Saturday 13th December - Chilly Youth Rides and BMX

Claire, Katy & Sarah headed out with Hope, Tom & Luke:
The ride yesterday morning went very smoothly. It was a lovely morning and no sign of ice on the roads. We made our way up to the bird watching spot without stopping and we managed to keep the cold at bay. We stopped for a quick drink and snack and tried to spot a few birds ourselves. Katy picked out a cormorant then Tom's Dad arrived to give us some expert guidance and pointed out a greater crested grebe. We didn't hang around for long though and soon turned to head back to keep warm. We sang a couple of verses of jingle bells on the way back and were at Stocks Green before we knew it. Lovely riding from Tom and Hope and they were brave in the face of the cold. There were no complaints although there were a couple of "Are we nearly there yet?


Damian and I were joined by Polly, Toni, Calvin & Hannah:
We had a pacey ride along The Causeway and turned up towards Bough Beech Reservoir.  We had to stop for kit adjustment and met Tom's Dad who'd had an unscheduled dismount at The Wheatsheaf on one of the dreaded lids.  We hadn't been going long before we had to stop again for a puncture.  The girls seemed to wake up at this point and started nibbling on cereal bars and singing.  However by the time we were sorted everyone was cold, cold, cold.  We made a dash for home.  Well done to everyone who rode on this very chilly morning.  Next time we'll add in Carters to keep you warm :-)


BMX at Cyclopark
We had a great turnout for our session at Cyclopark BMX with 13 riders taking part on a clear, cold afternoon.  Our coach Keith Chandler quickly got to work assessing our riders and before long they were all making good progress on the berms and bumps.  By the end of the session they were all riding from the top of the start ramp with some even taking the pro line in the second straight.  As usual Keith was impressed at the high standard of our riders and assessed most as suitable to take part in open sessions immediately and others just needing a couple more coached sessions to get them to the same level.  Thanks to everyone who took part, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

Sunday 7th December - PowerPack at Cyclopark

Calvin, Toni, Polly, Ellen and Lauren all made it up to Power Pack on Sunday.  Well done to Lauren who was trying the session for the first time on one of the club bikes. The next Power Pack is January 4th 1pm - 3pm.   See you there!

Saturday 29th November

Youth Ride
Not everyone could make it today, which was a shame as it was a beautiful morning.  Damian, Sarah A, Luke, Toni and Tom A were all off to Lee Valley for a track session but we struggled on without them.  Nico and Hope headed off with Claire, Katy and Nicky, while Clare M and I were joined by Calvin and Hannah.  We tackled a version of the KVG Club 25 ride with a couple of extra hills thrown in at the end.  We took advantage of the small group to practise changing position in the group on the go and eating and drinking.  I'm sure Calvin can ride one handed so maybe he didn't have anything in his pocket??  We were greeted enthusiastically along the way by other cyclists out enjoying the sunshine.  When we got back, the short ride had finished and headed home, no punctures or incidents this week so very successful riding.  Calvin and Hannah rode 24 miles at an average speed of 14 mph.

Go Ride

It's getting towards that time when everyone who should be riding their bike is either at a school fayre or a Christmas party.  So, it was great to see ten riders at Go Ride this afternoon.  We focussed on essential Go Ride skills such as picking up and putting down objects and getting under really low limbo bars.  We finished off by tackling some of our favourite obstacles including the see-saws.  Our final activity was a team relay over a varied course which pulled together all the skills we'd been working on.

Well done to everyone who took part in our last Go Ride session of 2014

Next week 6th December: Youth Ride 9.30am.  No Go Ride as Stocks Green have their School Fayre.

Saturday 13th December: BMX at Cyclopark
Sunday 21st December: Pimp by Bike Christmas Ride - TBC

Congratulations Hannah!!

