FNRttC to Brighton - November 27th

[Tim Hall]

Hummers dear boy, lovely to have ridden with you.

I thought about binning it as we swept hrough Crawley. Turn left instead of right and I'd be tucked up in my scratcher. Except I didn't have a key. I did get asked by one of the Heselteenies (wearing the brightest pink shorts) if my house also featured a spare bed, hot shower and warm towels.

I did go through a short phase of planning alternative accommodation for the Northern Belles but wondered how Mrs. Hall would react if I turned up with four bedraggled beauties at stupid o'clock.

But, yes, overall, great fun. Mind you as I tried to follow Simon up Portnoy's ComplaintPortnall's Lane with lungs exploding, head spinning and calves complaining it wasn't so enjoyable.

VAR tyre levers rock. Thrice I whipped mine out, once after Simon asked did I have tool like Wowbagger, once when I asked Pippa how hard she liked it (cue sniggering from Jurek) and once only minutes after we'd set off from the Cabin Cafe.

And another thing: Quick release skewers - you don't have to remove them. One count of lost spring (washed away in a torrent) and one count of searching for the knob suggests this is a practice to be avoided.

And Pippa. "Alchoholic Chocolate" she said. Mmmm. Food groups, innit. We carefully looked after scoffed the parcel you bequeathed on your departure. Mmmm.

The biggest applause goes to Katarzyna. A steady pace, spun gold hair, a winning smile. Until last night her longest ride was 7 miles, or so I understood. Right in at the deep end I think.


Note the trail of smut and innuendo visible in the left of the frame.

The rest (not many of them) are here

[TimO]

... As for the planned ride from Brighton to Portmouth, that was torn up about 1km into the ride.  We were making such terrible progress into the Westerly wind that we turned around and let it blow us to Hove station. ...

Having had to drop onto my granny gear, to get from the cafe to the mini-roundabout along the front, I can't say I'm surprised.  I am amazed that you did so much additional mileage on top of the FNRttC, but I guess a lot of that was essential in getting home.  I was knackered after the hill into Brighton station!  The last mile from East Croydon to home was a relief.

I've only just really recovered with a lazy Sunday morning, and now need to pop up the road and get replacements for the two tyres I gave to those who needed them on Saturday monrning (both of whom gave me cash to replace them, I must add).

That was a fairly epic ride, and congratulations to all who completed the Wet FNRttC of November 2009, which should be immortalised in song, but the best we can probably hope for is a dirty limerick.

[Swarm_Catcher]

My thoughts on my blog Clicky.

Photos here: Clicky

Thanks Simon and TECs!

[Arthur]

As posted elsewhere...

This ride will, I’m sure, hold a special place in my memory, despite me spending half the night fervently wishing I was somewhere warm and dry instead.

The moon was shining when we set off and I wondered if the weather forecast had been a bit pessimistic. I soon discovered that it hadn’t.

My Altura waterproof jacket and my Nightvision waterproof gloves, both of which had performed well last winter, were no longer up to the job of coping with a deluge. My overshoes did manage to keep out the water right up to the point where I rode through a very deep puddle. Grrr, sodden feet.

The bacon sandwich and mug of tea at the Cabin café were extremely welcome and I really didn’t want to put those wet things back on when it was time to leave.

Although it had stopped raining by the time we left the Cabin I found the next hour or so the hardest of the night. My hands always suffer from the cold and, courtesy of my wet gloves, for a while I could hardly feel my fingers. Thankfully there was no sudden braking to do and, as my gloves started to dry, sensation gradually returned.

Just after it got light we passed a small river in flood, and some of the fields had a lot of surface water covering them. For a while we had blue skies and even a bit of sunshine, but a band of cloud hung menacingly over the coast and it rained again briefly as we rode into Brighton.

It was great to sit in the warmth of the Madeira café, one minute watching the sunlight playing on the waves, the next minute watching more rain lashing down onto the prom.

It was certainly a night to remember!

The photographs I managed to take <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/K0M6rO1RUBs&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/K0M6rO1RUBs&rel=1</a>

[LEE]

Some photos, not many because I kept my phone bagged up in a brevet card bag a much as I could.

The "Faccombe 5"  - LEE, Keeks, Urban_Biker, Swarm_Catcher & Chillmoister


Chillmoister & Urban_Biker can smell the bacon from there


Long queue but superb service. 


Keeks is now an ex-member of the Wide-Awake-Club (his excuse being it was 04:40 on Saturday morning, he was soaking wet, cold, was sat close to a log burning stove and had just eaten a bacon roll washed down with a cuppa)


That's me on the right.  I have no idea who that is on my left but she looks up for it


Keeks, now wearing all his belongings seeks tea in Brighton


People shivering with excitement as they wait for food (possibly shivering with cold)

[Hummers]

The photographs I managed to take are here

I thought it was just me who saw the Unicorns.  

I was able to renact some of the more challenging aspects of the ride by going out today.

Including the falling off hurty bit.  

H

[TimO]

Long queue but superb service. 

