Grimpeurs du Sud

[Martin]

no HM for me as I'll be on the way to Madeira (although sans bike after my off last month) so there goes my 6th consecutive GdSRTY 

MJJSM continues the sequence of eligible calendar events which is complete up to May; but then a break until Tour of the Hills in August

28th January - from Hailsham - Hills and Mills - 102km - 1.75 AAA
25th February - from Hailsham - Mad Jack's John Seviour Memorial - 125km - 2.5 AAA
4th March - from Catherington - Bois Ocaude de Printemps- 100km - 1.5 AAA
12th March - from Otford - Kent Invicta Grimpeur 100 - 100km - 2AAA
2nd April from Greenwich- The Shark 200km 3.25AAA
22nd April from Meopham - Oasts and Coasts-300km 1.75AAA
23rd April from Polegate - Hell of the Sussex Coastal Hills-101km 1.75AAA
30th April- Isle of Wight - "100km Randonnee" AAA 1.5
20th May from Crowborough East Sussex The Reliable 105km 1.75AAA

[Wycombewheeler]

is there a list of qualifying calender events and perms? Do DIY rides count?

[JamieD]

is there a list of qualifying calender events and perms? Do DIY rides count?

At the bottom of this page  https://sites.google.com/site/grimpeursdusud/ is a list of qualifying events

My favourites were

* Meridian Hills
* Around Weald Expedition - The absolute highlight.
* Rowlands RAAAMble

[Martin]

is there a list of qualifying calender events and perms? Do DIY rides count?

yes; any DIY starting in the specified counties and eligible for AAA in a 100km section (even if the total ride is not eligible) counts

[Mad Jack]

no HM for me as I'll be on the way to Madeira (although sans bike after my off last month) so there goes my 6th consecutive GdSRTY 

MJJSM continues the sequence of eligible calendar events which is complete up to May; but then a break until Tour of the Hills in August

28th January - from Hailsham - Hills and Mills - 102km - 1.75 AAA
25th February - from Hailsham - Mad Jack's John Seviour Memorial - 2.5 AAA

Enjoy the get away Martin,

Thanks for the above, slightly more km @105 & AAA on Hills and Mills, tis now 2 AAA, as a revised route from 2016 avoiding the busy A26.

 

[Martin]

no HM for me as I'll be on the way to Madeira (although sans bike after my off last month) so there goes my 6th consecutive GdSRTY 

MJJSM continues the sequence of eligible calendar events which is complete up to May; but then a break until Tour of the Hills in August

28th January - from Hailsham - Hills and Mills - 102km - 1.75 AAA
25th February - from Hailsham - Mad Jack's John Seviour Memorial - 2.5 AAA

Enjoy the get away Martin,

Thanks for the above, slightly more km @105 & AAA on Hills and Mills, tis now 2 AAA, as a revised route from 2016 avoiding the busy A26.

 

corrected now I know that hill up to Crowborough having daftly reversed Meridian Hills once, much quieter than the A26 but also rather scenic, but shorter than Kidds!

[Mad Jack]

Thanks for the above, slightly more km @105 & AAA on Hills and Mills, tis now 2 AAA, as a revised route from 2016 avoiding the busy A26.

 
[/quote]

corrected now I know that hill up to Crowborough having daftly reversed Meridian Hills once, much quieter than the A26 but also rather scenic, but shorter than Kidds!
[/quote]

Tis called Hubbards Hill ( as featured on Tim's current Arrivee (134) cover shot  ) Kidds still features which is not so bad if you pace yourself, goes in three stages, final push takes you out of the tree line.

I can see a debate starting on which is the most classic col in Sussex, Willingford Lane and Peter James Lane as featured on Mad Jacks JSM 

[Martin]

Sea Lovers 600 added to the list of perms here; slight bending of the rules as just about all the climbing is outside the GdS region

https://sites.google.com/site/grimpeursdusud/

anyone want to consider a 400 for the set?

[Martin]

Excellent day out on Le Bois Ocaude de Printemps (answers on a postcard) again thanks Plodder; a big field excellent route and a warm welcome at start and finish; with lots of ECE fuel! I enjoyed the ride back via Privett and a rainbow on the road to Alton

next up Invicta Grimpeur next Sunday who's in?

[TigaSefi]

Me!

This is the 4 or 5th time I'll be doing it and if I get it right, only 2nd time it been validated  even though i have completed it every time!

[mmmmartin]

Rode the AAA Milne perm on Tuesday: a quite outstanding ride, very quiet roads, lovely views, good tarmac surfaces, recommended. Very clever selection of lanes to make a worthwhile day out. For me, a good start to a year in which I hope to acquire a GdS.

One small piece of advice: when Martin's routesheet says "ford, footbridge on left recommended" it's generally a good idea to choose the recommended route. Failure to do so could mean pedalling though a ford and we all know that if you stop pedalling in a ford the bike stops and you fall over into the water so it's a better idea to keep going. Sometimes fords can be deep enough to immerse totally your feet on the downstrokes of pedalling. DAHIKT.
And of course, should you acquire soaking wet feet on a chilly winter's day, they won't warm up again. At. All.

Just sayin'.

[Martin]

One small piece of advice: when Martin's routesheet says "ford, footbridge on left recommended" it's generally a good idea to choose the recommended route. Failure to do so could mean pedalling though a ford and we all know that if you stop pedalling in a ford the bike stops and you fall over into the water so it's a better idea to keep going. Sometimes fords can be deep enough to immerse totally your feet on the downstrokes of pedalling. DAHIKT.
And of course, should you acquire soaking wet feet on a chilly winter's day, they won't warm up again. At. All.

