Old Squit 200

[rob]

Haven't seen a thread on this yet.

Heading to Norfolk on Saturday for my annual early season dose of norfolkngood TLC.

Weather looks a little milder than of late but looks like the wind will take the edge off a bit.

New shiny bike or Winter hack ?


Rob

[Chris S]

The clue's in the name, Rob - as well you know! Expect extreme Skogg in the lanes, whereas the B-roads are very salty - which also eats shiny bikes.

All being well, we shall be in attendance with the Longstaff - provided my knee heals quickly (bit of an MCL strain).

[coll_coll]

wrap up well - north easterly from the steppes is making it vvvvveeeerrryyy chilly in north suffolk atm, that plus a solid left shoulder after a sports massage last week mean the resolve to get out of bed Sat am will be tested.

[Pip]

New shiny bike or Winter hack ?
Rob

Undercover agent briefed me about the new bike! Take it, you can bond with it on the ride and again when you clean it. 

[Keeff]

It's actually been quite dry here for a couple of weeks, so the lanes are looking ok for the time of year. Spring hasn't arrived here yet, but it's much improved over the last couple of days

We have 80 on the startsheet for the Squit, and 101 for the Mardle, though the fact that so many have free entries after the cancellation of Nips 3 may remove the incentive to turn up for some.

Weather forecasts for Blakeney and Sandringham are on our web pages. 

Keith

[Keeff]

Brevet cards have just arrived, replacing those "lost in the post" last week.

You are thus spared our trial of "home-made" brevet cards.

Keith

[rob]

I am packing the new bike.   It will be OK 'cos Keeff says so.

Setting the alarm for 4am.    See you all at the start.


Rob

[L CC]

Chris was whinging about the weather being grim, this morning, and speaking as the person who went out 'running' in it, I told him to shut up.

There's no ice, it's not raining, and it's not blowing a gale. Considering how it's been lately, that counts as a win.

There's a lot of field filth on the roads but it's not loose & sloppy because it's been mostly dry. I agree with Keeff- your bike will be fine.
It's going to be a big test of my willpower to turn down the Norfolk'n'Good spread.

[Chris S]

Chris was whinging about the weather being grim, this morning, and speaking as the person who went out 'running' in it, I told him to shut up.

You were a bit grumpy, 'tis true  .

[rob]

Chris was whinging about the weather being grim, this morning, and speaking as the person who went out 'running' in it, I told him to shut up.

There's no ice, it's not raining, and it's not blowing a gale. Considering how it's been lately, that counts as a win.

There's a lot of field filth on the roads but it's not loose & sloppy because it's been mostly dry. I agree with Keeff- your bike will be fine.
It's going to be a big test of my willpower to turn down the Norfolk'n'Good spread.

Presumably you are ECEing ?

[L CC]

Presumably you are ECEing ?

Not this year.
I have to be back in time to pretend to be nice to my children.

[deejay]

See you all at the start. I am bringing the new(ish) bike too 

John T.

[Chris S]

Finally - after three months of dark, cold, often wet and interminable DIYs, we completed a calendar event!

Great day out too. The sun shone, boab took pictures from the engine room, our knees held out (with considerable medical assistance, it has to be said) and it was only slightly cold in the light breeze. There were skylarks skylarking, snow-drops everywhere, even a couple of daffs. No Skogg as the roads were too dry. The sea at Bacton didn't look very inviting though...

Usual excellent TLC from the Norfolkngood crew. Caught up with a few YACF regulars, and made the acquaintance of Wilkyboy riding his Brompton in purposeful manner.

[Lars]

Finally - after three months of dark, cold, often wet and interminable DIYs, we completed a calendar event!

Great day out too. The sun shone, boab took pictures from the engine room, our knees held out (with considerable medical assistance, it has to be said) and it was only slightly cold in the light breeze. There were skylarks skylarking, snow-drops everywhere, even a couple of daffs. No Skogg as the roads were too dry. The sea at Bacton didn't look very inviting though...

Usual excellent TLC from the Norfolkngood crew. Caught up with a few YACF regulars, and made the acquaintance of Wilkyboy riding his Brompton in purposeful manner.

Indeed jolly stonking smashing pre-spring day innit. Different from last year - lanes passing next to the Pig Metropolis were dry albeit a bit dusty. And with rain absent at the penultimate control Sea Palling this time around wasn't Sea Appalling. Wind pretty much non-existent. And as a bonus nice conversations with also for me new acquaintance and fellow Cambridge-Audaxer Wilkyboy on pre and post ride train rides! Who even had over-bought post-ride snacks he kindly offered! 

[L CC]

Happy New Bike

[Mathman]

Thanks again to the crew for waiting for the tail-enders. I arrived with Jan Roberts at Sandringham and left him after refreshments with the expectation that he'd catch me soon. The slight tail-wind and rolling hills through spectacular scenery obviously spurred me on as I'd finished my soup at Salthouse and was thinking of carrying on when Jan got there.
Across North East Norfolk to the Happisburgh Triangle where my GPS decided to have its own idea, rather than follow the printed word. Firstly around the mean back streets of Happisburgh, then down to Cart Gap where it wanted to follow the unmade road beneath the dunes. As I had only battery lights and dusk was coming on, I mutinied then ignored the left turn to Eccles Gap but ended up with an alternate route down the Marrans to the café and a frozen Fraser.
Jan eventually caught me up and, after the 'very nice man' at the closed café offered us a milky coffee, we set off together on the home leg, arriving in 13:20, half-an-hour before closure. Another great Norfolk'n'good promotion!

[deejay]

A Massive thanks to Keith and Sue for looking after us all so well; such wonderful soup and cakes and thanks for ordering the sun shine in the afternoon.

