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

[dellzeqq]

Oh, I definitely wouldn't say so. Never clocked the Gordon Bennet thing, for instance. There is still so much to learn....

Asked about the prospects for the D-mark, Dr. Redfalo rolled his eyes...' Crikey moses, the money supply is meshugenah, the government is having a tin bath and the central banks are kvetching like billy-o. Otherwise everything is dandy and peachykeen'.

 

[Wobblers]

I was wet by the time I got to the start. And miserable. I did helpfully point out that you had a puncture though.

And I can't help it that LEL is already on my palmares.

How can you expect to have any credibility when you say "The rain made me miserable, so I welched off. But I've done LEL". A cycling hard man who's afraid of getting wet???

 

[martint235]

How can you expect to have any credibility when you say "The rain made me miserable, so I welched off. But I've done LEL". A cycling hard man who's afraid of getting wet???

LEL isn't about being hard, it's about being too stupid to know when to stop. I've learnt my lesson.

 

[rvw]

Finally reporting in from the Amersham end... One of the "things" we are doing for our 20th wedding anniversary is boycotting the internet on Saturdays (so that we actually have to talk to each other), hence the radio silence. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that we were asleep.

We'd decided in advance to ride down into London, since the distance to Southend was the shortest FNR - and we kept to that despite the truly vicious rain. So by the time we rolled into Marylebone for a quick coffee/sandwich we were already drenched. I too need a better waterproof - but I think the main problem was that my hair was providing a lovely channel for the rain to run down the back of my neck. Water splashing up from the overflowing drains had totally overwhelmed both overshoes and waterproof socks, so I had sloshing puddles in both shoes.

But, despite actually voicing the question "why are we here" at HPC (quietly - I think only srw actually heard me) I am glad we didn't bottle out. I think it was wetter than Westable, though that may have been the early bit. And having got soaked already made the decision a bit easier: we weren't going to get any wetter, since that wasn't physically possible.

We haven't totalled up our miles accurately yet (need to combine a GPS watch which died at Stock with the real GPS which only really got properly started then) but we think we'll have done about 87 in all, 60 in the rain. And all the trains were kind to us and allowed the tandem on without dismantling!

 

[Steve Jones]

For those puzzling over what to wear on the bike in cold, rainy autumnal London, the answer would appear to be swimsuits and, if your are Australian, skimpy ones. Of course, that's after a dip in the Serpentine. Unfortunately, some might think not all fnrttc participants would be flattered by such outfits.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03b7mj4/Triathlon_World_Series_2013_London/

Well done to Non Stanford and Jodie Stimpson, we'll overlook cluttering up our start point with all those metal railings in the circumstances...

nb. great to bump into Mark (now I know his name - I forgot to enquire) on the train to Paddington, and there are easier ways to do your first century ride. In fact almost all other ways are easier. Also, special mention to Bryony who was kind enough to keep me company at breakfast and kept going through the most atrocious conditions with a bad knee and resisted the strong temptation to bail out when we passed the end of the road where she lives near Aldgate. That's despite being spectacularly ill-equipped for the weather - shoulder-bags aren't very waterproof. I'm always most impressed by those that struggle through despite the odds.

 

[wanda2010]

I love cycling in the rain. I especially love cycling in the rain with like-minded nutters friends as long as I remember to take a full set of clothes to change into, either at the half-way point or at the end of the journey. I also enjoy unexpected Russian drinks at the breakfast table that take the edge off the cold and I really must remember to get a hipflask for the winter rides.

Whitstable next! Teef - can I have my nametag on a red background please?

 

[procel]

and things to remember and I never pay attention.

Would be a great idea if I could remember what it was.

 

[Aperitif]

I love cycling in the rain. I especially love cycling in the rain with like-minded nutters friends as long as I remember to take a full set of clothes to change into, either at the half-way point or at the end of the journey. I also enjoy unexpected Russian drinks at the breakfast table that take the edge off the cold and I really must remember to get a hipflask for the winter rides.

Whitstable next! Teef - can I have my nametag on a red background please?

I'll think about it..?

Adrian could make do..

 

[Aperitif]

rev. as requested:

 

[Dogtrousers]

For those puzzling over what to wear on the bike in cold, rainy autumnal London, the answer would appear to be swimsuits and, if your are Australian, skimpy ones. Of course, that's after a dip in the Serpentine. Unfortunately, some might think not all fnrttc participants would be flattered by such outfits.

Memories of Tigerbiten on the on the recent Brighton ride. As everyone was busily breaking out the gore-tex, flapping like ungainly albatrosses, Tigerbiten was busy stripping down to his speedos - on the (quite logical) basis that skin is waterproof.