Hannah became the first member of the Kent Velo Kids to become an accredited track rider.  Hannah has succesfully completed four accreditation training and assessment sessions at Lee Valley Velodrome.  Hannah was initially attracted to the sport because of an interest in track cycling and she has worked extremely hard on all aspects of her riding, embracing everything we do including muddy mountain bike rides.

Saturday 22nd November - Youth Ride and Go Ride

Today we tackled the Week 2 routes with our Youth Riders.  The shorter ride was a slightly longer version of last week's ride (15km), the longer ride headed over towards the infamous Col de Mote and totalled 33km. More details from Damian:


The long ride set off from Stocks Green to tackle Col de Mote, with a warm up via Nizels Lane.  Calvin powered to the top with a late attack.  With Bee temporarily out of action with a puncture, but with a promise to met the group on the way back,  the group made the fast decent into and out of Plaxtol and down Puttenden Road  / Higham Lane before looping back up Ashes Lane.  With the group pushing hard a brief halt allowed Ellen to stave of an asthma attack before heading back up Puttenden Road and Claygate Lane (where Sophia made an unscheduled dismount).

With Bee back in the group, it was the run for home via Hildenborough Road and Riding Lane, where a further stop was necessary to allow Toni to compose herself following an further incident with a squirrel (already deceased).  Along the route we picked up Kary , Claire and Michelle, who had finished the short ride and so we all finished the ride together.  All in all quite an incident packed ride this week, but everyone back safe and sound.  Good ride: 20.6 miles at an average speed of 13.1 mph in old money or 33.2km at 21.1km/h.  Thank too to Bee and Hamish 

Go Ride
By the afternoon the heavy showers that had plagued us earlier had disappeared and it was positively barmy (the weather that is not just the coaches).  With a good turnout and range of ages we split the riders into two groups; our less experienced riders worked with Katy and Claire, while Damian and I attempted some more core mountain biking techniques with our older riders.  Everyone was already comfortable riding out of their saddle and adopting a good ready position so we moved onto unweighting or lifting the front wheel.  The key to getting to grips with this is our old friend 'weight shift'.  Riders had lots of opportunity to practise, first over the painted lines on the playground and then progressing onto small obstacles and finally pallets.  

Youth Ride Saturday 15/11/14

This morning our Youth Riders split into two groups and tackled two different routes.  Our regular riders headed out towards Hever before return via Coppings Road.  They weren't put off by the flooded road and Damian even offered some advice to another cyclist who was unsure about his chances of getting through unscathed.

Nico's first ride and his first puncture!

Myself and Bee took a small group including two new Youth Riders on a short loop through Underriver, returning via Nizels Lane and Lower Street.  Well done to Hope, Tom and Nico.  Tom and Nico were joining us on the road for the first time, Hope of course is one of our regulars and our new two group set up means she can join us on the road now too.

Claire, Hope and Tom helping with the puncture :-)

Route 1: Henry VIII and The Flood (29km , 250m climbing)
Route 2: Tour Guide Special Under the River and Lower Street (13km, 100m climbing)

Next week both groups will be tackling slightly longer routes with more climbing.

Power Pack at Cyclopark

The team were out in force at Cyclopark yesterday for John Leitch's Power Pack session.  Bee was coaching, the kids were riding and the KVK parents were drinking coffee in the sunshine.  We celebrated Calvin's birthdy by joining him for a jam doughnut :-).  These are ideal session for anyone getting used to riding a road bike.  Next session is 7th December 1pm - 3pm.  Do let me know if you want to try it, we can usually guarantee a friendly face or two.

Go Ride Racing - Saturday November 8th

Well done to all twenty six riders who took part in our Go Ride Racing event at the weekend. We kicked off with an individual TT, 1 lap of the course and followed it up with a mass start race of 5, 3 and 1 lap for the U16/14's, U12/10's and U8's.  Course conditions were tricky in places particularly as the ground got stickier and stickier.