I too found my self riding with Rob and Wilkyboy (very impressive to ride a 200 on a Brompton that quick) some of the time and then finally in the last 10k. Also, a big thanks to the guy on the Giant with the tri-bars as we did a 'two-up' time trial from Sea Palling back to HQ; to be honest by the time we had caught Rob and Wilkyboy in their group I was pretty 'cooked'. I am not sure what happened to Mr Tri-bars as we arrived at HQ, I was going thank you there but lost you.

The New(ish) bike survived if a little dusty this morning. Only problem is a bottle cage boss that rattles; I guess that will be another thread on here at some point.

As I loaded the car to go home, it was getting dark and the temperature dropped down to zero quickly; in fact I got rather cold and had to go back into HQ to warm up before I was comfortable enough to drive safely.

Here's to next time. 

John T.

[wilkyboy]

That was a blast!! So good to get a dry calendar ride in and sooo much better than riding subzero moonlit DIYs at 2am -- I really enjoyed that!!  It was good to meet so many yacf'ers and others -- faces to names and all that 

As Chris said: lots of larking and snow-dropping and not a lot of breeze.  It was good to meet you both, put faces to names -- it was short-lived, though, because as Chris and Boab accelerated down a hill like a steam train (truly astonishingly quick), I was getting slower and slower ... um, puncture.  First of the season, out with the spanners and CO2.

Being as this was only my fifth audax and only my second calendar ride, I found I am much quicker riding with others than on my own: sub-10 hours (~8:15 moving) versus 12 hours on my own; it's also a lot more interesting having people to chat with!  I hooked up with that fast group on the front for the first 50 and paid for it over the next 150 -- winter fitness definitely not the same as summer fitness    That said, with the speed of the first leg and Rob's and Thorn-rider's help particularly on the final leg and numerous other riders and groups along the way (thank you all), we managed to shave well over an hour off my best 200 time this season -- it's important for the family, y'see, because I was home in time for dinner 

   

Thank you to JohnT (above) for relentlessly lifting me onto the back of various groups.  Thank you to one of the Norwich VC riders (I think) for the unwanted doughnut at Sea Palling -- mmmm, tasty! Thank you to Rob (and his new bike, above) for dragging me and my dodgy knee all the way back to Norwich (that looks a very nice bike -- one day I'll try fixed, see if I could handle it).  Thank you Lars' for your suggestion on the train back to Cambridge, I have something to research re. my dodgy knees: iliotibial band syndrome.

And thank you to Keith and Sue and your army of helpers -- lots of love and soup and cake, mmm

That's March done for RRTY    (only seven more to go).  Now I need to start getting two in per month to build the fitness for LEL.  End of Hibernation's next for me, I think; or Up the Uts; or both (and possible divorce  ).  See you there!

[rob]

2 photos in one thread.   Must upgrade the bike more often.

Got up at 4 for a quiet drive Northwards, getting to the start just after 7.   Set off on my own and was soon overhauled by the ChrisS/fboab tandem.   We chatted for a few minutes but my HRM was bleeping at me so I let them go.   I was then passed by a few fast groups, but let them get on with it.   I prefer not to be in big groups as I find the pace a bit difficult to judge on the fixed.   I climb slowly but I find that club teams slow down to regroup at the top of hills which is just where my pace starts to pick up.

Rolled into Sandringham at 11 and had a short break.   I then set off alone but picked up Wilkyboy after he'd had a fairy visit and I'd had a faff with the routesheet.   We passed the miles discussing a range of issues and also picked up deejay.   The revelation of this part was that deejay is 2 stone lighter than me for the same height and I've lot a stone in the last 2 months.   The VC Norwich train picked us up again and I eventually let the group go preferring to roll into Salthouse on my own.   Had a great lunch here and was away after 15 mins.

I rode the next stretch with Dave from Ipswich.   This was his first 200 as training for LEL.   He has a history in ultra marathons and is ex-army.  I can't see him struggling as I was pushing to stay with him at times.   The sun was finally out and I felt warm for the first time in weeks.   At Sea Palling I had the customary bag of doughnuts.   It is the seaside after all.

Myself, Dave and Wilkyboy set off at 4 for the last 40k which were uneventful.   We picked up a few more people as we pootled back past where my old University residences used to be - now a housing estate.   Finished in 9h45 which is good for the time of year.   Glad I wasn't out much later as it turned chilly while we were in the hall.

Good to see a lot of old friends again.   Thanks to the norfolkngood team.   Will be back again but it may now be next year.


Rob

[oldcycler]

My best days cycling since September, thanks especially to the tender care of the NorfolknGood team who finally managed to get a good day for one of their events. Norfolk has never looked better. Previous posters have covered nearly every aspect of the ride. I now recognise a few more people, thank you for your kind words as you passed me, often regularly! More Spring weather please.

[deejay]

   

I am going to take a wild guess and say these must have been taken somewhere near Binham?

JohnT.

[wilkyboy]

I am going to take a wild guess and say these must have been taken somewhere near Binham?

Yes, the village before: Wighton.  I took some other photos over my shoulder à la Boab but hardly anybody I recognised ended up in the frame (clearly more practise is required).

[L CC]

It's a very hit and miss approach.
(Refuses to post pictures comprising solely of arse/shoulder/hair/road)

However, I think we need to add some stars to this thread:

The Smoother-of-Issues


and the soup-royalty

[Mathman]

Gastronomic Note
The route passed Mrs Temple's Farm in Wighton. Home of Binham Blue Cheese as used in the Queen Mum's 80^th Birthday Banquet. As I have a piece maturing in my fridge I refrained from picking any up. The offer of Mussels at £5 a bag in Blakeney was difficult to pass up but an extra couple of kilograms were not really required.

[wilkyboy]

However, I think we need to add some stars to this thread:

Splendid!  Well said!  Rightly so!