A month or so ago I joined Brixton Cycles Club after doing a fair amount of research, which mainly involved talking to a bunch of different people about what makes a good cycle club as well as knowing a few people there already. That and the fact that they clearly have the best kit in London persuaded me to join.
I went along for a first session and enjoyed it. It was a warm sunny day and it was pretty busy. A lot of the clubs have been swelling in numbers recently and Brixton is no exception. So that ride ended up with around 30-40 people in my rough estimation and although it was a large group it was well run and well disciplined. It was a nice day out, we had a good stop and chat, eat some cake, drank some coffee and then came back. I rode a few lanes I hadn’t done before and met and chatted to a few people I knew as well as a few other newbies like myself. After getting back I paid my fees and promptly went down to the shop the following day to get my jersey which I’ve worn with pride since. However I’d also then had a number of other rides planned for Sundays which meant I couldn’t go back until today.
So even though there was a forecast of constant rain for the whole day I turned up this morning at cafe St Germain at Crystal Palace expecting a far smaller group. I wasn’t crazy about going out but wasn’t going to do anything else really. Predictably there was hardly anyone there, only six of us including myself. But this didn’t matter and it made the group more intimate and enjoyable in many ways. The rain and the cold was less so.
I’d prepared properly and dressed up in as much winter clothing as I owned as well doing the cling film under the overshoes trick Leo had recommended a while back. The previous was quite mild and warm but today was freezing with the added benefit of pouring rain. I route was briefly discussed along with agreeing to not stop and get cold at a cafe. And off we went into the rain. It wasn’t that bad at first really and once we got going seemed to be ok. I wished I had worn a winter hat though to protect my ears.
We still managed a chat whilst riding and the occasional stop to regroup and roll our eyes the weather. We started looking for decent hills to warm us up and get the blood pumping again. That was fine until you started pointing the bike up hill and felt the rear wheel slipping as well as struggling with cold knees, even in winter tights. Large sections of the route were flooded with puddles over the entire road. I was thankful for mudguards and discs although the rear brake didn’t seem to be doing much by the end – I think this is down to cable stretch though.
It did all seem a bit silly at times but I strangely enjoyed it all, especially meeting a few more people to chat with and share a few kms rather than slogging it out on my own. After we got back to Crystal Palace I convinced Will, Richard and Celia to come for a coffee at Daily Goods to warm up. The coffee at St Germain is terrible but it’s a ritual I guess so can’t be too harsh on the place. Daily Goods allowed us to stand in the front bit and drip everywhere whilst we ordered and consumed multiples coffees as well as some food. Whilst we were standing there a young woman came over to Celia, seeing that she was cold, and offered her a shawl which was pretty sweet.
Overall a pretty decent day out on the bike and hopefully makes amends for not showing up at the recent club runs. I’ll be back again next Sunday but hopefully slightly less damp.
This has been re-tweeted into my Twitter timeline constantly for the last 24 hours. Cities should be designed around people not cars in my opinion. That huge void where you’re not allowed to be as it’s reserved for vehicles really shouldn’t exist.
I love riding round London at night. For various reasons it’s great to be out and experience the city late in the evening when things are quiet. There’s more space, less people and most importantly a sense of quiet. That feeling is pretty eloquently described in a Road.cc blog post I found today.
When the night falls, parts of our capital city become a cyclist’s dream. Cars vanish. So do cyclists, and the few who are left at this time of night tend to be better behaved. The city’s irksome distractions and sources of rage have been put to bed. There’s just you and the rubber-black road.
Previously this would only happen after a late night at work. Usually I would decline the offer of a taxi and jump on my bike home at 3am in the morning. The highlight for me would always be Waterloo Bridge. It’s pretty special most evenings but late at night / early in the morning with no one around it’s even better.
More recently I’ve been heading out to Richmond Park in the evening which in the last month or so has been in complete darkness. Again this is even more incredible due to the fact that the gates are shut to cars from dusk. The silence of the park along with it being completely pitch black really adds to the sense of isolation and solitude. That sense of isolation is occasionally interrupted as your light picks out a deer, or group of, hanging around at the side of the road or often wandering over the road. It feels completely different than riding round during the daylight hours. Whilst that might be an obvious statement it surprises me how different it is and how you don’t relate to your position in the park as much. It’s hard to work out how far you are around. And then you escape through the gate and back onto the road with the street lights and back towards the bright lights London.
