and similar metro systems elsewhere. The tunnel is still is use today as part of London Overground.

We had a problem with lunch. Due to the numbers at a popular spot on a Sunday I deliberately gave riders the choice of three places near the museum to eat. One pub was very slow and took one and a half hours to feed those who went there. As a result it was after 1500 before we got going again and we only just got to the café at Surrey Docks Farm in time to get teas and coffees. I narrowly escaped lynching when we found out that they had run out of cakes.

It was dark when we started off again but we were rewarded with some spectacular views across the Thames of Docklands and the City all lit up. We got back to St Pancras at 1815.

The New River in Enfield

Our first country estate was Forty Hall, built by Sir Nicholas Railton between 1629 and 1636. He was a wealthy City Merchant who became Lord Mayor of London. He was a puritan and an opponent in parliament of Charles I. The house is normally open to the public and has a cafe. Sadly, due to renovation work the house was closed with a refreshment van replacing the cafe. The ride decided to wait for coffee until our next stop, Myddleton House. This is now the HQ of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Last time I was there it looked rather neglected but some Heritage Lottery money has been well spent on restoring the garden laid out from the 1890s onward by Edward Bowles. There is now a small visitors’ centre with a cafe where we stopped for coffee.

Myddelton House

Forty Hall

After coffee we rode to the King and Tinker for lunch. Usually this pub is very busy on a Sunday but we got there early and were all able to sit together for lunch. Replenished, we rode though our third estate, Whitewebbs. The present house was built in 1791 and is now a Beefeater Carvery. The land round it was bought in 1931 as park and some if it has become a golf course. We passed though the Rectory Lane bridle way and up a long hill to our last estate, Trent Park. This was once part of Enfield Chase, a royal hunting park until 1777. Part of it was given to Dr Richard Jebb, a doctor who saved the life of King’s brother at Trento in northern Italy, hence the park’s name. Eventually it passed into the hands of the Sassoon family and later, during the Second World War, was used for the  interrogation of prisoners of war including Rudolph Hess. The house is now part of Middlesex University and most of the surrounding grounds are a county park.

Trent Park Mansion

Trent County Park

After tea at the park cafe some of the North Londoners broke off to return home and the rest of the ride returned to Enfield Chase station for the trip back into town. Thanks to Colin for a learned and interesting ride.

OK, we own up, it does rather look like that to judge by this GPS trace of Thursday’s RP Tune-up and Social, downloaded from Damian’s Garmin.

Nice consistent pattern...pity about the red light at 20 km (click for full-sized version)

The sustained brisk progress over the course of the hour’s riding is rather pleasing, but I would point out that we were lapped on the Inner Circle by a hard-charging group of Phoenixes. Now they definitely are speed-obsessed.

In deference to Mr Snuggs, I would add that the Thursday evening club session is for pleasure. It is not training, no sirree! We can do slow cycling with equal pleasure. And in Copenhagen too.

We were split into two start groups. Ours took off from Costello’s Cafe shortly after 10 in mild, dry, cloudy conditions. With a gentle south-westerly drift assisting us, we soon engaged the narrow lanes towards Aston, where single file is mandatory. Unsurprisingly, the usual suspects stuck together, and the group of Damian, Jon, Mike and I rode the course together.

The 100-km course is so well-known to readers as to require no further recapitulation. The helpful breeze encouraged us, and we were well up to the mark at the first and second controls, so took a leisurely break for coffee at Saffron Walden. There, Andrew was already remounting and wondered what had kept us; as a hardened Audaxer, he eschewed our cafe-racer idleness.

Sometime after this, Jon started to fall off the back a bit; this we put down to his choice of winter bike, with its laggy tyres and mudguards with full rain flappage. Certainly, our two on summer bikes had to rein in their speed to stay in the group on downhill pitches (you can hardly call them descents).

Perhaps some 30 km from the end, we encountered John at the side of the road, at a bus-shelter. There was just time for a facetious enquiry, as we flashed by, if he had been taking a nap at the Audax hotel.

The sky darkened as we neared Stevenage, providing a good motive to keep at it, for fear of being caught out in the drizzle that was forecast. But it held off, and a group of local riders faultlessly piloted us in through the Stevenage bike paths, where Damian’s GPS was in two minds.

Our time…I dunno, about four-and-a-half hours? Rolling average 26 km/h or so, but of course that doesn’t count in an Audax.

This popular ride must be one of the biggest in the Audax calendar, and the organizer says it was the biggest turnout ever, with a total of more than 400 starters.

Other Central London CTC riders known to have started: Nick B, Richard, Tom, Christine, Paul & Inez, Jo, Roger & Kay, Andrew, John S, Phil & Rachel, Matt Walters and  Roger Cline.

Sixteen riders met a St Pancras for the 38 minute ride to Ashford on 23 October. We quickly escaped Ashford and sped through the Stour Valley towards the hills.

