velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
CP, if you're looking for a gentle introduction, I highly recommend the Southend ride.
Why do you R on FN ttC?
- Thread starter anothersam
- Start date
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velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
True, Brighton is the traditional "cherry-popper".2893999 said:
ComedyPilot
Secret Lemonade Drinker
- Location
- The Kingdom of Yorkshire
Brightons got Ditchling Beacon?
I suppose I'll have to train on Nunburnholme Hill up here to get acclimatised
I suppose I'll have to train on Nunburnholme Hill up here to get acclimatised
velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
Southend truly is "gentler"! But as Adrian said, it might be too gentle!
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
No... I've ridden to Brighton nearly 20 times ... I'd like a change!2893795 said:
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
I'll bear that in mind.... have always wanted to visit Sarfend though ... and I could ride back.2894445 said:
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
@ComedyPilot, it has to be Brighton. It's a fabulous ride, not least the swoop down towards breakfast and re-hydration later in the morning. Transcendental really.2893999 said:
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
Trust me - it's not worth it. Think Didcot-by-the-Sea.
martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
You're more than welcome to join the Saturday Morning Ride back to Home. We'll even show you the delights of @ianrauk roundabout....
He did persuade me in the end, so my first ride was also a Brighton. We went up Ditchling in mist so bad that srw could see better without his glasses than with, then met the vile headwind at the top. But despite that we've done a few more, and although I sometimes have the "why on earth" feelings during the week before, once we get started I'm fine. (Yes, even on the wet Southend ride last year when we'd arrived at HPC soaked having already cycled from Amersham into London...)
Reasons for? The company, quiet roads, picking up a tailwind for the last miles into Whitstable and sailing along feeling fantastic in 6am sunshine, nightingales, skylarks, and the expressions on the faces of folk at work when I tell them about it. Outwitting jobsworths on the various railways to get the tandem home again afterwards.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
BigGee
Senior Member
- Location
- North East London
I was inspired to join the FNRttC club by the Guardian article, which after reading I thought I really do have to have a go at this. Sometimes I can be quite an impulsive person and once I had read it I was not going to be happy until I tried it.
I'd been an occasional cyclist as a child, but when I came to London when I was 18 decided to splash out on a cheapish road bike as a means of transport and began cycling all over London whenever I wanted to get anywhere. I became a cycle commuter and also got hooked into the early I980's channel 4 coverage of the TDF. I was fascinated by mountain stages in particular and was inspired by my fellow Scotsman Robert Millar and decided that I needed have a go at things like that as well. The purchase of a better touring bike followed and the Alpes, the Pyranees followed in due course. I also decided on a bit of a whim that I needed to cycle up the west coast of America, so job was resigned and off I went, Mexico to Canada, keeping the ocean on your left hand side for navigation!
On returning to London, several months later, in my mid twenties, I made that decision that it was probably time to sort out my life. A career in nursing followed and then marriage and kids. Cycling inevitably had to take the back seat. I continued to commute and followed cycling avidly but never found the time to do any trips like that again. There were always to many demands on my time and money!
Fast forward another 15 or so years and I am just heading into a mid life crisis of sorts. I am 15 kg over my fighting weight am recovering from a bad crash where I smashed my elbow to bits and then a back operation and I feel the need for a challenge. JOGLE fitted the bill nicely and made me feel good on the bike again, knowing I could still do it and reminding me how much I enjoyed feeling really fit again.
I had read the guardian the previous year whilst training for the end to end and so after exchanging a few emails with Simon was on the start line for the Feb 2010 ride to Brighton. This was cold and wet and was a ride I should never have done as I was not feeling well and yet it was something I felt I did really want to do. Pretty much all my riding up to this point had been solo riding. Now I always have been and continue to enjoy riding a bike by myself but I have also always hankered after sharing the experience a bit more as well. The shift work I do has always made it hard to commit to a club and my one experience of trying was not very positive.
I immediately realised that this group was for me. It was informal and non hierarchical and welcoming to new comers like myself who were naturally a bit wary about groups and how you might fit into them. I like the way everyone stopped and waited, helped with mechanicals and if everyone else had to freeze whilst waiting so bet it!
