Bike Week 14th - 22nd June KVK Challenge

TARGET = 500 MILES

TOTAL RIDDEN 529

Taking Part: Toni, Luke, Ellen, Hope, Hannah, Polly, Calvin, Sohia, Tom , Joanna 

On Saturday we rode Col de Coldharbour 8 riders @ 5 miles each = 40 miles

On Tuesday we rode to school and back

Look who I found at the bottom of Deakin Leas

On Wednesday we rode to school and then rode to Penshurst and back and some of us rode home, Sophia rode to the station to get the train home.

A good way to spend a sunny evening and another 51 miles to add to the total

Thursday was another busy day; Toni joined Polly and I on the ride down to school, we left a few minutes later and found ourselves behind the buses so diverted via the cycle path before ducking back onto the High Street.  We avoided the station frenzy by turning up Priory Street.  Unfortunately there was no time for Polly and I to ride up Deakin Leas with Toni today (phheww).  For the return journey we were joined by Ellen as well; the route is becoming more familiar and the girls are tackling the junctions and roundabout with increasing confidence.  Back at Ellen's, Hope came out to join us for a photo.  She has been riding everyday too.

Hope interrupted her post ride fuel break to join us for a photo

Thankfully for me, the girls decided not to ride to school on Friday as they were all planning on racing in the evening.  It was another good turnout for Spring in the Park Round 7, despite some tired legs everyone put in a good ride.  We were delighted to see Calvin at the front of the bunch with one lap to go, but his early break saw him exhausted for the final sprint and beaten for the first time by Marc his friend and rival from SDW.  Hannah came along to support as her bike was still with the team mechanic after a minor scrape in the week.

Hope U10s 1st Girl, Ellen 8th Girl, Toni 4th Girl, Polly 4th Girl, Hannah (support crew) Calvin 16th

Saturday Go-Ride at Stocks Green

As usual we were at Stocks Green on Saturday afternoon but I invited riders to bring along their road bikes for a skills session. I brought along the club road bikes to give some of our newer riders the chance to try them out.  It was also a good opportunity to pick up on few things I've noticed this week while riding in traffic with the youngsters.  So, lots of rear observation games and stopping and starting at imaginary traffic lights.

Challenge Ride Sunday 22nd June

After an already great week of bike riding I woke up on Sunday morning to find the sun shining and everything in place for a great challenge ride.  Damian had planned a beautiful and challenging 29 mile route with a couple of tweaks to provide a slightly shorter option of 22 miles and a 10 mile route that stopped at the feed station.  Once again Malcolm looked after us at the feed station and everyone had been busy baking.  Michele's marshmallow crispy cakes and Claire's lavender biscuits proved to be welcome and tasty treats for all the riders.

 

 A final push for home saw us back in Hildenborough in good time and gave us the opportunity for coffee and a final assault on the cake.  Well done to Hannah and Luke who both rode the long route for the first time, Hope, who made it non-stop to the top of Mote Road and Izzy who joined us for her first ten miles on one of the club road bikes.  Sophia and Ellen coped effortlessly with the 22 mile route.  Calvin and Marc pushed the pace a little with Damian and Christopher and Polly and Toni looked more comfortable with their climbing (Carter's Hill for the long routers).  This final ride of the week pushed the collective mileage to 529, that's 29 more than we had ever hoped of achieving.  Huge congratulations to our riders and a big round of applause to all those adults who have ridden behind the kids this week, sometimes carrying bags and frequently being dropped.

Bike Week Total Mileage - in no particular order

Calvin 52.5 miles

Ellen 70 miles

Toni 84.2 miles

Hannah 72 miles

Polly 85.4 miles

Luke 58.5 miles

Hope 35 miles

Joanna 15 miles

Tom 15 miles

Sophia 32 miles

Izzy 10 miles

Friday 13th June - Round 6 Spring in The Park at Cyclopark

I didn't make it up to Cyclopark yesterday as I had a racing date of my own at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey.  So, I was pleased to get a text from Claire telling me that all the KVK's had ridden well and finished safely.  I enjoyed hearing their racing tales this morning, they really are building up a great bank of knowledge and experience of different race scenarios.  Thanks to Claire for pictures everyone looks like they are having fun.

Results from the evening:

U10's Hope  1st Girl , 11th overall
U12's Polly 4th Girl, Ellen 5th Girl (15th & 19th overall respectively)
U14's Calvin 12th, Hannah 7th Girl (22nd overall)

As ever, excellent riding from everyone. Roll on round 7!

Go Ride 6th June - Planks and Pallets & Tyres

Go Ride today was all about negotiating obstacles; we started off with some limbo practise before moving around the site looking for natural features and obstacles to ride through, over and around.  We finished off the session with lots of riding on planks, pallets and see saws.  Lots of fun, more next week.

