FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Southend-on-Sea September 13th

[Wowbagger]

I woke at 5.30 and thought "I'll go for Breakfast with the Fridays" and so I did, meeting them in Hadleigh and then cycling along the "cinder" path.

Those "no cycling" signs are interesting. Firstly, they have no legal status, being just graffiti, albeit possibly paid for by the council (I didn't notice it this morning but in one the "N" was back to front) and secondly that path is part of NCN 16.

It was good to see everyone. On the way home I noticed the Echo billboards blasted out the message "SEAFRONT EYESORE TO COME DOWN". I think they are referring to the derelict North Thames Gas offices.

 

[Aperitif]

Lovely to see you 'full steam ahead, Peter' - little cameos like this make for good memories.
Anyway - I reckon six punctures + a slow-mo, and one broken chain. (7 CO2s...) My tiny hands were frozen so it was Tim's turn to 'Linkedin' - which he did with aplomb. (He should have used a chain link but it worked just as well.) I had to scarper to be in Wembley Park after the three punctures in ten metres finale, but it was nice to see some good people. (Thank you for the teas, @wanda2010 - next time I'm going for decaffienated so I can be 'two tea fruity en routé...')
I was so filthy from changing the tyres, I had to have two showers when I got back to Eastcote; one with Marianna from Greggs and the other with Sylvania from Costa. #inmydreams.
Anyway, it was a good ride, noteable for everyone who saw Marilyn.
Marilyn?
OK - hands up who actually saw Marilyn. No cheating either.
Thank you all. Good pace, good spirit. And tiredness on my part led to pre-emptive amnesia, so you had all better do the Whitstable ride and bring me a pint with your name written upon the glass + 'selfie'. (Hairy-ars*d blokes need not apply...or at least, not provide a pic - just buy the beer.)

 

[User10571]

Lovely to see you 'full steam ahead, Peter' - little cameos like this make for good memories.
Anyway - I reckon six punctures + a slow-mo, and one broken chain. (7 CO2s...) My tiny hands were frozen so it was Tim's turn to 'Linkedin' - which he did with aplomb. (He should have used a chain link but it worked just as well.) I had to scarper to be in Wembley Park after the three punctures in ten metres finale, but it was nice to see some good people. (Thank you for the teas, @Wanda - next time I'm going for decaffienated so I can be 'two tea fruity en routé...')
I was so filthy from changing the tyres, I had to have two showers when I got back to Eastcote; one with Marianna from Greggs and the other with Sylvania from Costa. #inmydreams.
Anyway, it was a good ride, noteable for everyone who saw Marilyn.
Marilyn?
OK - hands up who actually saw Marilyn. No cheating either.
Thank you all. Good pace, good spirit. And tiredness on my part led to pre-emptive amnesia, so you had all better do the Whitstable ride and bring me a pint with your name written upon the glass + 'selfie'. (Hairy-ars*d blokes need not apply...or at least, not provide a pic - just buy the beer.)

A cruel blow of fate - You on a ride, on which I am not. Gah!

 

[rb58]

I don't mind riding in the wet, but I don't like the cold. And I was very cold ( especially in the finger department) for the first half an hour after Stock. For the first time ever, I got a train into London for the start in a futile attempt to stay dry. On running into @ianrauk at Charing Cross, we headed towards HPC via Trafalgar Square, which was being overrun by rivers of water. I've never seen anything like that before and of course, by HPC I was wet through. My plan to take a second pair of waterproof socks was a master stroke as I completed the second half of the ride with dry toasty feet. Lovely.

I had intended to ride this one on Fixed, but in the end I took the winter bike - the first time it had been on the road since last winter. A sign of things to come perhaps, but I was glad it had those m*dguards.

Five of us completed the SMRbtH, and although we split into two groups at Hadleigh we re-joined at Stanford-le-Hope as a result of the front group being delayed by a puncture. And we came back together again at the Dartford crossing where three of us headed into Kent. All in all, a ride to remember and one I shall file under 'C' for 'character building'.

Thanks as always to the TECs, the way finders, to Simon who was cheery throughout and in particular to the Tulleys, who really ought to re-consider their prices!

Until the next time...... BTW - looks like it's brightening up out there.

 

[Aperitif]

'C' for 'character building'.

Truesay, Ross - but let's not forget how @mark st1 and @Adrian may view that 'C' today.
Crystal Palace 0...Man Utd 2 (Sorry, a bit tenuous I know...)

A cruel blow of fate - You on a ride, on which I am not. Gah!

Next one - I will bring the serious bicycle as twice I nearly 'overran'* myself in the dark.

* Boys Own Annual code for crapping oneself on a dark descent with no viable water repellent braking.
Got to be a Ti racefest next time. (Ahem...shall we have fair age handicaps too, my friend? I trust you - as others always should.)

 

[Aperitif]

No, but he did manage to fall off. I don't think Percy Shaw had a hand ear in it this time.

NFTFY

 

[dellzeqq]

this was another odd one. Brighton was a wet ride, and yet people were irredeemably cheerful, hugging each other at the end in the manner of eighteen-year-olds celebrating the best A-level results ever (mostly in a manly way, obvs). This wasn't quite the wetfunfest of Brighton, and there were times when people were quiet, but I didn't see much by the way of grumpiness, far less despair. I saw a lot of tired people being glad to be out and about with their mates.

