12 reasons why group rides don't suck!

This weeks blog has been fueled by an article in Road CC 11 reasons why group rides suck! Let's get one thing very clear...THEY DON'T SUCK!!!

I've only been on my bike twice this week and only ran once. This is largely due to work...because even if you have a job like mine which is both satisfying and worthwhile...you still have to prioritise work over the hugely enjoyable hobby of cycling.

Ride number one was the long awaited return of Corby Capers cyclocross training. Massive thanks to the good people of Rockingham Forest Wheelers for sorting this out with extra special mentions to Mike, Phil, Sean and David. I can't tell you how much I have missed Corby Capers and Muddy Marvels. We had a great session with the new light sabres to illuminate the course. Technically not a group ride but there was a group of us and we did ride so...number 1 riding in a dark field and woods on your own would be rubbish...with your mates you haven't seen in ages its a lot of fun!!!

On Saturday I had another great group ride with the Cyclasylum. Reason number 2 I have had loads of really enjoyable group rides!

The morning didn't start well. That troublesome tyre had lost pressure again so I put more air in. At 80 psi the problem became apparent. This massive gash overwhelmed the sealant and just to really take the mickey was virtually invisible on a deflated tyre. To sort it out I removed the tyre, glued the gash and put an inner tube patch on the inside. Due to being an otherwise excellent tyre it took about five minutes to refit and I can report the fix was successful. 

Having spent time on this there was no chance I could join the early birds and I was very nearly late for the mellow birds. There was of course some banter about punctuality as I turned up. Which is reason number 2...group rides have tonnes of banter even when you're limited by the rule of 6.

The route created by Steve M was heading west from K Town towards Long Buckby and as usual for undulating Northants was a total hill fest. In our group we rode our own pace on the hills and then got back together to help each other. Reason 3 we help each other on group rides. Reason 4 drafting. 

Between Loddington and Foxhall, Mike tried to remove his gillet whilst riding. He slowed down to do this and £12k of carbon fibre and lycra was overtaken by a lady in a high vis jacket on a cheap hybrid. She definitely saw the funny side of this! Reason 5 there's always something funny going on.

At Haselbech we went down that infamous hill. As it can be sketchy they let me go first. I seem to have a reputation as a skilled descender...the truth is I enjoy the thrill of hurtling downhill a little too much! Its definitely more stupidity than skill! The hill itself lulls you into a false sense of security because the sketchy bit is on the flat at the bottom. There's a slight bend where the road gets lumpy and there's also a large patch of gravel. The only way to tackle this is to hold on for dear life and stay off your brakes! Reason 6 if you crash in a group your mates are there to help you!

As the ride progressed towards Long Buckby I misjudged a hill and ended up on the wrong side of the road on a bend. Luckily for me no cars were coming the other way. This is a good reminder to rein myself in! I'm definitely not as good as I sometimes think.

On the gated roads we caught up with group one which was mostly early birds and they kindly held the gate open for us. We had a banana break at the other end so returned the favour. 

During the break we had a good chat about life the universe and everything. Its not all banter on a group ride, there are interesting conversations too. Reason 7 ride conversations Reason 8 you always learn something new on a group ride!

The hills continued such as the one into Guilsborough, then Long Buckby, Ravensthorpe and the three lung busters to Teeton, Spratton and then Brixworth. Steve D led the way up each hill whilst telling us his Garmin hill data. What goes up must come down. The descents were glorious and on wider, straighter roads, a little less risky! Those hills can be demoralising on a solo ride but in a group with others encouraging you they are far less daunting. Reason 8 supporting each other.

I opted out of the coffee stop, mostly because I wanted to get home for the Merseyside Derby. I enjoy most sports, football is way down my list of favourites with rugby, cricket and cycling in the top three. However Everton are my Premier League team and they're doing well for a change. So no golden chai latte and cake for me. However reason 9 for group rides not sucking is the cafe stop. The cafe stop I missed was the Workhouse in Brixworth, a very good cafe!!! 