I took a turn into the park last night with the idea of doing a few laps to add a bit extra to the journey home. Nothing too fast, just a bit of a breather at around 30 km/h to warm up and clear the head. It was beautifully dark, a chill in the air and incredibly peaceful. At last it seemed perfect for a winter jersey although the damp shoes from the morning were less successful at keeping me warm.
After a while I found someone sat on my wheel which is often the case. No big deal but I always do them the courtesy of a few hand signals for holes in the road etc. Some people use you for a bit of a lift up the hill then pass you on the flat or turn off on their way home. It does bother me when people sit there for a whole lap though and don’t do any work.
After half a lap the first person peeled off and then I found myself doing a similar speed to a guy on a fixed out for a few on his way home. Without speaking he tucked in and then after a quarter of a lap he took a turn which I then reciprocated. This carried on for another lap until we got stopped by a red light. At that point I said hello and asked if he fancied doing a few more. There’s something so nice about moving efficiently as a pair at a similar speed and then doing your turn. It’s even nicer when you’ve gone out solo and then silently started sharing the work with a complete stranger. It’s so much quicker and the peaceful sound of tyres on tarmac always makes me smile. It’s kind of reassures you in human kind, or the cyclist variant of.
Updated:
I should say that this did eventually arrive on the 10th Nov (ordered 1st Sept) and it’s really quite an incredible bike. Worth waiting until you see the “In Stock” bit over the bike you’re looking to buy though but can’t fault the quality of the bike.
On September 1st I ordered a winter bike from Canyon. On paper it’s a hell of a bargain. Full 11psd Shimano 105, decent frame, carbon fork, disc brakes and even decent Conti tyres in a nice 28mm variety.
I did the usual kind of due diligence of searching out the “Canyon problems” “Canyon delivery issues” type Google searches but this only seemed to turn up old blog posts from 2012 / 2013. Nothing was recent, and all other posts were singing their praises, so I went ahead and filled out the payment details and then waited for the delivery estimate. I was a little surprised to see it was going to take four weeks to deliver but it wasn’t really a big deal as the weather was still good and winter was a little way off.
And then week 40 came and went and no word from Canyon, no dispatch note etc, so I emailed their support and got a fairly abrupt email noting it was going to be to weeks later. Ok, not great and no apology or explanation, but hey ho, it can wait. Then week 42 came and went and I gave them a call. The guy in the UK office was really nice and apologetic but noted it was going to be week 44 now, so slipping another two weeks and four weeks further than the original estimate. He offered to refund the bike guard and postage which was a nice gesture and would save £35. The reason it was going to be late was that they are simply struggling to fulfil the order / victim of their own success etc.
The one thing that’s odd about the order process is that there is no mechanism to log in and see the progress of your order and also no mechanism to let you know that your order is delayed. You always have to make the effort to call or email which is pretty poor to be honest (insert obvious dig about Germans and efficiency etc).
Rather cheekily I responded to their promotional Tweet talking about the new model and when it would ship. So whilst being slightly unfair to the person running the Twitter account it was a little alarming to hear some kind of suggestion that the frames might not even be in Germany yet. The 8.0 is in stock but the others aren’t there yet! What the fuck?
Later I got a confirmation that it was definitely shipping this week after a slight back tracking from them. I’m not confident though due to the previous missed deadlines and it does feel like there is an alarming lack of honesty or openness here. From the start of the process through to issues with actually fulfilling orders, to notifying customers of delay it all seems to be a bit of a hope for the best type of arrangement. For instance if they didn’t have the actual frames there when I placed the order they simply should not have been accepting orders for that model, the purchase button should be faded out until they have stock to fulfil orders.
It’s just so frustrating to do all your research on a new bike, compare loads of models, look around, talk to people in the know and then press the order button and then nothing. Or rather wait 8 weeks for nothing.
So now my mind is wandering around looking at other bikes and the one which is readily available, although heavier, is the Whyte Suffolk. It’s similar in many ways but a cheaper chainset and tyres, but importantly it’s in stock in London at a number of places. I just don’t feel as attached to it as the Canyon, maybe it’s the graphics or something but if the delivery slips another two weeks I’m just going to sack the whole thing off with Canyon, presuming they let me cancel the order, get one of these instead and put the whole thing down to experience.