Hope sporting one of our new Go Ride number bibs

Following a short break we moved onto a new race for us; The Marymoor Crawl.  We ran this on the playground, it starts of with a track stand style start of indeterminate length.  When the whistle goes riders have a short sprint to the finish line.  Riders had the chance to practise this new event before we ran five heats based on age/experience.  Thanks to Damian for introducing this new race which everyone agreed was great fun.

We finished off with a team relay on the course, there were plenty of enthusiastic cheering from team managers Malcolm and Katy but nothing compared to Michele :-)  KVK pom poms are definitely a must for our next event.

Team relay riders waiting for their lap

Medals were awarded for the top three riders in each category for the combined results from the TT and the mass start race.  The five heat winners from the Marymoor Crawl all received prizes and the team relay winners got first choice from the sweetie bag.

Thanks to all the riders, volunteers and parents who contributed our Go Ride Racing event we hope to see you all again soon.

Marymoor Crawl winners with their prizes

Team 1 won the relay and got first choice of the chocolate.

Gold Medalists: Katie, Hope, Finlay, Kieran, Monty, Polly, Toni, Bailey, Tom, Calvin.

Silver Medalists: Luke O'G, Nico, Tilly, Lauren, Luke W, Ellen, Sophia

Bronze Medalist: Hannah, Zara, Izzy, Georgia, Harry P

Marymoor Crawl Winners: Toni, Calvin, Kieran, Hope & Katie

Team Relay Winners: Finlay, Sammy, William, Harry P, Bailey, Harry L, Ellen & Polly

Next Week: Saturday 15th November Go Ride 1.45pm sign on at Stocks Green.

Youth Rides: Saturday morning, contact me to sign on.

Evans Biggin Hill Ride It!

Congratulations to Toni and Polly who took part in the Evan's Ride It! Biggin Hill event on Sunday 2nd November.  The girls rode really well in very challenging conditions; wind and rain on top of challenging climbs and descents.  The cheese and onion pasties at the end were particularly good :-)

Still smiling after 32 miles and 2000ft of climbing

Half Term: Riding Out, Go Ride and BMX

Ride Out

Taking a breather before the Col de Plaxtol

We decided to try starting our ride at Ightham Mote so we could check out some new trails.  We still had to get there though, so Damian, Heather and I set off with Ellen, Polly, Toni and Luke for a quick ride up to the Mote.  It took us 21 minutes to get to the rendez vous point, which gave Ellen plenty of time to text her parents to make sure they were on their way with Hope!

It also gave us time to play on the log and identify the car park as an ideal race circuit (there must be some times when the car park is closed??).

Hope, Malcolm and Claire arrived and we set off along the bridlepath towards the Fairlawne Estate.  We crossed the road and wound our way through the estate, popping out on School Lane and starting the climb on the road up through Plaxtol.  The route continued to climb through an orchard and a bumpy field before popping out on the junction by Col de Mote.  We have climbed this hill before but never descended it.  It was a fun and fast trip down hill, so much so that Polly, Ellen and Toni volunteered to ride back up to come back down!  Hope and Luke switched places for the return journey to Hildenborough, Luke taking a lift in the support vehicle, his knee was giving him trouble.  A smooth ride back to Hildenborough with all the riders still buzzing from the super fast descent.

Our last Go Ride session of Term 1 had a record turnout of 22 riders.  Katy and Claire worked with the Quick Starters while Damian and I joined our regular riders working on pace.

Claire writes:

Quick Starters Who Completed their Course on Saturday

It was a sunny and bright afternoon for the last of our Quick Start sessions and our riders were smiling and raring to go! This week we were focusing on using our gears. We started riding in the easiest gear then switched to the hardest gear to compare. Next we investigated our gears further with some low gear races. All riders started in their easiest gear and raced the length of the playground. The winning rider kept this gear but all the others changed up one and off we went again. At the end, we thought about which gears we preferred to start in and when each gear might be most appropriate. We finished the afternoon with a game of limbo then presented certificates to the riders in recognition of their hard work. Well done to everyone - you all improved hugely and kept smiling throughout!

