ACME Miscellany

[Nick]

Just found a bus stop opposite a chippy!

[jiberjaber]

Just found a bus stop opposite a chippy!

Keep on keeping on! 

[Nick]

131 to go! Roads quieter now

[Deano4]

Well done Nick! 

[Nick]

Thanks!

[felstedrider]

Rewriting the rest of my Summer as I come to a few realisations.

I see there’s still spots on A&S available.   Who’s riding ?

[huggy]

Rewriting the rest of my Summer as I come to a few realisations.

I see there’s still spots on A&S available.   Who’s riding ?

4 spaces currently available, most of the usual ACME suspects are on the start list.
I can put you in for the 08:35 start time with psyclist if you like

[felstedrider]

Rewriting the rest of my Summer as I come to a few realisations.

I see there’s still spots on A&S available.   Who’s riding ?

4 spaces currently available, most of the usual ACME suspects are on the start list.
I can put you in for the 08:35 start time with psyclist if you like

Let me have a think.  I’ll have a better idea when I’ve checked in with a couple of people.

[Nick]

OK, must be stupid - what do I do now I've done the ride? Submit the gpx track somewhere? Where? 

[Lightning Phil]

OK, must be stupid - what do I do now I've done the ride? Submit the gpx track somewhere? Where? 

Validation Link in the email you got when you submitted a DIY by GPS entry.

[Nick]

Thanks - just checked my spam folder and its there - only trouble is it says I applied for an advisory, should that have been a mandatory? Could I get an more stupid?

[Lightning Phil]

Thanks - just checked my spam folder and its there - only trouble is it says I applied for an advisory, should that have been a mandatory? Could I get an more stupid?

Been a while since I did DIY by GPS advisory (too many bridleways here buggering up min distance). But since you used existing controls of a known event the min distance should still work. I used to email the GPS track to the DIY organiser for those.

[Nick]

Thanks a lot - I'll email him and beg for validation then

[Oscar's dad]

Thanks a lot - I'll email him and beg for validation then

You could always go and do the ride again just to be on the safe side 

[tedshred]

When the Cat's Away

It was a select band that assembled at the Sun not that long ago.  One of the issues with all this drinking outside is that we have established a short list of suitable venues so it does get rather samey. 

Late again, I arrived to find Hotblack, Tomsk, Joergen and the Hustler and we were soon joined by William Symington.

Tomsk was on a strict timetable (an actual one not a Joergen "go on twist my arm" one) so we knew we would be without an Elder present for a good part of the night - always a recipe for subversion and off topic ramblings.

Knowing as we now do that the Sun is a far from secure venue for discussing any controversial topics, we did, at least, manage to steer clear of any of those.  Well, we did, apart from the apparently controversial topic of cyclists trying to stay alive on our roads and suggesting some infrastructure improvements.

Tomsk had barely scrunched his way out of the car park than insurrection was in the air.  Hotblack, not content with being the leader of his ti-circle, wants an exclusive inner wheel of ACME which he has christened J.ACME.  Plans are at an advance stage with branded ti mudguards, ti-cap badges and ti-ties all on order.  Not all of our regular venues are able or willing to supply a velvet rope to separate out the hoi polloi so Hotblack has been crafting his own custom version (with ti-handles of course).  Joergen seemed all in favour (it's quite something for a boy from up north to be asked to join something exclusive) but I could see the Hustler already scheming to bring his own brand of anarchy to bear on proceedings.  I forecast much storming of the ti-barricades.

In an effort to calm the situation, I moved the discussion on to a fascinating exploration of marine engineering issues with Symington.  I think even Hotblack might have been losing the plot as we (literally) bored into the minutiae of separate fuseholders for Volvo MD2010s.  How time flew.

We sampled Whitstable Pale Ale and Bishop's Finger.  The latter was the clear winner. 

I managed an uneventful ride home in pleasant temperatures and without being challenged about what I was doing.  It was slower without puffing after Fandango but who cares when it is quiet and warm.

[Nick]

Thanks a lot - I'll email him and beg for validation then

You could always go and do the ride again just to be on the safe side 

Completely un-amazed that I hadn't thought of that myself!

[jiberjaber]

When the Cat's Away

It was a select band that assembled at the Sun not that long ago.  One of the issues with all this drinking outside is that we have established a short list of suitable venues so it does get rather samey. 

Late again, I arrived to find Hotblack, Tomsk, Joergen and the Hustler and we were soon joined by William Symington.

Tomsk was on a strict timetable (an actual one not a Joergen "go on twist my arm" one) so we knew we would be without an Elder present for a good part of the night - always a recipe for subversion and off topic ramblings.

Knowing as we now do that the Sun is a far from secure venue for discussing any controversial topics, we did, at least, manage to steer clear of any of those.  Well, we did, apart from the apparently controversial topic of cyclists trying to stay alive on our roads and suggesting some infrastructure improvements.