Our time in the North Downs started with a run along the old Pilgrim’s Way, undulating below the southern escarpment. Then a turn to cycle across the grain of the hills, up to the viewpoint at Farthing Common, then another down and up, then a long fast but gentle downhill to the edge of Dover.

We crossed the town to the seafront midway between the docks and for lunch in the bar of the Dover Marina Hotel. We were able to eat outside in the autumn sunshine with views of the castle, the sea, the ferries, the coast of France and, as promised, the White Cliffs.

Lunch done, we took a long climb back to the top of the Downs and the escarpment first above the sea, then above Folkestone, then above the Channel Tunnel railway yards.

We descended to the seafront at Hythe, where one of the group had gone ahead for a swim, and onto Romney Marsh for a flat section. The leader took a very near miss from a motorist who had thought it much better to risk injury to himself and others rather than undergo the ordeal of a minute’s delay to his journey.

Unharmed, we took a last climb over the Greensand ridge and a fast return to Ashford along the Roman Road. We were back in London by 1800. It was 95 km – map of the ride here.

Also, I don’t like being made to wear a lid. Since Martin has had his say a few weeks ago, my turn for a bit of politics: the CTC line is not just about personal freedom, but about the dubious evidence and the diversionary effect on addressing the causes of crashes. If you want to see more look at www.cyclehelmets.org – it will give an answer to any convictions you may have that a helmet has saved your life/brain cells, among other scientific information.

Having entered on line, I arrived to find that my entry had not got through – not the news you want when needing to have nerves calmed before the trial ahead. However, friendly helpers took my word for it and I was off in one of the staggered groups of some 900 riders doing one of three courses in the Surrey Hills. Apart from the easy course (right for * or **), the basic route was 124km taking in Box Hill, Whitedean Hill, Ranmore Common and Leith Hill, with an extra flattish 40km for the “Epic” ride. The basic route was enough for me, with a target of 17 km/h to get round before the deadline.

After a couple of hours I was worrying about whether I would be able to make the cut off. I was managing over 20 km/h easily, but the route was rolling with plenty of effort required to shift my 82 kg along, quite apart from the featured climbs. Still, the weather was fine; I met a few friends at the feed stops and the scenery – well, that was what made it.  The route was superbly organised with minimal travelling on busy roads and, for Surrey, surprisingly little motor traffic. On top of that, unlike Audaxes, there was absolutely no need to consult a map with regular and frequent signs.

With all that, my speed rose and I got round the course at an average 23 km/h, 5 hours and 24 minutes including stops for stuffing myself. I was well pleased, and found the £25 entry fee well worth it, not to mention the £20 donation to one of the bank of masseurs, plus another £20 for the photos taken.

So, if you want a nice scenic route, a bit of a challenge (although you could still have a relaxed ride and get in within the cut off time at a normal *** ride pace with plenty of time for necessary stops), I strongly recommend a sportive like this. Next season Angela, Ken and myself are thinking of doing some.

Maybe see you there…

Down to Haywards Heath I go on a bitterly cold and rattly train, accompanied by tense travellers making their way to Gatwick for an early escape on an easyjet. A soupy mist rising from the fields, I suffer an early morale hit as I realise I’ve forgotten my rubber band and clothes peg route sheet holder – been too long since I did this. My clothing choices are starting to look inadequate as I realise that is actually frost I’m seeing amongst the steaming silhouetted cows.

I get to the village hall at Chailey to register just as the ride is being waved off. A few half familiar faces clocked and a quick hello to Central London irregular Andrew, and I’m off, dropping into a keen and jolly group at a brisk but painless clip. The route starts off lumpy (it is a “grimpeur” after all) and stays that way throughout, lots of ups and downs rather than major climbs, swinging north and then west in a clockwise loop with the downs ever looming to the south as we start off with some Ashdown Forest action.

Cob Lane into Ardley was the toughest hill, not too long but must easily be 25%. I stopped here for a bagel and an espresso. The cold morning had given way to a beautiful day by now, cool, sunny and still, intoxicating Autumn colours doing their bit for the weddings I passed on the route (at least three, they’d gambled with this date but they’d hit the jackpot). The mid point control was a wonder – pancakes prepared on a camping stove and served with maple syrup.

Onwards to the downs, some decent climbs around Hurstpierpoint, past a posh school which brought back long suppressed memories of freezing hands and bloodied knees on a leaf-strewn quagmire of a rugby field, through Ditchling but not up the beacon mercifully (there’s a “hillier” version which takes this in). And finally back to Chailey where I was greeted with a bowl of soup and a hot roll.

Great route, great catering and generally a classy event, I was left wondering if I’d inadvertently signed up for the “premium service” option or some such comfort upgrade not usually associated with audaxes. Or maybe the cat just knew it was one I needed waking up for.