FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Brighton 14th October 2011

[martint235]

Customer feedback time:

Food prices: too high, too low, about right?

Food choice: too much, too little, about right?

Pricing: too high, too low, about right?

Was the hut too cold?

Prices: Cheese butty and a coffee £3.50 about right. It was beaten at Stock but hey there's prices to pay.
Food: Perfect I thought the choice was great
Pricing generally: Thanks for getting up
Heat: I was TECing by this point but it was plenty warm enough for me. Charlie's calvados helped though!!

 

[thom]

Hey,

thanks Simon for the organsiation as always. The route variation just before Ditchling was cool, in more ways the one...
Good to see everyone : some photos here (naff phone camera unfortunately).
The halfway stop was great - prices and food really good. Thanks to all who were waiting up for us.
And a link for anyone who's Blackberry was not working.

Thom.

 

[Nigel182]

Only took a few pics most of the views from Ditchling many on here already i'll leave mine off
and a couple of the Ditchling Climbers.....easy to take as I was a Ditchling Walker.

 

[srw]

And then they were gone. Except srw, who had a deflation while we were eating was being completely clueless.

I've done most of my cycling riding a Brompton or a tandem equipped with hub gears and Marathon pluses, and my other solo bike also wears Marathon pluses, so I'm extremely unused to playing around with the rear of a derailleur bike. And I was feeling more than a little pissed off, as well as chilled to the marrow - after 800 or so miles without any problems on the Van Nic I've now had three punctures inside a week. Thanks again to Tim for his efficient support.

I've now put an Armadillo on the front - the hard rubber feels a bit less well fixed to the road than the softer rubber of the stock Vredesteins the bike came with. It's also a bit higher profile, so I had to fiddle with the mudguards. I've got a folding Durano which I'll try for the rear.

For me, the food was spot on - particularly good fruit and cherry cake. I also really appreciated the provision of Lucozade lite, because I find it difficult to take on enough hydration in the form of pure water, and the rehydration powder I've got doesn't taste great.

I could have done with the hall a bit warmer - it was balmy when we got there, but got very chilly sitting around.

 

[dellzeqq]

Customer feedback time:

Food prices: too high, too low, about right?

Food choice: too much, too little, about right?

Pricing: too high, too low, about right?

Was the hut too cold?

everything good. And Derek's system worked a treat.

I'd started the safety talk by asking who knew their way across the Badlands. One tentative hand was raised. If there's been half a dozen I'd have let the front roll from Reigate or the top end of Lonesome Lane, but I thought it would be silly to try and marshal the Badlands with people who were unsure of the way, so we went through pretty much nose to tail, arriving in a big bunch. The 1st Burstow coped brilliantly!

I'd been speaking to Chris about the possibility of making The Edifice the stop for the charity ride next year, and he and the team are up for it. All this, of course, depends on the outcome of my chats with the Martlets, but it would be marvellous just to forget about the halfway catering, knowing it was in good hands. I'm also thinking about an art installation under the M23 which would have the effect of evening out the flow of riders.

Once again - thankyou so much for your help Tim and Anne, and thanks to the entire team.

nb - have e-mailed Geoff T about Stock village hall in December

 

[dellzeqq]

I think we suffered from nine visits from the fairy, although that was two on one bike (front and back wheels), and three on another rear wheel, before that chap gave in, and abandoned at Turners Hill (so only eight repairs). Along with another abandonment due to a self destructing freehub, we've had better rides from a mechanical point of view.

just to let people know - Andy, who gave it up after his third rear wheel flat, texted me to say he was home safe - as did Justin MBE (freehub) and Sue (unable to resist a warm bed two miles from Turner's Hill).

It was a dreadfully busy ride for the TECs. The first puncture was mine, caused by a sliver of glass taking all the air out of the tyre in about ten metres or so. Particular thanks to Jeff Tollerman and Tim for making it a really swift tube change.

The route had some interesting novelties, especially the different route to the bottom of DItchling. My recording is on GPSies here.

thanks for that, Tim. I'd never worked out that Reigate Hill is higher than the Beacon.

 

[CharlieB]

Thank you one and all for another enjoyable evening.

Food prices: too high, too low, about right?

Food choice: too much, too little, about right?

Pricing: too high, too low, about right?

Was the hut too cold?

All absolutely perfect, thank you. The amount of work that must've gone into that spread is impressive.

Liked the variation into Ditchling a lot, apart from the very near miss with a large fox that from nowhere suddenly decided to do a death dash across the road less than a metre from my front wheel, quite close to the crossroads.
Coffee at the Ditchling base camp much appreciated, thank you, from Hatler and family.
Finally some stunning views from the top of the Beacon, and a fast fast final 8 miles into Brighton, which looked fabulous in the sun.
Very nice birthday cake and bubbly was enjoyed by all, to round off the morning for me.
I couldn't stay longer, unfortunately, as I had a busy Saturday of everyday normal stuff to do ahead of me.