I had a look at the Whyte this morning and it’s lighter than I expected. I’m still not a fan of the graphics but hey it’s going to be covered in mud right? The other option is to order the Canyon Inflite 8.0 which appears to be in stock, buy the mudguards and road tyres myself and assemble. Also it’d be in the colour I want which looks far more purposeful.
A few weeks ago the meter ticked over the magic 8000km ridden this year on Strava. Why magic? Well I set myself a resolution target at the beginning of the year to “Cycle more (aim of riding 8000k in total)“. I’ve got a load of words drafted out for a bigger post about falling in love with road riding this year but now’s not the time.
At the beginning of the year that target seemed almost impossible. It also included 1200km of Lands End to John O’Groats riding, which I didn’t do, so I’m thrilled to have actually achieved it and also a few months early. As of writing I’ve ridden 8,324.1 km, spent 355h 43m sat on a saddle (ouch) and ridden 56,770 m of vertical ascent. Whilst that’s not much compared to some on Strava it’s a big deal for me. And yes I do love a good bit of data logging.
Hopefully this doesn’t appear as boasting, it’s more a sense of personal achievement which I think is worth celebrating. For so many years I’ve set myself those targets and got nowhere near of achieving them. Most of all I’ve had an amazing time doing it, had some incredible adventures on two wheels, lost over 2st in weight off my middle and also met lots of new and interesting people. Here’s to another few thousand km before the end of the year.
I headed out to Richmond Park last night on my own but thought I’d add a few km’s round Regents on the way. I started off fairly gentle and then warmed up a bit on the second. I bumped into one of the guys from the Thursday morning Rapha rides and had a bit of a chat for the rest of the lap, two abreast. We then came round the bottom corner (clockwise) heading back towards the Royal College of Physicians when a grey VW Golf came past quickly and then pulled in to push us into the kerb. I little evasive action was required but no great shakes and nothing out of the ordinary.
What I wasn’t quite prepared for was the guy behind me on a bike, who we had passed earlier riding two abreast, come to the right of me. I was expecting him to give the usual “I hate it when that happens” and the usual exchange of rolled eyes and a smile. What I wasn’t prepared for was the verbal abuse this guy dished out.
Guy on bike: You’re pissed off with that car aren’t you?
Me: Yeah a bit. He came a bit close and could have waited really until it was safe to pass.
Guy on bike: Well it’s entirely your fault.
Me: I’m sorry?
Guy on bike: Yeah it’s your fault for riding two abreast.
Me: But it’s legal to ride two abreast when safe to do so.
Guy on bike: You’re not allowed to ride two abreast where there’s double yellow lines.
Me: What?
Guy on bike: I’m a traffic officer.
Me: Shouldn’t you know know the highway code then?
After this I had got pretty wound up and told him to do one. It’s pretty shit being cut up by a car but we all get used to it. Being berrated by someone else on a bike is just maddening though. Now I’ve put myself in stupid situations before, accidentally and also through adrenaline, or just being a bit stupid when I was younger. I wasn’t being stupid on this occasion, just riding along, chatting, minding my own business in what should be one of the safest places in London to cycle. It’s a park with a 20mph limit and wide roads. I don’t think drivers are always at fault but in this occasion the driver could have waited 5 seconds before carrying out a safe pass.
This whole incident shook me up no end. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t a traffic officer and I’m pretty sure there’s no such rule about riding two abreast on double yellows.
Riding round Richmond was far more pleasnt, if a little un-nerving in the pitch black with the deer!
This month’s Gran Fondo was planned to be a nice flat-ish 215k round trip to Emma’s Mum’s pub just outside of Cambridge. One of the best things they do is the Sunday Carvery. I’m staunchly against eating roasts in pubs as I always think you can do better at home, this is my only exception, and worth travelling for.
We met at 7.30am outside Balfes in Kennington then met Paul outside the Hackney Empire a little later and followed a similar route that we had taken on the Dunwich Dynamo out towards Epping. I had been off the bike all week due to holiday and also managed to have a few more drinks than I had planned the night before which wasn’t an ideal start. It was pretty cold out too and each time we stopped for a breather the cold set in.
