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.