Our first was Ron Fisher in Haughley, our second was Peter S-W approaching the A140 crossing, and our third was TomTom at the Dog crossroads in Norton, when all were stationary. Yes, amazingly these were all tumbles. Ron isn't quite clear how he found himself heading for the tarmac as we edged our way through a queue of traffic at roadworks in Haughley. He was on his own, at the front of the second group. My picture shows Justin fettling Ron's steed
.
Poor Peter S-W got caught as the penultimate rider in the line as a 'hesitation' near the front as we singled out for a following car was magnified (as on motorways) as it moved back to become an emergency stop. TomTom would rather not discuss his incident. It is a sad fact that the slowest of falls is still capable of inflicting pain. Sharon mentioned the 'Commando Roll' but it takes practice to learn how and presence of mind to remember to put it into practice. I vividly remember Brian Starr losing his balance as we all stood around in the Square at Cesenatico waiting for our guides to arrive. He fell, yes, but disconnected his other foot as he went down, rolled away from his bike and stood up in one smooth movement.
Our destination was Wickham Market, and the excellent Café that has taken over from the excellent lady who used to run it and who now has another café - tiny, but excellent - near the far corner of the Market Square. We rode through beautiful autumnal countryside on tiny lanes of TomTom's choosing. I was keenly aware that I should be taking some autumnal pics for the 2012 Calendar (did I mention that before?) but I've come to realise that I have far too many shots from the back of the bunch, and I'm reluctant to get into organising 'ambush' shots from ahead.
.Poor Peter S-W got caught as the penultimate rider in the line as a 'hesitation' near the front as we singled out for a following car was magnified (as on motorways) as it moved back to become an emergency stop. TomTom would rather not discuss his incident. It is a sad fact that the slowest of falls is still capable of inflicting pain. Sharon mentioned the 'Commando Roll' but it takes practice to learn how and presence of mind to remember to put it into practice. I vividly remember Brian Starr losing his balance as we all stood around in the Square at Cesenatico waiting for our guides to arrive. He fell, yes, but disconnected his other foot as he went down, rolled away from his bike and stood up in one smooth movement.
Our destination was Wickham Market, and the excellent Café that has taken over from the excellent lady who used to run it and who now has another café - tiny, but excellent - near the far corner of the Market Square. We rode through beautiful autumnal countryside on tiny lanes of TomTom's choosing. I was keenly aware that I should be taking some autumnal pics for the 2012 Calendar (did I mention that before?) but I've come to realise that I have far too many shots from the back of the bunch, and I'm reluctant to get into organising 'ambush' shots from ahead.
Excellent time at the Wickham Market Café. They coped well with 18 or so riders. Justin kept intoning "Café of the year Café of the year". I went for the two scone strategy to ensure sufficient fuel for the rest of the event/race/clubrun. The scones were just the correct side of firm - I'd say they weighed twice as much as last Sunday's at Mistley. So I had the equivalent of four. A senior moment (and at this point, because I've not mentioned it so far this year, I would like to point out that I aso have the option of blond moments making life twice as hazardous) I ordered an Espresso instead of a Cappuccino. Boy was I glad I made the error. It was without doubt the best Espresso I've had this year. Glynn, you should've been there.It was getting a bit late when we left, and I compounded this by my tyre going down within 150 yds of the Café. Pretty rapid tube change despite the Conti tyre being very tight on the Mavic rim. I normally carry a device for levering tight tyres over rims, but I'd left it behind. Mark H whipped out something that impressed us all. It looked like an oversized crochet-hook with a large shank/handle. He was so swift that we didn't really get a chance to inspect it. Mark made it clear that he couldn't possibly take it out again, on the same principle that people used to think Sherpas observed with their Kukris - that should only be taken out in anger [a brief Google has established this as a myth. They're used for chopping wood as well as enemies] All Mark would confirm was that he bought it from Taurus Cycles in Cambridge in the 1980s.
We rode steadily, with a welcome tale wind all the way home - but somehow I didn't arrive until
after two o'clock. Justin and I had discussed this earlier, we feel that we must get home by one o'clock in general. Maybe we spend too much time sitting down in the Cafe?
An observation following this ride. Crashes take up more time than punctures. Having made that statement, here are a few more that you'll hear on a clubrun and during the tea stop. This is by no means a complete list, and contributions would be most welcome. Remember that these nuggets of wisdom are only ever expressed as absolutes. Just think about this recently published result of a comprehensive survey: a cyclist will develop five new strongly held beliefs for each year (after the first one) of regular club riding.
"Ride close, but not too close, faster, but not too fast, don't dawdle, slow down, junction, take care, keep going, keep moving, hole right, hole left, turn left, on the left, on the right, single out, line out, left front, right front, puncture, keep tight move in, move out, look behind, look ahead, do this at all times/not at all/never. No! Not like that, like this. Or this. Or that. And another thing to bear in mind at all times/when you're tired/ at the beginning of every ride/throughout a
group ride/when on your own/riding a two up, when you're training, don't over train, get the miles in, no substitute for mileage,train smart not long, running ruins your riding, cross-training gives you flexibility, always/never stretch before/after exercise, your saddle's too high/low, did you know you were lopsided on the bike? Did you know your brake blocks are back to front/your tyres should be the other way round, your levers are too high/too low, your 'bars are too wide/narrow? Riding in the rain improves your sex life, racing saddles make you impotent, you shave your legs to look like a racer, facilitate massage/make wound dressing easier, because your mates do it, it's more aerodynamic, always/never have a good meal before and/or after a ride,a dump before your ride will save more weight than a carbon fibre bottle cage - or frame."
group ride/when on your own/riding a two up, when you're training, don't over train, get the miles in, no substitute for mileage,train smart not long, running ruins your riding, cross-training gives you flexibility, always/never stretch before/after exercise, your saddle's too high/low, did you know you were lopsided on the bike? Did you know your brake blocks are back to front/your tyres should be the other way round, your levers are too high/too low, your 'bars are too wide/narrow? Riding in the rain improves your sex life, racing saddles make you impotent, you shave your legs to look like a racer, facilitate massage/make wound dressing easier, because your mates do it, it's more aerodynamic, always/never have a good meal before and/or after a ride,a dump before your ride will save more weight than a carbon fibre bottle cage - or frame."SJH
No comments:
Post a Comment