Half Term BMX at Cyclopark

It was great to see the new KVK kit on display at the BMX track at Cyclopark during the half term holiday.  Toni, Luke, Ellen, Hope and Polly all took part in the beginner session and were graded as Intermediate.  This means they can attend open sessions at the park and may even need another bike!!  Polly, Ellen and Hope went back for more the next day and met some of the "real" BMXers who introduced them to a new version of sardines.  We also bumped into Elliot and Jessica.  As usual the coach was extremely impressed by our awesome bike riders

On the start gate

Day 2 Intermediate session

Saturday 18th October Ride Out and Go Ride (Quick Start & Regular)

We headed back to Tonbridge Park this weekend for a ride along the cycle path to Penshurst.  It is very energising arriving at the park as it is buzzing with activity; the Park Run is just finishing and lots of youngsters are arriving ready for football.  Today there were a few canoeists launching from the slipway as well, a real hive of activity.  We headed out through the car park and joined the trail by the Rugby Club.  The recent rain had created quite a few puddles and patches of mud are emerging, good job we will soon be switching back to the road!

We made good progress towards Penshurst Place and the Col de Penshurst.  Sometimes we race to the top, other times we just ride.  Today we partnered up and simulated helping a team mate out by pushing them up the hill.  There was some light pedalling and some great team work but everyone made it to the top.  Not as easy as they made it look but a great skill to have in your armoury.

Nice work from Malcolm and Sarah

Izzy & Katy

At the top

Level pegging as the climb begins to kick up

Next week we'll be heading out to Ightham Mote to check out a new shortish circular route with a few challenges.






























Go Ride attracted another good turnout and we also welcomed Helen from KVG one of our recently trained Level 1 coaches.  Tape and stakes was the order of the day, Damian, Helen and I had laid out a Y shaped course to challenge the riders with.  We started off by splitting the circuit and working on key cornering techniques; speed, pedal position, line and head/body positioning.  Before long everyone was getting round the corners much faster.  We messed about with some standing start pairs races straight into a pin end bend, this quickly shows up the riders with the strongest competitive drive (and also a few cheaters :-)).  Finally we joined the two ends of the circuit and ran some team pursuit style races with teams of 3 & 4.  We finished off with an Italian Pursuit race with two teams of 7, the most exciting race of the afternoon and one which clearly showed the value of effective and consistent cornering especially as the course conditions changed during the session.  By the end of the race those corners were very slippery!!

Next Week:

Ride Out; New Route via Ightham Mote, please contact me to sign on. MTBs/Hybrids only
Go Ride: Regular and Quick Start 1.45pm for a 2pm start.

KVK Defy the Weather Forecasters Once Again!!

Ride Out
Rain and lightening hanging around early in the morning threatened the latest assault on Col de Coldharbour but with faith in the forecast that promised it would dry up Hope, Ellen, Calvin, Sophia and Hannah took on the challenge.  A brisk ascent of  the Col left the riders needing to strip off layers as the temperature rose.  The rain may have gone, but it meant that the previously dry dusty trials were now muddy (although the "muddy field" was still relatively firm; its epic, bog-like mud no doubt awaits us later in the year), leaving Hannah wondering about the choice of a white jersey.  However everyone coped well with the tougher conditions and we were back at Westwood in no time, helped it has to be said by the fact that for the first time in what seems to be ages, we escaped without any punctures.




Go Ride In the afternoon, the Go-Ride and Quick Starter sessions went ahead; a terrific downpour just before the start threatened to make it a miserable session but again the weather was with us and the rain stopped and the sun came out.

