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!!!