Tomsk had barely scrunched his way out of the car park than insurrection was in the air.  Hotblack, not content with being the leader of his ti-circle, wants an exclusive inner wheel of ACME which he has christened J.ACME.  Plans are at an advance stage with branded ti mudguards, ti-cap badges and ti-ties all on order.  Not all of our regular venues are able or willing to supply a velvet rope to separate out the hoi polloi so Hotblack has been crafting his own custom version (with ti-handles of course).  Joergen seemed all in favour (it's quite something for a boy from up north to be asked to join something exclusive) but I could see the Hustler already scheming to bring his own brand of anarchy to bear on proceedings.  I forecast much storming of the ti-barricades.

In an effort to calm the situation, I moved the discussion on to a fascinating exploration of marine engineering issues with Symington.  I think even Hotblack might have been losing the plot as we (literally) bored into the minutiae of separate fuseholders for Volvo MD2010s.  How time flew.

We sampled Whitstable Pale Ale and Bishop's Finger.  The latter was the clear winner. 

I managed an uneventful ride home in pleasant temperatures and without being challenged about what I was doing.  It was slower without puffing after Fandango but who cares when it is quiet and warm.

Oh - you are still alive then! 

I was expecting some story about you being bundled in to the back of a black van somewhere near Abberton Res and having to undergo torture in the form of spending a week in a stress position in some black site in the Dengie!

[Lightning Phil]

Thanks a lot - I'll email him and beg for validation then

You could always go and do the ride again just to be on the safe side 

Completely un-amazed that I hadn't thought of that myself!

I think what Oscar is hinting at, is that he would like to join you on such a repeat

[tedshred]

Oh - you are still alive then! 

I was expecting some story about you being bundled in to the back of a black van somewhere near Abberton Res and having to undergo torture in the form of spending a week in a stress position in some black site in the Dengie!

It wasn't on the Dengie.

[Nick]

Thanks a lot - I'll email him and beg for validation then

You could always go and do the ride again just to be on the safe side 

Completely un-amazed that I hadn't thought of that myself!

I think what Oscar is hinting at, is that he would like to join you on such a repeat

Of course, How insensitive of me. I'm ready when you are, OD

[jiberjaber]

Thanks a lot - I'll email him and beg for validation then

You could always go and do the ride again just to be on the safe side 

Completely un-amazed that I hadn't thought of that myself!

I think what Oscar is hinting at, is that he would like to join you on such a repeat

Of course, How insensitive of me. I'm ready when you are, OD

Watch you don't end up in his hometown of Lowestoft... 

[Nick]

 

[Oscar's dad]

Greetings from Hull, the new Lowestoft 

[jiberjaber]

Greetings from Hull, the new Lowestoft 

Praise teh lord for Car GPS!

[tedshred]

Swanning about.

Sometimes this sitting outside lark is the very thing.  When it's 23 degrees at 7pm and bright sunshine, it's hard to beat a nice pint outdoors in good company.  Who knows, maybe we won't need or want to move back inside next week. 

We could have sat inside last night as our numbers continue to be low.  Just six of us turned up at the Swan in Totham.  Even the famous Witham Peloton had fractured with Huggy turning up early and Doc Brown arriving some time later having tried to avoid the more mountainous parts of the route on his retro-geared steed.  With Doc's ti-based rabble rousing still fresh in everyone minds - it's a bit like the ESL situation in football, Tomsk decided to make a statement entrance on his non-ti machine.  He had clearly spent some time polishing his bright red and chrome wonder machine just outside the venue (perhaps one of his acolytes follows him round with a cleaning kit) and then timed his arrival to coincide with the setting sun sitting at just the right angle so it seemed to be following him into the pub garden as it glinted off his blingy wheels, 'guards and tubes - Lord Flashheart for the modern age.  There was no way Fandango and Tom Dudley (as fellow late arrivals) could compete with such an entrance despite their modern machines.

Perhaps as penance for his rebellious ways, Doc Brown was persuaded to present one of our occasional lecture series.  These usually take place in the winter when we are hunkered down indoors somewhere with the wind whistling ominously outside but Flashheart has plans in place to Make Wednesdays Great Again.  I can safely say I now know everything I need to know about German developments in horizontal FM transmission (1945 to 1967).  I don't know what is next for MWGA but talk of building a wall between Witham and Colchester does seem fanciful.

The Swan usually carries about 5 or 6 ales but they had one about to go off last night from a selection of 3.  With an inquorate QCC, there was little point in moving away from the excellent Amarillo by Crouch Vale which always rewards repeat sampling.

It was still warm by the time we left and the wind had died down to almost nothing.  Unfortunately what should have been a pleasant ride home was marred by Fandango who is now, apparently, my self-appointed cycling coach.  "You're spinning like a baby rhinoceros trying to keep up with his mother" was one of his kinder comments.  Mind you, he was so far ahead, I could barely hear him most of the time.   His turn for home couldn't come soon enough, allowing me to slow down and recover and enjoy the rest of the ride home on unusually empty roads.

MWGA !