With Kary away on a MTB coaching course (we look forward to exciting new MTB sessions in the near future)  Katy and Claire took the Quick Starter session and Young Volunteer, Jacob led the regular Go-Ride session (with Damian assisting).  This session concentrated on practicing picking up items (of diminishing size) from the crates (and the floor) and requires the riders to move about on their bikes, retaining balance and control.  There was a noticeable improvement from everyone during the session as confidence grew which made the relay races at the end of the session very keenly fought both between the rival teams and within each team as riders battled to see who could pick up  the smallest items.

Well done everyone, great riding but keep practicing; the challenge is to pick up a dust cap from the floor!

Quick Start Session with Katy & Claire
Six riders braved the showers on Saturday to come and learn about riding in a group. They made a good start in riding around an oval in pairs. However, they were reluctant to talk to each other so we set them the challenge of finding out a little about their partners. Soon there was lots of communication and gradually the riders were getting closer to each other too. The sun came out,  jackets were stripped off and before the end of the session, the riders were looking happy and confident riding closely together. Great progress so well done!

Next Week:

Saturday 18th October
Ride Out - Col de Penshurst.  Meet at the wooden bridge, park side, Tonbridge Park.  Ready to ride 9.45am Please bring jacket, drink, pocket snack & packable waterproof.  This is a trail ride, be prepared for muddy puddles :-)

Go Ride - Regular & Quick Start. Sign on from 1.45pm for a 2pm start. Finish at 3pm.  Suitable for MTB and hybrids only

4th & 5th October Busy Weekend for Kent Velo Kids

Our Saturday morning Ride-Out headed took in the Col de Coldharbour as a little warm up before we tackled the Col de Mote.  Perfect conditions, dry and mild with very few pedestrians, horses or farm vehicles meant we had a pleasingly uneventful ride!  No punctures either.  Total ride was 10.5 miles.  Now I know that this was a first ascent of the Col de Mote for Heather and Tom, not so sure on some of the others.  Calvin rode from Mote Road up and back to Hildenborough in lowest gear, so a great cadence workout for him and I suspect some workshop time for the bike!

We had a quick pitstop at Ightham Mote, but everyone seemed to have way too much energy to need a break and the log jumping was definitely not on the risk assessment so we called it a day and headed for home.  Great ride, well done everyone. Next week back to the Col de Coldharbour (with extension(s) of course).

Can't believe they didn't ride their bikes along the log!

Luckily no broken ankles :-)

By the afternoon the weather had changed and although it looked like me might get away with a dry Go Ride session we did it fact get drenched!!  Great work from all the riders and coaches who pressed on undeterred by the chilly, wet conditions, good training for the Spring Classsics.

Damian took charge of the Quick Starters this week:

Saturday afternoon was soggy and chilly, a bit of a shock after all the fine, dry weather, so a massive congratulations to the five Quick Starters (Tia, Maya, Freddie, Pip and Zara) who turned up to develop their cornering skills.  After a quick session in the shelter drawing on the playground with chalk to consider the "racing line" through a corner we braved the rain to work on riding through  a series of gates, looking for the smoothest line, and focussing ahead not on the cones.  We then put into practice the racing line we had drawn in chalk, starting wide, "hitting" the apex and exiting wide.

After that we moved on to a challenging 180 degree hairpin turn around a cone, remembering to look through the corner to where we wanted to go, adjusting speed as necessary and keeping our inside pedal up.  Great improvement from all after just a few attempts meant we could finish off with some "pin end" races, with a pair of riders racing against each other around to cones, but facing penalty points for hitting the cones or failing to make the turn within the allowed width of the "road".


Great riding from everyone, despite the cold and the wet.  Everyone stayed upright and showed great improvement, getting to grips with the various elements of good cornering: speed adjustment, smooth flowing lines, looking "through " the corner at the exit rather than at the corner and getting that inside pedal up to avoid grounding it.  Brilliant!   Sorry there's no photo, everyone was keen to get into  the dry at the end (including me).

