Friday Night Ride To The Coast - 14th November

[JT]

Tim summed it up quite nicely there. I was in fact the tail-end charlie when my tyre went bang.

I used those tyres (Conti GP4000S) for the first 6 months of the year and before that a pair of normal GP4000 tyres without any problems so I don't know how what went wrong.

Still that will teach me to talk about not having had a puncture for 3 years (as I did on the Golden Pootle).

[her_welshness]

'Still that will teach me to talk about not having had a puncture for 3 years (as I did on the Golden Pootle)'

JT - Sue told me yesterday about your conversation last week - the funny thing was on our ride yesterday, after she had talked about it of course, two riders had punctures at the very same time, then when we got to the station another occurrence!

[αdαmsκι]

I've got someone's back light (apparently he was on the train after mine)  Blue Ribble?

That'll be mine.  I will send you a PM tomorrow or Tuesday about getting it back.  I would do it now but I am about to rush off to the train station.

[marna]

JT - Sue told me yesterday about your conversation last week - the funny thing was on our ride yesterday, after she had talked about it of course, two riders had punctures at the very same time, then when we got to the station another occurrence!

It sounds catching, and you are talking about it to *loads* of people! The whole internet might get a puncture.

*has urge to go and check her tyres*

[nuttycyclist]

I keep warning people about the P*nct*re Fairy, but they just laugh at me

[Jasper the surreal cyclist]

Not the only reason they laugh......

[Charlotte]

For me, that was one of my absolute favorite FNRttCs ever.

Liz and I had prepared for a really cold one and we were both wearing fluffy roubaix bib longs and our padded winter jackets.  As it was, the coldest thing about the ride was Martin's impromptu chemistry lesson at HPC - I shudder to think what Her Majesty's constabulary would have thought if they'd have happened upon the scene...

Fewer than twenty of us made for a lovely tight little group and after we set off from Clapham Common (so sorry you had to pack, JT) we absolutely flew down to Gatwick.  Now that we're nicely comfortable on the new tandem, Liz and I managed a PB of 70.8kph down Reigate Hill and despite being a bit out of condition, I don't think we were too shoddy on the ups either.

There were some magnificent lights on display, including Adrian's new IQ Cyo.  I wish mine would hurry up and come because that thing is just awesome.  We can navigate in the pitch black at silly speeds with the Solidlights, but when Adrian shimmied up behind us, it was like some unseen hand had flicked on the stadium flood lights and it was game time.

Mind you - have you seen Adrian's home-built SON wheel?  I'm not sure I'd be so comfortable with missing out every other spoke...



The highly trained baristas at Costalottacoffee were as eager as ever to get us all served as quickly as possible^* and it was lovely to see the very dashing Tourist Tony, resplendent in his uniform at the airport.  Sadly and yet again, I wasn't allowed to ride Josephine on the the travelator, so we had to walk to the exit and slip off into the night.

Still quite mild, we made incredible time as the pace was wound up faster and faster.  Layers were removed and foreheads mopped on the way south and up Turner's Hill.  We made Ditchling before dawn (first time we've done that in a while) and at the greenhouses there was a welcome mixture of chocolate, flasks of rum-laced coffee and al fresco micturition.

Ditchling Beacon itself was harder than I remember, but oh so worth it because, as Liz said - we managed to set off the speed camera on the way down Ditchling Road into Brighton...

We are bad, bad cyclists 

Then there was tea, breakfast and a train home.  What better way could there be to spend a Friday night?



_{^*Statement may contain lies or traces of lies...}

[Martin]

Having experienced the Costa Coffee effect once before I decided as I was up on the floor above for a Jimmy Riddle to see what alternatives there were in Gatwick Village; there's a nice Caffe Nero with zero queue; they even saw my hiviz jacket and offered me staff discount (which I declined)

[Jurek]

there's a nice Caffe Nero with zero queue;

You'll wish you'd kept that quiet the next time the FNRttC swans through there in the early hours.......   

[Martin]

there's a nice Caffe Nero with zero queue;

You'll wish you'd kept that quiet the next time the FNRttC swans through there in the early hours.......   

there's always Maison Zoom (with 2 new friendly cats these days) if you are stuck for midway stop

[Adrian]

Mind you - have you seen Adrian's home-built SON wheel?  I'm not sure I'd be so comfortable with missing out every other spoke...

I think that it would probably be best if that is made a time limited experiment and cut off before it all ends in tears.

[αdαmsκι]

there's always Maison Zoom (with 2 new friendly cats these days) if you are stuck for midway stop

I wouldn't mention that in the hearing of Mr. Legg or else you'll suddenly find 60+ cyclists raiding your kitchen for anything remotely edible at 3am.

[Justin(e)]

There appears that a bon mot that has been omitted from the ride reports.

Just as Plato felt obliged to record the wisdom of Socrates and the four evangelists wrote down His words, I feel I owe a duty to history to ensure that Hummers' wit is not lost to posterity.

Via Text:
Aunty C: "We are having pasta for dinner, do you want some?"

H: "No thanks, I am happy to just sit on the couch and watch you two munching away with something warm and milky in my hands."

[Hummers]

Via Text:
Aunty C: "Okay.....see you later"

H: "Yes, I will be quite content to watch you two munching away while I sit on the sofa with something hot and milky cupped in my hands"

FTFY.

H