As we headed towards Epping there were plenty of other riders on their Sunday rides heading out of the city. Plenty of nods and ‘mornings’ were shared. My legs felt entirely dead and I generally felt pretty lifeless. By the time we’d got to 50k I was struggling mentally with how I was going to get through 215k. Maybe I hadn’t eaten enough I thought but I just didn’t feel as comfortable as I normally did. Maybe four hours sleep and a hangover really wasn’t helping.
As we turned off on the western loop of the route we were treated to a number of views back towards London framed in the mist. I finally succumbed and stopped to grab a photo. It really was such a beautiful morning and the cold mist created so many beautiful views along the lanes and woodland surrounding.
We swung from picturesque village to village at a reasonable pace, although it was still cold and had barely warmed up since we started. Escaping the heat sink of London the temperature dropped rapidly and the occasional downhill section found me pulling my jacket tight around my neck.
As we came round one corner the road felt a little greasy. I was about to shout out to take it easy, we were only doing 20kph-ish, but before I had time I heard a blood curdling yelp from James who had gone down hard on the same corner. Paul slid a bit behind him but managed to stop, although on his side, but without hurting himself.
We picked James up and un-tangled him from his bike to get him out of the road. Even though it was a narrow country road it was a blind bend and locals usually drive round them pretty quickly in my experience. We tried to assess how badly he was hurt. James started saying his knees hurt and yes they were both grazed and he had plenty of road rash on one side. At this point he hadn’t noticed a large laceration above his eye which was spurting a healthy amount of blood down the side of his face. We didn’t have anything with us to stop the bleeding so had to use his nice yellow Defeet gloves! Sorry James. We then wrapped him up in whatever other clothes we had left without getting too cold ourselves.
I felt pretty shaken up by it all and Paul and I clearly looked at each other in a slight state of shock. I started to wonder where the fuck were we and how the hell were we getting James out of this? The area we were in suddenly felt very isolated and remote, although in reality it wasn’t. We tried to work out whether we should be calling an ambulance for him as the cut and road rash on their own wouldn’t require one really and if we weren’t getting an ambulance how the hell we were getting to hospital for stitches. As we talked to James more we realised that he was pretty concussed and Paul saw that he had knocked himself out for a few moments when he hit the deck. When he asked the same question for a third time we both realised that it was time for 999. Fortunately we had enough signal for a call and managed to load a map with GPRS to find which village we were nearest. Making that call felt strangely emotional, like the situation you were in was slightly out of your control as well as obvious concern for him. Within 25-30 mins a paramedic responder was with us, checking him over and trying to establish a few key details from James. This was harder than it sounded due to his concussion. He couldn’t tell the paramedic a number of things which was pretty shocking to hear as I’d never really experienced someone with concussion before. Simple questions just couldn’t be answered, like whether he worked or was a student, what month it was, where he lived and so on!
We started to piece together what had actually happened. The glasses he was wearing had broken as he had gone down and then cut his eyebrow open. He’d also landed on his cheek and the side of his helmet although the helmet hadn’t really offered much protection in his instance, as well as a bit of a slide on his hip and knees.
During this time Paul and I were looking out for traffic trying to make sure another accident didn’t happen. So many people stopped to see if we were ok and many more simply rubber necked. The thing I found most frustrating was that I didn’t have anything on me that would have stopped bleeding in a more serious accident. I resolved to put a small kit together to take with me in my jersey with a few sterile dressings and medi swabs. It also reminded me of coming off last December on a diesel patch in Bath. The helplessness of it all was brought home, one minute you’re up, next millisecond your wheels have gone from beneath you and you’re sliding across the tarmac. Terrifying!
We kept talking to James and answering the same questions as well as just generally telling jokes and stories to keep the mood light.
How did I get here? I was just up a moment ago, I don’t understand. Where am I? How did I get here?
The paramedic was amazing and was clearly not phased by it all. His presence made it all feel a lot less fucked up. After getting to grips with James’s injuries and doing blood pressure etc he called in for an ambulance to take him to hospital. We packed him off and then wandered down to the local village to find a safe space to store his bike until I could come back later in the van to collect it. We found a family that let us keep it in their barn out the back of their beautiful garden.