Kary worked on points of contact with the older riders:

This session was all about riding your bike with less points of contact than normal.  I had invited riders to bring road bikes if they have them, we also had the club road bikes out for others to try.  We started off with a quick warm up "Simon Says" style with hands on helmets, out of the saddle, one handed etc.  Then we moved on to riding through a narrow channel one handed and pushing a partner round a slalom course.  This session provides a good opportunity to progress towards riding none handed, made more challenging by the small space we were working in.  Our next challenge was to take off a piece of clothing whilst riding, we used high viz bibs for this which led to cries of "can I have one, can I have one" which is not normally a phrase I hear when the bib bag comes out!  Our final challenge was for each rider to remove their bib, stow it about their person and ride through the feed zone to pick up a jelly bean.  Some big improvements in handling and control with one and no hands, well done everyone.

Next week, Saturday 11th October

Ride-Out: Col de Coldharbour 9.30am Westwood Recreation Ground.  This is a 5 mile route suitable for MTB or hybrid bikes.  It uses bridlepaths and a quiet lane.  All riders must have a drink, packable jacket, small snack and an inner tube.  We will carry tools. This is an ideal route for your first Ride-Out.

Go-Ride, Quick Start & Regular Sign on from 1.45pm Stocks Green School. Session runs 2pm - 3pm This session is suitable for MTB or hybrids.

PLEASE CONTACT ME TO SIGN ON FOR A RIDE OR SESSION. 

Saturday 27th September - Is it me or does everyone look happier than usual???

I took the weekend off and handed the reins over to Damian and the team............this is what happened!

Ride-Out Report

Seven riders (and an equal number of adults) set out from Westwood on Saturday morning.  We welcomed Tom for his first ride out with the KVK (and Heather, Toni and Luke's mum).

Everyone stormed up to the white house (no not that White House) without difficulties and those still feeling strong took on the diversion before regrouping at the farm and a fast flowing ride through the trees and into the (still) very bumpy field.   For the second week running a puncture extended our rest at the gate to Horns Lodge Lane.  This time it was Katy.  With that repair underway Toni managed to get a puncture whilst waiting!!

With everyone finally back on two (inflated) wheels we took a steady ride back to Coldharbour and a well organised decent to Westwood for  few goes round the pump track 9icluding some of the adults with varying degrees of success).

Good riding everyone, especially Tom (and Heather). Next week we take on the slightly more challenging Col de Mote!!


Saturday Go-Ride

With Kary away for the weekend it was slightly disconcerting to find that that she had arranged for the police to be in attendance for our regular Go-Ride session.  Fortunately they were only there to security mark people's bikes if they wanted to do so (which many did) and not to keep us all in order.

A good group of 12 riders, including some new faces (welcome Scott and Bailey) joined us for the session which focussed on riding slowly.  After working on some different techniques for slow riding (including standing up and part pedalling) and some slow races we had a go at track stands (Luke was so pleased to do a demonstration).  Some good improvements all round but it is definitely a skill that is worth practicing whenever you have a few minutes (and crucial for a strong Sumo performance).

We followed it up with riding slowly around an obstacle course, in pairs initially, then as fours and finally as one big group with the lead pair swinging off the front at the end of each lap before rejoining at the back.  Some great improvement by the end as riders realised that it is important to concentrate and communicate when riding in such close proximity to other riders.

Finally we ended with  few games of sumo as riders put their new found slow riding skills to the test.

Great riding everyone, and keep practicing.

Next Week Saturday 4th October
Ride Out: Col de Mote - two separate start points make this either a 5 or 10 mile ride, suitable for MTB's & hybrids. Please contact me to sign on.  Long route 9.15am Westwood, shorter route 10am Mote Road.

Go Ride: 1.45pm - 3pm Quick Start and Regular Riders. Please contact me to sign on.