Just sayin'.

especially on the Reliable where the Ford contains a 'kin enormous pothole in the middle which will certainly cause you to stop and put both feet down. And using the narrow section of concrete that isn't potholed is likely to involve losing your balance and going bodily into the stream;

Yorshireman

"you were lucky, you should have tried AAA Milne on Christmas Eve 2013 where there were not one but two borked cars in the fords, and the section over the Ouse after Piltdown was under the Ouse by about a metre; and a full length tree trunk had lodged itself along the little footpath they normally provide so required walking along it with bike on shoulder

and two wet feet"

/Yorshireman

I told the driver of the shiny BMW it probably wasn't a good idea to drive through it when I eventually reached the dry

[Martin]

Me!

This is the 4 or 5th time I'll be doing it and if I get it right, only 2nd time it been validated  even though i have completed it every time!

saw you on the Invicta not too many km ahead of me on the return leg as I was still doing the outward; some seriously fast GSA out there today!

roads were a lot less skoggy than recent years thank goodness we didn't have any serious rain;

Yorks Hill at the end was cruel and unusual punishment; impossible to get out of the saddle as the wheel was spinning enough without. A harsh reminder of how unfit I've become over winter without my usual GdS diet

Great ride again thanks Patrick and helpers; hope the bloke who wet BOA on Bayleys Hill is OK, it looked worse than it was I think.

[TigaSefi]

Me!

This is the 4 or 5th time I'll be doing it and if I get it right, only 2nd time it been validated  even though i have completed it every time!

saw you on the Invicta not too many km ahead of me on the return leg as I was still doing the outward; some seriously fast GSA out there today!

roads were a lot less skoggy than recent years thank goodness we didn't have any serious rain;

Yorks Hill at the end was cruel and unusual punishment; impossible to get out of the saddle as the wheel was spinning enough without. A harsh reminder of how unfit I've become over winter without my usual GdS diet

Great ride again thanks Patrick and helpers; hope the bloke who wet BOA on Bayleys Hill is OK, it looked worse than it was I think.

I walked Yorks. Really pissed off with the weather forecast getting it wrong big time. Could have ridden my carbon and 32 ring

[Wycombewheeler]

I remember going up toys last may. mud all over the road picking a line with grip was tough and starting again after wheels pin impossible. Only hill I have had to walk up. Bloke 30 seconds behind had the same issue, but failed to unclip.

I can only imagine it being worse after the recent weather.

[PaulOlmo]

Me!

This is the 4 or 5th time I'll be doing it and if I get it right, only 2nd time it been validated  even though i have completed it every time!

saw you on the Invicta not too many km ahead of me on the return leg as I was still doing the outward; some seriously fast GSA out there today!

roads were a lot less skoggy than recent years thank goodness we didn't have any serious rain;

Yorks Hill at the end was cruel and unusual punishment; impossible to get out of the saddle as the wheel was spinning enough without. A harsh reminder of how unfit I've become over winter without my usual GdS diet

Great ride again thanks Patrick and helpers; hope the bloke who wet BOA on Bayleys Hill is OK, it looked worse than it was I think.

Ditto that, but I did snap this sign on my way past, perhaps he didnt see it, I don't remember seeing it before, is it new? ....

https://goo.gl/photos/R1NbANfPEY9yCEsv9

[TigaSefi]

It new but not that new. Wasn't there last year

[Martin]

The BOA was on the control on the way down at Weald (long very steep downhill over the A21) not THAT Bayley's Hill (I get very confused by them all)

Paul's photo reminded me that we were once again joined by a couple of wannabe sportives; imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

[Ivan]

Greenwich Mean Climb now in the calendar for 23rd Sept and 'under new management' as I'm now the official org. Tweaked the route to come back from Bexhill via Tunbridge Wells rather than Crowborough for better late night controlling options and feels a bit nicer all round based on a recent test ride, as have managed to remove at least 3 sections I wasn't that happy with.

[Martin]

The Crown is back for August Bank Holiday Monday; one of the original surviving GdS calendar events

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/17-747/

[Martin]

The Reliable route checked today; one major amendment, the finish control pub has closed down! so some extra scenery up to Spoons and a downhill blat back to the start, will amend the route sheet tomorrow

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/17-571/

[Martin]

65 riders  for The Reliable which is apt as it was originally run in 2011 as the 65th anniversary ESCA Reliability Trial and is 65 miles ling!

[PaulOlmo]

Very nice outing today Martin. A lot of lanes I'd not been along before, good scenery, nice hotdog. The flat section was hard work until the turn when at last we reaped the benefit of riding into all that wind.

[psyclist]

A cracking ride. Lots of lovely quiet lanes, and the rain held off apart from a few spots early on. Loved the hotdog setup too ... and the finish location was much appreciated for liquid refuelling before the last 50km of my ECE.

[Martin]

Here are the results from 2011 when the event was a Reliability Trial; the maximum time allowed was 5 hrs!! and not all the Qualifiers were in the slowest slot

65th Anniversary Reliability Trial – Sunday 20th November 2011
Distance 65 miles Route Some of the best cycling roads the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty has to offer 

Total Entries 131 Total Qualifiers 53