After all this Paul and I decided we would push on an get lunch after all. That 35k seemed to drag on forever with my hangover still raging and the shock of it all still present in my mind as well as my legs still feeling dead. Soon enough we got to The Chequers and Maureen kindly sorted us out with a big plate of food from the carvery, after laughing at my pink overstocks first though.
Desert was also kindly offered and duly accepted before getting the train back to Liverpool Street. On the train back we found out that he was out of hospital with 8 stitches and some severe swelling. So much so that they couldn’t X-ray his cheek to find out of he’d broken the cheekbone.
After that I headed home, carefully, and then drove back in the van to the scene of the accident to collect the bike. It was pretty weird covering the same ground again and going past that corner.
A strange and slightly surreal day overall. We didn’t get Fondo but I don’t think I could have done the full ride anyway, who knows if we could, but we still covered 105k and saw some nice scenery. It’s going to have to wait for another day anyway this month. Needless to say my ride to work on Monday was taken pretty slowly and I was terrified of most corners just thinking of it all.
I’ve been thinking about a ride to Bath for the last few months now and had looked at a bunch of different routes there. I had been thinking of going on my own and stop in and see my Mum before getting the train back the next day. However I was recently invited by Richard to take part in the FCBS office to office ride which this year was taking place from London to Bath fortunately enough (it alternates each year).
So after getting up at 5.30am and packing as much food as I could into a jersey I rode to their London office near Goodge St to meet everyone and set off to Bath. Unfortunately Richard couldn’t make it but I went anyway and chatted to a few people over a much needed bowl of porridge in their kitchen and dining space, which forms a nice shop front to their office. After that people gathered outside the office for a quick photo and then we headed off on the route.
We trundled through town, which was lovely and quiet, and out to Richmond Park where we came up against a bit of an issue, the park was essentially closed for a Duathlon. So we skirted around the edge a little slower than hoped and then made it out the other side heading to Ascot for the first stop. The pace was fairly gentle and we sat around 28-30kph. It seemed to drift along quite nicely. We stopped at Ascot for a coffee and re-group. The local cafe looked a little surprised to see so many lycra clad cyclists but served up the coffee nonetheless. My personal highlight of that stop was trying to use the disabled loo, in bib shorts, in the dark as the light was faulty. Good times. I recognised a few of the roads on the next bit and we even went past Swinley Forest heading West which was kind of odd having usually driven there on the M4.
Back on the road again it was more of the same but with plenty of chats. We had split into a bunch of smaller groups of around eight. More stops were had and it was great to get to know them all a lot more. We all seemed to be matched quite well in terms of fitness and it was great to make progress together. I tried to take plenty of turns on the front but seemed to get a bit carried away each time and drag the pace up a bit only to find I’d left everyone – pretty poor form in a group ride.
After getting close to Marlborough I started picking up the pace with another Andy. We hammered it along together and hit 48kph on the flat, spending 60 secs on the front each. This was brilliant but then I gave a bit of a push up a small hill and bang. A spoke in my rear wheel went and all tension went, pretty much bending it in half. It was jammed against the frame, which caused me to stop fairly quickly, so I had to badly re-shape it with my spoke key. In the process I added a flat spot and couldn’t get it anywhere near true as well as rounding some of the a few of the nipples. I managed to keep going just without a back brake. I was so gutted at first that I would have to drop out after 140k. It was so nice to get going again and realise I could still ride the rest of it although it took me a few km to shake the grump from my wheel being mangled.
After getting to Marlborough plenty of cake was had, kindly bought by Geoff Rich, and then off on the final leg to Bath. Surprisingly we’d got 150k under our belts relatively easily and with not that much climbing really. It seemed to neatly fly by after that and then I was on the familiar roads through Chippenham, Corsham (where I grew up) and then cresting the hill with the wonderful view through Box and into Bath. It was such a great feeling to see this.
Some freewheeling with a Garmin-nose-touching-aero-tuck-position down Box Hill got us into Batheaston and to their studio pretty quickly. Pizza and beer was waiting and was gladly received. A bit more chatting to people and generally celebrating was had. It felt like quite an achievement and not as hard as expected. The lack of climbing and a steady pace clearly helping great deal.