Saturday 20th September - Col de Coldharbour, Quick Start & Regular Go Ride

Headed out on one of our "old faithful" rides this morning; Col de Coldharbour. Great conditions, warm and dry.  We split just after the end of the lane; our younger riders headed straight for the Col de Coldharbour while the older ones took a slight diversion via a dogleg (up a hill of course).  A quick turn at the top and then a dash back down to try and catch the others up at the barn, our usual re fuelling stop.

 No sign of them there so we pressed on, negotiating a hedge cutting tractor on the way.  The path through the woods was perfect, not overgrown at all and we whizzed down the hill and into the bumpy field.  We'd just made it up to Horns Lodge Lane when Calvin discovered he had a puncture, my trusty spanner made it out of the bag for the first time in ages.  Damian came to the rescue with a gas canister and Malcolm sorted out getting the bike back together.  We made good progress back to Westwood.  Well done to everyone who rode, this route has lots of different riding situations so it's good to see you all coping effortlessly with the challenges, even puncture repair.

We welcomed seven new riders onto our Quick Start programme today.  Great riding from everyone, look forward to seeing you again next week.

Whilst the Quick Starters were getting their first taste of KVK action, 10 of the more experienced riders were honing their skills.

The focus was on moving the bike without riding it, mounting and dismounting and getting going.  Some low gear races got the legs spinning and emphasised the need for correct gear selection when starting off (which became important in our ladders game later on) before the riders experimented with different ways of moving the bike without riding; saddle push, bike shop push (bike vertical on back wheel) and scooting  were to the fore.  Luke's attempt at pushing his bike on front wheel only needs a bit of work!  Some relay races followed allowing the riders to use their skills whilst under pressure.  A bit of judicious handicapping ensured everyone was a winner!!

We followed up with looking at basic techniques for mounting and dismounting including the vital need to check all round to make sure it's safe to pull off and to stop, before practicing mounting from a scoot, a running dismount and a running mount (being sure to use the inner thigh to land on the saddle rather than other more painful parts of the anatomy!).  Every one did well.

Finally we finished with a few games of the ever popular Sumo which gave rise to a variety of winners.

You can never play too much Sumo

Well done to all - some great technical ability shown by all and such a lot of fun!!

End of a fun session for our experienced riders

Next Week 27th September:

Saturday morning Ride Out - Col de Coldharbour.  Meeting at Westwood, ready to ride at 9.30am. Suitable for MTB's and hybrids only. Please bring a tube, drink, jacket and emergency fuel.

Saturday afternoon - Go Ride at Stocks Green sign on from 1.45pm, 2pm start, finish at 3pm.

PLEASE CONTACT ME TO SIGN ON

KVK at The Tour of Britain - Sunday 14th 2014

Our roving sports reporter Claire Inglis tells us about their day!

We had a cracking day in London yesterday. We got there early and grabbed a good spot in Whitehall, by the first corner. We watched the Time Trial in the morning and took some slightly blurry pictures of them whizzing past. There was big excitement when a bike fell from the roof of one of the team cars and the people in the car had to leap out and pick it all up before the next rider came through.

In the break we ate lots of sandwiches from our hamper (of course) and had a wander round all the promotional stands. Georgia and her family joined us and much fun was had waiting for the afternoon's race. It all started again at 3.30 and we enjoyed the 10 laps with a good view from our corner. At the end of the race, all the team helpers lined at the corner to give the riders their drinks so we got a good view of them all after they finished. The Garmin Sharp team stopped right in front of us and Hope enthusiastically called out to ask if she could have Jack Bauer's bottle. He came and said hello and gave her the bottle then posed for some pictures with her.

His team mates said hello and one of them gave Ellen his bottle too.

After that we wandered down to Westminster Bridge to see all the team buses. We saw Marcel Kittel head back for his burger after the presentations and Cav and Wiggo were out signing autographs but we weren't in the right place at the right time. They did get Michal Kwiatowski's autograph though and they came home very, very happy! 

Oh and they picked up cow bells which made it quite a noisy trip to the station. It was useful to hear where Ellen was but Hope is noisy enough on her own.

