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.