 

[mmmmartin]

Food prices: too high, too low, about right?

Food choice: too much, too little, about right?

Pricing: too high, too low, about right?

Was the hut too cold?

Food prices: about right but tea should be £1

Food choice: about right

Pricing: about right

Was the hut too cold: slightly but it was warmer than outside so I'm not complaining. I had 2 OK sarnies and a large tea, plus a bit of cake. I can't remember the price so it must have been about right. Also I got 5 minutes sleep, so I reckon the scouts did a top job and vote to keep using them.

 

[philk56]

Food prices: too high, too low, about right?

Food choice: too much, too little, about right?

Pricing: too high, too low, about right?

Was the hut too cold?

All ok for me - great effort. This was my second frnttc and apart from the unavoidable waits at some of the stops was very enjoyable - certainly glad I decided to wear my winter gloves at the last minute (minimum temp of 1C registered on my computer). And for my first time up the Beacon couldn't ask for better conditions and stunning views - if I could work out how to include photos I'd include a couple. Thanks to Simon and all helpers.

 

[ttcycle]

I had grand plans to get home and write a long ride report - I was just too tired and slept through most of yesterday to emerge again this morning with only a hint of a cold and gladly no sore legs.

Shame to have missed a few riders who couldn't make it this time round.


It was lovely to see some people I haven't seen for ages. It was cold but very worth it for the sunrise and the views atop Ditchling. Standing there with the blazing sunshine warming my skin and watching the mists fill the fields.

I was glad to have made it all the way this time but Martin and I decided to walk up Ditchling together. He really enjoyed his first FNRttC and had a great time.

It was fantastic and extremely well organised.

The scout hut was fantastic! Great selection of food and prices were decent, thank you all for being awake at that hour to serve a bunch of hungry cyclists. Yes I agree more chairs and a touch warmer would be nice but coming into the hut from the cold was a real treat.

 

[dellzeqq]

All ok for me - great effort. This was my second frnttc and apart from the unavoidable waits at some of the stops was very enjoyable - certainly glad I decided to wear my winter gloves at the last minute (minimum temp of 1C registered on my computer). And for my first time up the Beacon couldn't ask for better conditions and stunning views - if I could work out how to include photos I'd include a couple. Thanks to Simon and all helpers.

I'm not sure the waits were unavoidable, and it's down to me to do some work to minimise waits on future rides - if we'd have had that number of punctures on the Southend ride, we'd have been chipping people out of the ice for weeks after. I'm working on a TEC page for the blog.

 

[frank9755]

I had a great time.

Tim, the half time tea was wonderful. Food was great. Hall was excellent and it warmed up when 100 people were inside.

There's only one process suggestion I would make, and it is for us, not you. I was really cold when I got there (having been waymarking just up the road) so I decided not to join the long queue which stretched outside but just went in, sat down and waited until the end to get served. My suggestion is that we arrange the queue so that people are standing inside where it is warm rather than outside where it is cold.


First time I'd tried doing one of these on fixed and it was good to get lots of helpful advice from people on gearing

. This meant that I already knew that I wouldn't be able to get up Ditchling before I got there. I almost made it but managed to find a slow-moving mountain bike which I could use the avoidance of a collision with as an excuse for a rest. Anyway, MarinYork and others, you were right and I have just ordered a new sprocket to lower my gear a touch (MY, fyi it was 71 and it will be 68"). Legs feeling it today.

It was wonderful sitting in the sun at Brighton. I don't know where the time went but that is probably because I was asleep for a chunk of it. Slept all the way back to Clapham Junction then, finding my train to Brentford was a bus replacement service, had what turned out to be a bonus ride home, including pleasant stretches along the Thames path and through Gunnersbury Park.

 

[TimO]

thanks for that, Tim. I'd never worked out that Reigate Hill is higher than the Beacon.

Well, not quite, but Ditchling is only a little bit higher than some of the other bits.

 

[srw]

This meant that I already knew that I wouldn't be able to get up Ditchling before I got there. I almost made it but managed to find a slow-moving mountain bike which I could use the avoidance of a collision with as an excuse for a rest.

That's odd - it was a car coming down the hill when you were actually on the hill! (I overtook you just around the time you stopped)

 

[DaveJ]

A couple of pictures if I've done this right:

It was pretty chilly. I didn't expect it to get quite that cold. It made for some lovely scenery as the sun came up though. That has to be one of the prettiest FNRttCs ever. The Streat Lane variation was excellent. I guess it adds a little distance, but so much more interesting.

Congratulations to my mate Paul, first FNRttC and I think its his first ever ride over 30 miles, and he made it up the Beacon too.

After checking my gps, I have to say that I think that the speed camera in Brighton is switched off. I won't say more than that.

Lovely ride back with Mr Brice, enjoying the scenery across the Ashdown Forest in the bright sunshine. The coffee in Fletching was good too. If Fletching is posh, Martin and I may have damaged its reputation by dozing off on the grass bank in the middle of the village.

Dave