On the ride Mike had complimentary things to say about the cleanliness of my bike. I let him know I use a hose, carplan demon foam and a brush. It takes 5 minutes. The bike needed it because the roads were in their usual minging autumnal state!

Reason 10 talking about bikes.

When I got home I was on 49 miles which is a stupid number so I had a spin round the block until my wahoo got to 50...then Strava was its usual pillock and changed this to 49.97 miles!!!

However once in the house with the bike cleaned everything felt good in the world. This is reason 11. Group rides are good for the soul. They are a vital part of my emotional wellbeing and my physical fitness. I haven't missed a day of work through sickness for years and I'm convinced that cycling, especially group rides are the reason for this.

Reason 12, group rides inspire me to write. I enjoy writing this blog, there's about 60 people who read it most weeks and most of them are people I have enjoyed riding with. I'm never going to make money or win literary prizes but that really isn't important to me.

Group rides don't suck in my opinion. They're brilliant.

Happy Pedalling 

It's okay when you're out!!!

No blog last week because it was a bit of a washout and I stayed in by the fire!

This week I've got back on it. I enjoyed coaching at the cyclones again on Monday, through the week I had a couple of runs and some roller sessions. This weekend I got out for some proper riding!

Saturday was fondo day for the cyclasylum. We decided to postpone to this weekend because of the weather last weekend. For those who don't know, a Gran Fondo is a long ride, for us it's a monthly challenge on Strava. 

I was undecided on what I wanted to do but having reviewed Marcus' route I decided to meet the others in Harrington. I didn't tell anyone this so I didn't expect anyone to know my plans...the truth was I still hadn't decided if I wanted to go full fondo, do my own shorter ride or whatever. Group 1 whizzed past and I got some hellos but didn't really know what was going on. I could see more riders in the distance so  I thought there must be two groups. I tried to catch group one but trying to catching up with Graham et al in a stiff headwind wasn't going to happen. So  I eased off and Mike and Richard G caught me up. We agreed to ride as a three and then to our surprise Mark, Paul and Neil joined us in Kelmarsh. So that was our group of 6!

As you can see it was full winter clobber all round. Everyone was doing something different with some early birds 🐦 and all starting from different places. Paul will need to invest in winter gloves though!

We'd just had a chat about how clean Mark's bike was when the route took an interesting turn. This started as tarmac, turned to gravel and ended up as thick mud. Mike ploughed on through and loving this sort of thing I was laughing my socks off as I slipped and slid through puddles. Group one apparently abandoned this particular folly. Apparently my group decided they better follow me as I'd just ridden on through it! 

Not really road bike suitable

Once back on tarmac some furious bike cleaning took place with sticks and leaves. Other cycling groups looked at us oddly due to our muddy state. A group of MTBers rode past looking cleaner than us! For some reason my rear tyre lost pressure, I tried to carry on and it kept losing...I started to worry a tubeless fail was immenent. However we confused the hell out of some temporary lights as I pumped back up leant against the stop sign. Pressure was returned with no further issues and my tyre remains firm the next day.

Neil on the other hand was less lucky. His tubeless tyre set up appeared very odd. We soon found out why...he had inner tubes! Poor Neil was clearly confused by the whole situation and with the usual onslaught of unhelpful banter his skills deserted him. We decided to abandon the traditional approach of pointing and commenting to actually help out. After less than twenty minutes or as Mark said, the time it took for an entire weather front to pass over, we were on our way again.

We made it to the cafe in Catthorpe to discover only outdoor seating available. It was a nice touch for cyclists but on a cold wet day we didn't wish to hang around.

A few miles later our middle aged bladders were struggling in the cold and we stopped for one of several pee stops. 

Richard G managed to step in something unpleasant and more sticks were deployed to help Richard the turd. We then carried on with better weather in front of us and rain chasing us on what was now a tailwind. 

After Naesby we joined the quiet lane back to Kelmarsh. This section made the ride for me. Its a bit rough in places but mostly its just a great bit of downhill. 

The group split as we made it back to Harrington and having said I wasn't bothered if I was short of fondo distance...I cycled past my house on 57 miles and carried on until I got to 63!