That said, it wasn't terribly cold on that ride.

 

[jonny jeez]

For those puzzling over what to wear on the bike in cold, rainy autumnal London, the answer would appear to be swimsuits and, if your are Australian, skimpy ones. Of course, that's after a dip in the Serpentine. Unfortunately, some might think not all fnrttc participants would be flattered by such outfits.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03b7mj4/Triathlon_World_Series_2013_London/

Well done to Non Stanford and Jodie Stimpson, we'll overlook cluttering up our start point with all those metal railings in the circumstances...

nb. great to bump into Mark (now I know his name - I forgot to enquire) on the train to Paddington, and there are easier ways to do your first century ride. In fact almost all other ways are easier. Also, special mention to Bryony who was kind enough to keep me company at breakfast and kept going through the most atrocious conditions with a bad knee and resisted the strong temptation to bail out when we passed the end of the road where she lives near Aldgate. That's despite being spectacularly ill-equipped for the weather - shoulder-bags aren't very waterproof. I'm always most impressed by those that struggle through despite the odds.

I watched the Ladies going around the Hyde Park track after my commute on Friday. I must be getting old because despite the ludicrously tiny outfits all I could think was how loud their tri bikes were. sounded like the bearings were made of gravel!

 

[wanda2010]

 

[srw]

It turns out to have been 83.7 miles according to the GPS - but I always think it under-reports slightly (or maybe our bike computers both over-report...)

The rain on the way into London was as bad as I can remember cycling in - all the drains in North-West London were overloaded, with gushers coming out of manhole covers, and streams that would have sustained sticklebacks flowing down several hills. Thanks to @CharlieB for his suggestion of a detour through the Moor Park estate to avoid Batchworth Hill - it's a good route (although it would have been a good idea to change the batteries in the GPS before we left home rather than waiting until we were enjoying a shower outside a mansion on a private estate with neither streetlamps nor pavements).

I've never enjoyed a soggy BLT as much as the one I wolfed down at Marylebone, and the rolls at Stock were absolutely perfect. The breakfast at the Rose is pretty good, too.

Amazingly I was only cold for about 5 minutes after leaving Stock. I'd done the first half of the ride in long-sleeved base layer, long-sleeved (but thin) top and lightweight showerproof running top (which kept me pretty dry - only my arms were soggy) over shorts. Adding leg- and arm-warmers, replacing fingerless mitts with waterproof gloves, and putting dry woollen socks on in place of soggy "waterproof" jobs seemed to do the job. Perhaps I'm just lucky - or still well-enough padded that I've got enough of my own natural insulation.

As @rvw has said, we had no problems at all with the bike on the trains home. I think that Southend route is openly tandem-friendly, while the chap on the manual gate at Aldgate didn't blink an eyelid as I wheeled my long vehicle through, and the driver looked impressed when we told him what we'd done. The new Met line trains on the underground (soon to arrive on the Circle, District and H&C) make life very easy for the cyclist - there's a bank of three tip-up seats in every carriage for luggage and pushchairs which are perfect for bikes, and a tandem only blocks off one more seat. To avoid a final lug over the footbridge at Amersham we got off a stop early, for level access to the road.

Apart from hanging around in the chilling air in Chadwell Heath that was a lovely night out. I need to adjust the light on the tandem a bit, and the back brake cable is in dire need of some lubrication - but the Thorn is a perfect bike for wet-weather riding.

 

[mmmmartin]

For hours and hours in the rain, I forget waterproof cycling jackets and go for Paramo.

I agree. I wore a Paramo Velez Adventure Light through the winter on almost all of my my monthly 200k rides and it made even this winter's cold and rain almost tolerable. And at £120 from the Paramo Seconds shop on eBay it was an absolute bargain. I wash the waterproofing in each autumn when it receives its annual wash. And for ghastly bitter icy cold I put a Montane featherlite windproof underneath.
For legs, I have a pair of Rainlegs, which are far more effective than you would think from looking at them. They avoid the boil-in-the-bag effect of waterproof trousers. About £25 post inc from The Netherlands.

 

[dellzeqq]

on the Stock Village Hall thing. Geoff declined a club cheque on Friday night. I tried and tried, and Tim gave it a go as well, but Geoff was not persuaded. If, on the other hand, any of you feel like not asking for your change next time you're at a halfway stop, whether it be Stock or Strood or The Edifice (if that ever happens again) then I'm sure that would be welcome. Those who sent funds through somebody else - that's much appreciated.