All in all, quite uplifting.

 

[mark st1]

Wow what a beast of a ride ! Left my towers in to an absolute soaking and ran in to Steve Jones at the local train station after several window knocking minutes jumped on the train. At every stop a sly peer out the doors could see it was still battering it down so no surprise on exiting Paddington to buckets of the wet stuff. After avoiding the barriers in HPC (stay tuned.....) pitched up at HPC and shuffled under the arch and awaited the off. Had previously offered to TEC for this ride and have to say enjoyed it alot more as it was taken at a more steady pace. I got wet very wet but i was still pretty warm so not all bad settled in to an uneventful ride out of London until we whitnessed a few punchy yocals kicking off and then stood well back when the Chelsea Head hunter Ian dropped his bike and joined in broke it up. It seemed to me to be quite a way in until the first stoppage for fixings, i was sent on ahead to inform the shivering wayfinders they were about to get colder and wetter ! Got to the ford and the rain had eased off a fair bit and i have to admit i was salivating at the thought of the Tulleys pucker rolls . Had a snooze and then spent a fair bit of time hanging around the toilets drying off.

Ventured back outside and the combination of tiredness and semi wet clothes seemed to make it darn cold hey ho back to it no sooner had we started and the lost chain happened couldn't first time i had witnessed these fettlers in full swing and it was soon back together. The next few miles seem to go pretty quick and it even started getting a little brighter. Arriving in Southend to 4 punctures in 200 yards i have to admit i was on the hunt for brekkie and some feeling in my fingers by then so apart from trying to destroy someones front wheel from a great height i left it to Martin to flex his muscle. Follwed Tim to The Rose and wolfed down a Full English in record time then after meeting the legend that is User13710 set off with the legend that is the smrbth. I have to say these few Band of Brothers are animals within 5 miles of leaving there was a sizable gap appearing between them and i .

I could tell it was just a gentle jaunt for them as i was blowing out of my behind they sloped of in to a gas station and waited for me to catch up it was then after deciding that even taking it down a notch was still way out of my league so Ross kindly destroyed his Saturday morning by dragging my sizeable behind all the way back to Dartford cant thank you enough Ross very kind of you i would have been a gibbering wreck otherwise. We parted at Dartford and i ventured into the unknown of getting my own way back to Paddington. It was pretty straight forward amongst the rain and aching limbs I managed to avoid the A13 until a small section which i ventured onto and then picked up CS3 back towards the big bad city. For those that dont know i was trying to complete my first 100 miler so i was on the verge of tears when at 83 miles around Barking way my Garmin flashed up low battery this did help a bit as it made me get a bit of a shift on and had an uneventful trip back towards Trafalgar Square via the A13 St Pauls and The Walkie Talkie etc. I got to the entrance of Birdcage Walk and it proudly said CLOSED so braved The Strand and up past The Ritz heading back to the sanctuary Hyde Park which was shut for a "cycle event" bloddy cyclists lol. Braved Park Lane and the crazy coach drivers and rolled into Paddington at 12.30 ish and i was absolutely beat.

Highs of the ride hearing Ian's music tales and his long CV of legendary bands good and bad. Aperitif's company and character assessments and seeing the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe (she did look colder than me though )

Lows most of the weather holding back and breaking up the smrbth and the pain .

Oh and my Garmin managed to hold out to Paddington...............................



101.30 miles thanks to all who helped me out much appreciated

 

[wanda2010]

@mark st1 - I've only managed one SMRbtH (with Team Slow) and I just about managed to hang on to their jerseys so I know what you mean

 

[rb58]

Congratulations on your first century @mark st1
We weren't that much slower than the other group - when I rode up to the Dartford Crossing control point they were still there, so we weren't that far behind. Top job, well done for sticking with it!

 

[procel]

Magic. Never realised the attraction of the sound of smooth wet bike tyres on decent wet tarmac before. I was soaked between Victoria and HPC and very cold around Stock. Breakfast felt well deserved and these things are character building mind. I may grow a handlebar moustache. Thanks to everyone.

 

[StuAff]

Well done @mark st1 That SMRBtL (as it was for me when I did it) is a good one in the right conditions. In the wrong ones, very hard work (been there, done that too).

 

[mark st1]

Hmmm, should I hope those two things have no connections?

All in agreement that you have the most miss leading forum name. That your really 6ft 4 with legs up to your arm pits

 

[mark st1]

Congratulations on your first century @mark st1
We weren't that much slower than the other group - when I rode up to the Dartford Crossing control point they were still there, so we weren't that far behind. Top job, well done for sticking with it!

Forever indebted to you Ross i take it my leg pain is due to the voo-doo doll you have been stamping on all afternoon

 

[Aperitif]

Well done @mark st1 That SMRBtL (as it was for me when I did it) is a good one in the right conditions. In the wrong ones, very hard work (been there, done that too).

The BIg Yellow Bubble.
As Donald Rumsfeld and others might have remarked...'Need to Know'. I have discovered this video of your rucksack fabricator.*

*Colour may vary.