After that I jumped back on the bike on the way I had planned to get to Mum’s adding another 25k to the route and another hill up Claverton Down which seemed entirely unnecessary really. Then it was onto the canal to Bradford-on-Avon and then up the steep climb out towards the main road back to Corsham. Having not felt too bad earlier I felt a bit shagged by the time I’d done the climb out of Bradford. I was pretty glad to see Mum’s house and the bottle of beer that awaited! Not a bad day on the bike really.
After as much food as I could eat and a good sleep I was up the next day and into Bath to purchase a new wheel. Fortunately this meant I could take a trip to Colonna and Small’s for another incredible coffee. I grabbed a new wheel cheap from John’s Bike’s which is fortunately in new hands and looking in a much better state than the last time I saw it.
I then headed out on a loop round Bath with Dad which I had previously done last year and then come off on a Diesel patch. I’d modified it slightly to avoid a few main roads and to take it out a little longer to hit Sherston as Dad had a cafe in mind.
It was all together a much gentler affair and also meant a second visit to Colonna & Small’s! A few moments before I got there I got a flat which turned out to be due to the rim tape not being the right width in the new wheel. Piss poor for a new wheel really. Getting out of Bath we went up Landsdowne Lane which I had forgotten how steep it was! It’s a while since I’ve had my heart rate that high and god it hurt.
After that it was out over the M4 and stopping at a cafe for a bit. The weather looked like it might close in but we managed to escape it. We stopped in Sherston later at an amazing little cafe that was pretty bike friendly too. Track pump, cake, coffee and even little sachets of energy mix to add to your water bottles. Not bad really. After that it was the home stretch through Yatton Kennel and Biddestone and then back through the back of Corsham Court’s grounds and through Gastard.
Another good days riding and another 110k under my belt. 335k in two days isn’t bad and has helped a great deal towards hitting that magic 1250k this month.
Now, just need to think up of the next challenge for next month.
I’ve finally got around to joining the Thursday morning Rapha ride. It’s one of those things I thought would be too pro for me and that I’d need to be just a tiny bit better than I currently am etc, you know some reason not to go. The rides are either around Regents or Richmond Park and set off at 6.30am, yes 6.30am, which means a 5.30 wake up to get there which was another reason not to go for a while. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of it all really either.
Finally I plucked up the courage to go a few weeks ago. I just turned up not knowing anyone and kind of got on with it. Whilst I’ve ridden with others before in a small group this was a lot more people than I was used to. We set of two abreast with the inside line pulling through reasonably regularly. The group was around 25 people and started at a normal pace to warm up. It was good to be in a group moving at a speed and also being disciplined about signals and keeping the group together. Somehow on the first time I went I ended up in the fast group with five other rides. I felt like a total hero at first thinking “this is ok, I can easily do this” and then the pace started to wind up. We ended up flying along at 40-45kph on the flat. Taking a turn on the front at this pace was hard work and fortunately others sensed some of my pain later in the session and pulled through again. The last three laps I was really working hard and with my heart rate to match. It felt great to be just on the edge of your comfort zone as well as working together in a well disciplined group. The last lap was a sprint which I finally got spat out of as I was just too tired and had run out of energy. I was pretty done after although not as completely ruined as I expected. After that a few warm down gentle laps were needed and then down to the Cycle Club for a coffee and food. Despite all of that I was still in work for 8.30am having completed a fair bit of exercise for the day and feeling pretty good about it. Some of the tiredness was from concentration as sitting on someone’s wheel at that pace seemed to tax me mentally. Hopefully it’ll get easier as I get used to it.
Most people were pretty friendly and happy to chat. Although as the pace ramped up I was less able to keep a conversation going. What’s also odd is that sometimes you get chatting and the line then pulls through – conversation over. But then you’re there to ride not chat!
I also went the following week which was wet and horrible. Sitting on people’s wheels without mudguards or glasses was grim although fortunately a little slower. I also went again this morning and loved it. I’m completely hooked and am going to try and keep going all the way through the winter. It seems like a great way to get some higher tempo rides in as well as meet a few more people further opening up possibilities for road riding.
The other thing that’s pretty special is seeing London at dawn. It’s such an incredible experience to be around when most of the city is still asleep. The last three rides have been around Regents but I’m looking forward to a dawn trip around Richmond park. Whilst I’d rather ride the lanes round Kent these morning rides are great for before work.