Next week:
Friday 13th June - Spring in the Park @ Cyclopark
Saturday 14th June - Ride Out Col de Coldharbour - 9.30am MTB's/hybrids please contact me to sign on.  9.30am Westwood recreation ground.
Go Ride at Stocks Green School - sign on 1.45pm finish at 3pm - MTB's/hybrids

Saturday 6th June - Youth Ride (School Run)

The Youth Ride was an ambitious project; the plan was to try and pass all the secondary schools that our young riders attend in preparation for our Bike Week challenge.  Malcolm (Ellen's Dad) was joining us for the first time and it was raining!

After an unexpected rapid dismount from Malcolm we headed up Gate Farm Road, a narrow lane which climbs Bidborough Ridge but without the cars.  Unfortunately Malcolm's rear mech has obviously taken a knock and gave out under the strain of the climb.  This did however give Malcolm and Damian the chance to play bike mechanics whilst I continued up the climb with the kids.

Welcome rest at the top of Bidborough Ridge

D & M turn the bike into a fixie

Skill and determination did get Malcolm back on his bike but we decided to abandon our ambitious plan and instead ventured along the 'cycle path' (overgrown footpath?) down Quarry Hill and back to Hildenborough.

Our first major mechanical had called for dynamic planning.  Well done to all the riders who coped well with some new and challenging riding situations.

Spring in the Park Event 5 at Cyclopark Friday 6th June

The team were raring to go again this evening at Cyclopark.  Luke joined us for the first time.  Another change of start and finish position changed the course slightly, giving Hope the chance to show her corning skills on the tricky bends that make up the Circuit F (the dogleg).

Hope chasing Harvey - she finished 1st Girl, 12th Overall

U12's & U14's had a flat start for the first time, followed by a longer initial drag up to the clubhouse and around the top bend.  I was positioned on the back straight behind the BMX track and was ecstatic to see every single one of our riders in the bunch as they came round the bend on the first lap.

Ellen finished 5th Girl, 17th overall, her best race to date.

 Luke put in a great performance for his first race, remaining with the bunch for the first part of the race.  Polly and Ellen rode well and stayed with the bunch; it was very exciting to see Ellen have her first real taste of group riding in a race.  In the U14's Hannah made progress again this week handling a tricky wobble on the start line and keeping contact with the group well into the first lap.  Calvin and Toni both stayed with their respective groups, chasing the break away which was moving very fast.  All our riders managed to avoid the crash that occurred on the final bend of the last lap.

Working well in a group of five,Toni & Marc chasing the leaders

Start of the U12's - can you spot Ellen, Polly & Luke?

Results from Round 5:
U10's: Hope 1st Girl, 12th overall
U12's: Polly 4th Girl, Ellen 5th Girl (14th & 17th overall respectively), Luke 18th
U14's: Calvin 10th, Toni 4th Girl (15th overall) Hannah 8th Girl

Saturday 31st May 2014 - Youth Ride, Go Ride and Ice Cream Ride

There was a good turnout for Youth Ride, despite the fact that most of the riders had raced at Cyclopark the evening before.  I had stressed that the ride was optional, but they all seemed to raring to go.  Luke, Calvin, Hannah, Polly & Toni were joined by Damian, Michele and myself.  

We tried to concentrate on spinning and Luke and Damian both sprinted past the rest of us in a ludicrously low gear along Lower Street (or should that be Lower Gear Street???).  Anyway we tackled one of our favourite routes, but in reverse so we came down Col de Porc and added a little bit extra.  Just over 17 miles at an average speed of 14.4mph.  Great riding from everyone as usual and well done to the adults for keeping up :-)

Later on there were a few familiar faces at Stocks Green for our Go Ride session.  We split our regular riders into two groups to work on group riding skills, whilst our two new recruits spent some time working on the fundamentals with Katie.

With two circuits to work on, riders got to grips with riding close and maneouvring in a group.  One of the circuits included some challenging corners which put even our most experienced riders to the test.  We also worked on changing position within the group whilst riding one handed, everyone agreed you really need to stay focussed for this to be successful.  We finished the session with a mass relay on the grass which gave the opportunity for teams to show off their transition strategies.

Sunday morning saw a group of 8 riders assemble at Hilden Golf Club to tackle the Weald ice-cream ride.  With the sun out and several of the riders having already ridden on Friday and Saturday the pace was relaxed.  Even so, the big climb up to the top of Bayley's Hill still presented a significant challenge but clearly the thought of the long descent and then a well deserved ice-cream helped to spur everyone on.

 In particular a special mention should be made to Hope for her first non-stop ascent and to Lauren, who chose this demanding ride as her debut ride-out and still made it to the top with a smile on her face - fantastic riding.  We made it to the ice-cream shop in time and relaxed on the village green which was sadly otherwise deserted despite the lovely weather before a leisurely roll back to Hilden.

Well done everyone on rounding the weekend off with such an enjoyable ride; I suspect that there were a few who spent the rest of the day on the sofa, but then, as any cyclist will tell you, periods of rest and recovery are very important.

Next weekend:

Friday evening - Spring in the Park @ Cyclopark
Saturday 7th June - Youth Ride 9.30am  - contact me to sign on
Go-Ride at Stocks Green 1.45pm - 3pm