This morning I just wanted to get some off road miles in. I got my MTB out and saw something on my front tyre. I pulled out a massive thorn which was too big for the sealant to cope with!

To resolve this I superglued the hole and then waited for that to set before putting more sealant in and reinflating. 

This left me time for a short ride which was good as I soon discovered heavy legs from the day before. I also found that my fast rolling summer tyres weren't really up to the job...instead of repairing I should have swapped over to tyres with  more tread!

I was enjoying myself though and decided to add just a little bit more. I thought this would add ten minutes until I discovered the farmer had ploughed his field with no respect for the right of way that goes through it!

I made it home in time for a quick shower before heading to the inlaws for dinner. 

In other news the televised cycling this weekend has been fantastic. I really enjoyed the mountain bike world championships on red bull TV. Another great victory for Pauline Ferrand Prevot! The Giro has also been good. I'm pleased for Alex Dowsett on his stage victory. Also Gent-Wevelgem was a good race. Somewhere I believe the CX superprestidge was being shown but I didn't find that one.

Happy Pedalling 

When September ends...

In this most bizarre of years we have hurtled through September and next week it’s already October! I’ve had a good month on the bike, completing the 300 miles for Cancer research. I’ve also had plenty of runs and dog walks too. I didn’t blog last weekend because I needed a rest! However I’m back on it and there’s plenty to talk about!

Getting out in the morning before work is still possible for a few more weeks. The light is going but...those sunrises...just worth getting up for! I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

Near Harrington

Heading towards Draughton from Maidwell

Harrington airfield memorial

Heading into Loddington

The next day I put my Lezyne micro gps on and took it for its last run. The erratic piece of technology managed to not find a gps signal and the run was recorded on my phone...enough! David Hill on Corby Capers advertised his Garmin forerunner and I bought it off him. He described it as in good condition and he certainly wasn’t wrong. I got a bargain, David, as I understand has upgraded to a Fenix so I got a new gadget and he got a stunning watch to replace a good watch!

I’ve instantly fallen in love with this watch because unlike the Lezyne it’s an everyday fitness tracker smart watch. It’s got sleep, heart rate and loads of other geeky data stuff which floats my techno nerd boat!

Another early morning ride and of course more sunrises. This is when I noticed really heavy legs and wondered if I was overdoing it?

The next day I went for a run and my legs were even heavier! More sunrises though... I didn’t feel right but it wasn’t unpleasant, I just needed to plod and not expect too much!

Then it was the weekend. I didn’t feel like a group ride so I didn’t meet the cyclasylum riders for the first Saturday in ages. I did go out for an explore on my MTB trying to find the Rothwell gullet https://www.wildlifebcn.org/nature-reserves/rothwell-gullet I know where it is but couldn’t find how to get there, got lost, probably trespassing and got massively stung by nettles! My legs had no oomph at all and I knew I’d made a good decision to miss the group ride and an even better decision not to go to the peaks with them the next day. Instead I went fishing at Andy’s house. I think I saw the osprey but It could just have been a very grey buzzard...just like red kites, I didn’t get a great picture!!!

By Tuesday this week my legs were feeling recovered and I headed out for my standard 17 mile morning ride. I had a lovely ride and things were going really well as I headed into the last couple of miles. 

Probably because I was busy taking in the sunrise and misty valleys, I completely didn’t see a pothole in the road. My front wheel whacked into it hard and my tubeless tyre failed. I was able to get enough pressure in to get home but it was weird. That night I tried to fix the issue as there was no obvious damage. During the repair I had a lovely surprise as Mrs L handed me a parcel and said: “will this help?” I unwrapped a lifeline tubeless track pump...oh my goodness this is a lot less effort than my Heath Robinson lemonade bottle device! However, under pressure my tyre just sprayed sealant across the garden so clearly it’s time was up. I put a tube in and ordered a new tyre.

On Wednesday I went for a run in the rain. This felt stronger too so clearly the rest did me good. It was also the first run tracked on my Garmin forerunner...way easier than the Lezyne in every way!

