Velo Club Flintham Summer 100 mile ride report Our longest ever pub ride. I rolled into VCF HQ this morning resplendent in my new Morrisons riding kit to be greeted by many other cyclists, some old faces, some familiar faces and some new faces. Once wed clarified exactly whether Rich Bs tyres were tubular or clincher ( just so we could plan the correct strategy in case of a puncture ) we embarked, a planned 100 miles ahead of us, 90 to the pub. The usual smooth groupo VCF riding found us arriving at Long Benno where we picked up Ann and said good bye too big Jez. Shortly after we said goodbye to half a ride Guy at Claypole before eventually turning right at Coddo to head through Stapleford Woods where we decided to split the group into a faster group and a more socially paced group. Rich B volunteered me to lead the faster group so I set the pace at a steady 20mph. But then a Cliff shaped missile came past and all of a sudden our 100 mile endurance ride more closely resembled our wednesday night ride as we all upped our pace and heart rate to hold on. Much fun but would our legs pay for it later ? After a close shave with a lorry cutting corners causing Sam GFs heart rate to instantly jump 50 beats we then encountered a tractor out hedge cutting, on a Sunday ! thats deliberate cycling sabotage ! We all held our breath as we cycled through the freshly laid thorn mine field with all but one of us breathing a sigh of relief as Ivan pulled over. False alarm ? phew. Our first planned stop at Fulbeck tea rooms was as ever bang on, with Butch and crew serving up the goods. Though Di Thorpe drew some funny looks as first she sneaked a munch on her Quinoa, before going on to produce what looked to be a bag of class A powder that she mixed up into a drink. Rich B, whod ridden in with the slower group was pleased to tell us that his more puncture resistant tubulars had also survived the thorn mine field, which is a relief because theyre a nightmare if you puncture.............. Leaving Fulbeck we again split into two groups with a planned rendezvous at Long Benno. Unfortunately as we neared Long Benno Ivan decided that he had indeed got a puncture from the thorn minefield and so as he set about fixing it the group discussed how you could tell that a tyre was a clincher or tubular just by looking at it. This inspired Rich B to invent a new saying................. Puncture fixed we entered Long Benno accompanied by the sudden release of air, not from Cliffs rear end this time but from Ivans inner tube, whoops. As Ivan set about re fixing his puncture the rest of us headed off to Long Bennos deli cafe for an unplanned sit in the sun with coffees and cokes all-round. Moving on, eventually. Refreshed and regrouped as a single group now we continued, arriving via the lower Vale at Sands Deli in Long Clawson. We had just a brief pause for Di to have another quick munch on her quinoa and a couple of cheeky wees. Big well done to Tony for managing to unlock the toilet door this time. Next stop, Moores garden centre for more coffee, coke and cake. With tiring legs at the 80 mile mark we soldiered on starting the final leg of the ride. At 90 miles we finally arrived at the pub at Car Colston where we all enjoyed probably the most eagerly anticipated pint, ever. So we had another. We did eventually arrive home, having spent many hours in the saddle, 5hr 55mins riding time for the 100 but many hours more sat eating, drinking and chatting. With weather like we had today it would have been a crime not too. A great day, thanks to all that turned up, whether you just rode for a bit, a lot or for all of it. See you soon LoveStephen.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 21:27:52 +0000
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