A combination of not being well on the night and those horrible weather conditions all aided in wiping me out for the rest of the year. A mystery viral illness and chronic fatigue kept me off the bike for the rest of the year and into the next. I always planned to return though, as I new this was something I would enjoy doing and was a great motivator to me as I rebuilt my fitness.
I have become a fairly regular member of the group now. I love the extreme conditions, the challenge of fighting the tiredness just before dawn, the exhilaration of flying along country lanes flanked by tall hedge rows, the thrill of chasing back on to the group in front of you. I love that it takes me and my bike to places that I otherwise would be very unlikely to go.
I am probably never going to be the most sociable and talkative member of the group, that is largely my personality. It does not mean however that I do not enjoy the company and the joy of riding and sharing with others. It is a fantastic and addictive experience. The dates for this year are in my diary and can't wait to get going again.
I am touching 50 now, a long way from the 18 year old who bought a cheap bike when he first came to London. I made a good choice then when I bought the bike and another one when I started doing the night rides!
I'd been an occasional cyclist as a child, but when I came to London when I was 18 decided to splash out on a cheapish road bike as a means of transport and began cycling all over London whenever I wanted to get anywhere. I became a cycle commuter and also got hooked into the early I980's channel 4 coverage of the TDF. I was fascinated by mountain stages in particular and was inspired by my fellow Scotsman Robert Millar and decided that I needed have a go at things like that as well. The purchase of a better touring bike followed and the Alpes, the Pyranees followed in due course. I also decided on a bit of a whim that I needed to cycle up the west coast of America, so job was resigned and off I went, Mexico to Canada, keeping the ocean on your left hand side for navigation!
On returning to London, several months later, in my mid twenties, I made that decision that it was probably time to sort out my life. A career in nursing followed and then marriage and kids. Cycling inevitably had to take the back seat. I continued to commute and followed cycling avidly but never found the time to do any trips like that again. There were always to many demands on my time and money!
Fast forward another 15 or so years and I am just heading into a mid life crisis of sorts. I am 15 kg over my fighting weight am recovering from a bad crash where I smashed my elbow to bits and then a back operation and I feel the need for a challenge. JOGLE fitted the bill nicely and made me feel good on the bike again, knowing I could still do it and reminding me how much I enjoyed feeling really fit again.
I had read the guardian the previous year whilst training for the end to end and so after exchanging a few emails with Simon was on the start line for the Feb 2010 ride to Brighton. This was cold and wet and was a ride I should never have done as I was not feeling well and yet it was something I felt I did really want to do. Pretty much all my riding up to this point had been solo riding. Now I always have been and continue to enjoy riding a bike by myself but I have also always hankered after sharing the experience a bit more as well. The shift work I do has always made it hard to commit to a club and my one experience of trying was not very positive.
I immediately realised that this group was for me. It was informal and non hierarchical and welcoming to new comers like myself who were naturally a bit wary about groups and how you might fit into them. I like the way everyone stopped and waited, helped with mechanicals and if everyone else had to freeze whilst waiting so bet it!
A combination of not being well on the night and those horrible weather conditions all aided in wiping me out for the rest of the year. A mystery viral illness and chronic fatigue kept me off the bike for the rest of the year and into the next. I always planned to return though, as I new this was something I would enjoy doing and was a great motivator to me as I rebuilt my fitness.
I have become a fairly regular member of the group now. I love the extreme conditions, the challenge of fighting the tiredness just before dawn, the exhilaration of flying along country lanes flanked by tall hedge rows, the thrill of chasing back on to the group in front of you. I love that it takes me and my bike to places that I otherwise would be very unlikely to go.
I am probably never going to be the most sociable and talkative member of the group, that is largely my personality. It does not mean however that I do not enjoy the company and the joy of riding and sharing with others. It is a fantastic and addictive experience. The dates for this year are in my diary and can't wait to get going again.
I am touching 50 now, a long way from the 18 year old who bought a cheap bike when he first came to London. I made a good choice then when I bought the bike and another one when I started doing the night rides!
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Aperitif
Meme bar
- Location
- ...I don't have much idea - really.
Yeh - fark you.
martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