On Thursday it was freezing! So for the first time this year I rode in full fingered gloves as opposed to cycling mitts. I didn’t take pictures because it’s harder in gloves but despite the cold this was a nice spin.

On Friday my new tyre arrived. With the help of my new pump I managed to fit this whilst cooking tea! Who says men can’t multitask? It took ten minutes, went up first time and has stayed that way since! Just goes to show, the right tyre on a well set up wheel with the right pump, makes tubeless easy!!! I also used another gadget bought this year. The kenwood chef food processor attachment made these chicken burgers from Joe Wickes book, really easy to make. 

So to Saturday and a proper bike ride! I was wide awake by 5am clearly not wanting to waste the weekend! I didn’t want to arrive for a group ride with an untested new tyre so I opted for a late early birds and took an 11 mile route to meet the cyclasylum at Kettering swimming pool. It was even colder than Thursday so for the first time since April I was in a winter jersey, leg warmers, winter boots, full gloves and had a buff round my neck! That was only just warm enough until I’d done a few hills.

I made it in time for normal birds but hilariously the actual early birds were almost late! The usual banter lantern was lit and of most note was Amy’s stunning new Giant Propel, officially the nicest bikes money can buy (what do you mean I’m biased?) For reasons best known to no one, Amy’s propel is fitted with a dork disc...sort that out please Marcus!!!

Ignore the dork disc, this bike is stunning

Thankfully that rapid steed headed out in group one with Graham and his equally stunning trek. The four other riders in that socially distanced six apparently took quite a beasting. I joined a more sedate six as we headed out into the wind and hills of the Welland valley.

The cold weather was affecting middle aged bladders and soon into the ride we had our first comfort break. At that stop Mark realised he’d forgotten his drink which led to a conversation about all the things we have forgotten. Ian won with his tale of arriving for a ride without a helmet. The best bit was the recollection of being asked where his helmet was and actually checking his head! 

We tried and failed not to be menaces at the shop where Mark spent about twenty minutes buying a bottle of water. For ten of those minutes we froze in the shade before Neil expertly realised we’d be warmer over the road in the sun. We were also out of the way of everyone who needed to drive round the corner to their local shop.

Despite being cold, it was a stunning day to look at. The Welland valley From vantage points such as Ashley Hill or Neville Holt was just beautiful. This was worth the ride on its own.

My own personal performance was bizarre. On some hills I was near the back as usual but for some my legs felt great and I blasted up.

I had decided to leave the ride as it passed my house but I felt great and was on 47 miles...a silly number so with the others I headed out of Rothwell and even tried to beat my PR on bunker hill. When we got to the Fox and Peony, group 1 were just finishing up. As ever we enjoyed some quality recovery food. 

Today I headed out to complete the September 300 for cancer research.

I opted to use my Forme Calver CX bike and in full winter kit again I set out with nothing more than a vague plan to do 20 mostly off road miles.

I headed to Loddington and then onto the byways and bridelways between Cransley and Mawsley.

It was nice out and despite a cold wind I was soon having a lovely time. It might be winter weather but the trails are still in a hard dry summer condition.

From Mawsley I headed over the bridleways to Lamport and then down to the Brampton Valley Way.

I took the shared use former train line through the Kelmarsh tunnel and onto Arthingworth.

From there I cut across to Harrington on more very ridable bridleways. 

I've mentioned this interesting feature before. These earthworks at Harrington are the remains of the formal gardens and earthworks which belonged to the Manor House. The house itself was demolished in the 18th century.

I haven't said anything about coaching so far. Due to work issues I assisted Andy B in a good session last Monday. This week we are having a race night. I hope the weather stays dry because it should be a real fun evening. 

In wider news the World championships have been fascinating. The Dutch women's team have doninated and should be overjoyed with their results. G got close in the TT and at time of writing Tom Pidcock is battling hard in the road race. Pogacar has just tore off the front with the might of Belgium 🇧🇪 leading the chase. Great racing!

Happy Pedalling