Saturday 13th September Ride Out & Go Ride

It was great to see everybody after the summer break.  Nine riders rode between Tonbridge and Penshurst in the sunshine and made it back in good time without any incidents.  Congratulations to Izzy and Nico who completed the Col de Penshurst with us for the first time.

In the afternoon, thirteen riders signed on for Go-Ride.  We focused on riding as a part of a team and had some fun with games and races.

Next week sees the start of our popular Quick Start programme, when we will be welcoming new riders aged between 7 and 10 years old.

KVK Postcards Summer 2014

We are having a lovely time in France. We have been out on our bikes of course, including a very interesting cycle path through town. Much of it is on an old railway line so lovely and flat but before reaching that bit, there is a steep flight of stairs and you have to take your chances going the wrong way down a one way street!

Ellen, Malcolm & Hope in France

Tom at Lea Valley Velodrome

Toni & Luke at Bedgbury

Polly cleaning her bike!!!

18th - 21st July

Duckling sandwiches anyone??? Just joking, Katy impressed everyone with her handling skills (bike and animal)

Bedgbury was the perfect spot for our King/Queen of the Mountains challenge.  

Friday 11th July - Spring in the Park - Hope finally gets her hands on the silverware!

A huge cheer for all the riders who have made up our Kent Velo Kids Racing Team for the last ten weeks. Hannah, Ellen, Hope, Toni, Polly, Calvin & Luke.  Proper write up and more photos to follow but in the mean time did you know that Hope won a trophy? First overall girl in the U10's and first girl on the final night's race (so a prize as well as a torphy)

Last night and Hope finally gets her hands on the silver!

27th - 29th June, Racing, Velodrome & Mountain Bikes

As usual the weekend was action packed; starting on Friday with Spring in the Park Round 8.  The team was slightly dimished with Toni in plaster with her broken arm.  An injury not sustained whilst bike riding I hasten to add, but on the athletics track!  Not wanting to miss out on the Friday night fun Toni, Luke and Damian came along anyway to cheer the others on.  I managed to make it back to pavilion in time to sample Michele's baking; chocolate brownies this week, yum yum.

Saturday dawned and there was great excitement in my house at least as six of the KVK were invited to the South East Club Cluster session at the London Velodrome as a reward for their commitment to cycling this year.  This has been organised by Terry Blake from Woolwich CC.  Claire Inglis stepped in at the last moment to take Toni's place, although I'm not sure she had realised exactly what she was letting herself in for!  The sessions we've done at Herne Hill proved invaluable as all our riders took the boards with a mix of excitement and confidence.  It wasn't long before they were looking more relaxed and starting to move up the banking.  The last activity of the session was an italian pursuit race with another team of seven riders.  What our team lacked in fire power they made up for in technique, perfectly ordering our riders to make the best of everyone's strengths.  They rode together brilliantly as a team and easily crossed the finishing line before the opposing team.  Terry was full of praise for them and their riding and as usual I felt very proud of the KVK.  Thanks to all the riders and their families who came along and made this such a fun and exciting day, we will be back!!!

The allure of the Col de Mote on Sunday morning got three teenagers out of bed! Toni came along to wave us off on the 10 mile route up to Ightham Mote and back.  Polly and Hannah set a good pace, Damian and I just about managed to keep up.  The Col de Mote seemed less savage this time round, there were less pedestrians and the ground was drier. A couple of sharp kicks towards the end caught the girls out but other than that they sailed up to the top.  All that was left to do was roll back to Hildenborough.  Arrived back at the park spot on 11am.  A great way to start the day.

Next few weeks:

Saturday 5th July - Go Ride at Stocks Green School, sign on 1.45pm finish 3pm
Sunday - Evans Ride It from Sheffield Park.

Saturday 12th July - Go Ride Tour - Racing at Stocks Green School sign on at EARLIER TIME OF 12.45pm finish 3pm