You're not kidding, I must have been near the end of the queue, I had just got my cup of tea, turned around to look for a seat and there was a cry of "Number 17", which was my ticket.  Time between order and delivery was less than 1 minute.  That's what I call service.

[Hummers]

Ah the pink ensemble.

Absolutely spiffy and a reminder to all not to take this cycling lark too seriously.

 

H

[Swarm_Catcher]

Looks like Chillmoister & Urban_Biker were on a different ride from the guy on the right.

Chillmoister & Urban_Biker can smell the bacon from there

[Riggers]

I did feel for you chaps. Wasn't the weather awful! I lay in bed listening to it thinking of you… if that helps? Mind you, I still went for the usual run over the Downs and my shoes and lower legs got a bit muddy, so it wasn't all plain sailing by any means.

[keeks]

My first FNRTTC was the same as my first Audax , wet and cold, but I am still riding Audax and I intend to do another of these rides

Thanks to all who provided cake and alcoholic stuff disguised as cake and indeed alcohol. Also Tim O for providing me with an inner tube, as I used mine earlier just to get to the start!!!

I was most impressed with Simon and his helpers  and the traffic stopping power with that hand signal 

It was nice to get positive reaction from the Londoners as we trundled through.

Regrets , damn I forgot the mead Els had got for me    Other than that it was a thumbs up 

[TimO]

I believe this is the route we took on Friday.

I had to turn my Satmap Active 10 off around about where the B2114 meets the B2115 shortly before Cuckfield.  I was searching for train bail out points ^[1] for the guy with the almost missing QR skewer end, and water managed to get into the controls (the rubber gasket has partially failed).  I still had the IgotU GPS logger in my pannier, but due to it's small antenna, random orientation in my pannier, and a ten second sample rate, the quality of the tracks that it produces are very poor.  I used it as a guide to hand add the final 17 miles onto the route, and together with Google imagery, I think I followed the rights bits of the cycle path around the A23.

I bought a couple of replacement inner tubes yesterday (very organised), and utterly failed to pack them in my pannier this morning for the commute (less organised!).  I owe you 1p Keeks, they were £4-99 each.

I'm now awaiting the puncture at the 6 mile halfway point on the way home.  I do have a puncture repair kit, but repairing a tyre whilst freezing my CENSOREDs off, is not my idea of fun!

Footnote [1]: For anyone who does ever need to bail out around there, it's a five mile walk to Haywards Heath!

[LEE]

I'm now awaiting the puncture at the 6 mile halfway point on the way home.  I do have a puncture repair kit, but repairing a tyre whilst freezing my CENSOREDs off, is not my idea of fun!

I'm contemplating some of those chemical handwarmers packs for such an event.  Anyone used them?

[cpjmathieson]

I'm now awaiting the puncture at the 6 mile halfway point on the way home.  I do have a puncture repair kit, but repairing a tyre whilst freezing my CENSOREDs off, is not my idea of fun!

I'm contemplating some of those chemical handwarmers packs for such an event.  Anyone used them?

I wouldn't be without my chemical handwarmers in winter....got mine last year from Aldi 2 for 99p

[Jasper the surreal cyclist]

Been on a few of these rides now. Wettest one yet. At Faygate I decided to head home to Bognor. Did my last bit of waymarking at Tower Road and set off for a solitary ride home. Caught a whole herd of deer thingies in my lights and tried to tack through a sod of a headwind. Made it home and straight into a warm bath. I did get to the coast, just not the same bit as everybody else. Baths are wet but nice, cycling clothes are wet but not nice, not nice at all.

[Tim Hall]

Phew. Not-so-Meaty Confrere alive and well then.

[Jasper the surreal cyclist]

Just cooking some chops so will up my meaty quotient soon....

[Jurek]

At Faygate I decided to head home to Bognor. Did my last bit of waymarking at Tower Road and set off for a solitary ride home.

Formidable.

[Hummers]

Just cooking some chops so will up my meaty quotient soon....

Good to meet you again and hopefully will see you on the road soon.

H

[Pippa]

I'm contemplating some of those chemical handwarmers packs for such an event.  Anyone used them?

I took a load of them skiing in Canada in January. The warmth lasted about....oooo.....a minute. And they weren't even that warm.

Then again, it was Canada in January.....

My conclusion: disappointing and I'm not sure I'd waste money on them again. But, that was a tough test. YMMV.

[Tim Hall]

Saw heated gloves in Maplin on Sunday.  Unfortunately they only run for 45 minutes off a set of AAA cells.

[Jurek]

Saw heated gloves in Maplin on Sunday.  Unfortunately they only run for 45 minutes off a set of AAA cells.

 
You've been to The Shop Where Women Are Not Allowed!!!!
 

[Adrian]

Is it a rule? I had assumed it was self-exclusion but there might be a sign on the door.

[Riggers]

If a woman actually stepped through that Geek's sex shop, the chaps would probably run around like headless chickens muttering "Wo-man Wooo-man", bumping into things, or having accidents in their pants. Or both.

[Jasper the surreal cyclist]

That would be both then....