Power Pack at Cyclopark - More Young Riders Needed!!

There was just one hardy KVK out on the track at Cyclopark today. Numbers were well down with only 9 riders today - probably a combination of the cold and the Lee Valley session. Despite the cold, Hope had fun and enjoyed the session. They started with some handling and cornering skills then moved up to the oval for the second half. They rode in small groups and took it in turns to orbit around the group. Hope particularly enjoyed that exercise. As usual, they finished with a handicap race then it was up to the cafe to warm up with a well deserved hot chocolate. Despite the cold, she had fun and came home still smiling















Next Power Pack:

Saturday 31st January - Youth Ride & Go Ride Cancelled Today

GO RIDE IS CANCELLED TODAY DUE TO ADVERSE WEATHER AND SURFACE CONDITIONS.

Saturday 24th January 2015

Youth Ride - eight riders turned out this morning despite the near freezing conditions.  The long route covered 33km and the shorter one 22km.  

Another chilly morning, but lovely bright sunshine

Hope and Nico ready to go!

33km later and still smiling!

Go Ride at Stocks Green School

This weekend we focused on riding slowly.  This is a key skill and one of the important stepping stones to becoming an accomplished bike rider.  Our experienced riders have all been complimented on their excellent handling skills at the velodrome, the BMX track and the road circuit and you will notice that they can all ride REALLY slowly.  It's official slow is the new fast :-).

We started out with a warm up that involved a mini circuit of step-ups, squats, wall presses, squat thrusts, arm dips, planks and a lap of running or riding.  We followed this up with "thread the needle" before moving onto some really slow riding.  The warm up obviously worked as jackets and coats were thrown aside by all the riders despite some of the coaches looking decidedly chilly.  Damian challenged the Youth Riders to some track stand practise on the slope up to the gate while our younger riders tried out all the tips and techniques for riding slowly. Damian had created one of his famous town centre challenge circuits and we tackled this in small groups; the tight turns and narrow channels put everyone from experienced riders to beginners to the test.  Some very impressive riding from everybody.  We finished the session with some games of sardines.  Lots of progress today well done KVK, see you next week.


Next Week:

Saturday 31st January:
Youth Ride 9.30am - please contact me if you would like to ride
Go Ride at Stocks Green - sign on 1.45pm

Sunday 1st February:
Youth Riders to Lee Valley Olympic Velodrome - this session is full
Power Pack at Cyclopark - 1pm - 3pm This is an excellent session for anyone getting to grips with riding a road bike.

Saturday 17th January 2015

Unfortunately icy conditions meant that this morning's Youth Ride had to be cancelled. Hopefully we will have more luck next week.

Puncture Repair at Hildenborough Village Hall

Although it seemed bright and sunny by the afternoon, there was still a bitter chill to the air so it was a treat to be in the warm (very warm) and dry of Hildenborough Village Hall.

We kicked off with a demo from Claire and then everyone had the opportunity to remove their wheel, tyre and tube and replace it.  Swinging the inner tube around your head is not actually necessary but it is fun, so if you see anyone performing this manoeuvre roadside they are probably a KVK!  Our mid session break was well catered by Harry and Toni who between them had made cookies and cakes.  Juan and Martin made it back from a short ride just in time for tea and cake.  We had ran a quick saddle bag memory game; Harry and Sophia managed to recall 11 of the items closely followed by Ellen with 10.

 Re-fuelled,  we progressed onto removing and replacing rear wheels, this was followed by the opportunity to take part in the remove and replace TT on one of the road bike wheels.  By the end of the session Damian and Sophia were unbeaten with their super speedy times of _________and ____________.  Katy is going to practise before we do this again!

A fun afternoon, everyone made alot of progress and I can feel we are moving closer to the day when none of the adult volunteers will ever have to get their hands dirty again :-)


Next Week: Saturday 24th January

Youth Ride: 9.30am - two groups, please contact me if you would like to ride
Go Ride: 1.45pm sign on at Stocks Green School. - This session is suitable for MTB/hybrids or road bikes.  If bringing a road bike please make sure you have a pair of TRAINERS with you.

Saturday 10th January 2015

It was great to see so many riders on our first weekend sessions of 2015.  The weather was kind to us and we managed to get out in the morning with the Youth Riders and run a successful Go-Ride session in the afternoon.

The afternoon Go-Ride session went ahead with a good turn out of riders.  Keiran arrived on a unicycle (showing very impressive skills) but had to swap to a regular bike for the session which started off with some low gear races allowing the riders to consider the importance of selecting the best gear for starting off as well as practicing "spinning" (pedalling at low resistance/high cadence).  The group then split into two with Kary and Katy taking the smaller wheels and myself and Jacob taking the bigger wheels.

We worked on moving the bike without riding it and mounting and dismounting.  Saddle push proved easy at first when riders could use there "best" hand and go at their own speed, but with the "wrong" hand and slowed down things were more tricky, but a bit of practice saw great improvement; we then moved on to a bike shop push (more difficult) and scooting (easy).  Things got more taxing when riders were required to crouch down with heads below the handle bars whilst gliding - remember to keep looking where you are going! Finally we moved on to mounting whilst scooting and a running dismount; some great skills on display all round. Finally we finished with a game of ladders (requiring pairs to mount, ride round some cones and dismount in a race against each other) and a medley race with each team having to complete the course with riders doing saddle push, bike shop push and scooting; a close finish at the end.

Damian

Next Weekend Saturday 17th January 2015:

YOUTH RIDE: contact me to sign on

NO GO-RIDE, we will be practising puncture repair at Hildenborough Village Hall 2.30pm - 4.30pm. Please bring a clean bike and any tools that you have.

Sunday 21st December - Pimp My Bike Christmas Ride

Despite all the inevitable hustle and bustle in the run up to Christmas, twenty three riders gathered for our annual Christmas Ride.  As usual our regular riders had pulled out all the stops, with Calvin modelling Michele's most ambitious project to date and the Wilkes' adopting a literary theme with their protrayal of Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past Present and Future.  The Inglis' went for all out tinselation with an elf and a King thrown in while Katy had robbed some of the gifts from under the tree for her and Izzy's very Christmassy look.  Hannah had gone low key (she assured me she was wearing a Christmas jumper), while Polly resorted to the faithful Reindeer onesie (the ultimate low effort option).  For once in my life I was an angel.  The Walker's, Obeys and Bulleys had all raided the tinsel box and between us we were quite a spectacle.  So much so that one of the neighbours came out and offered to take a picture.

View from across the street from an upstairs window before we set off.

We headed off via the cycle path to Tonbridge Park and down to Barden Lake.  After a short jelly baby stop we returned via Powdermills and finished our ride at Cafe 1809, where we all enjoyed a drink and a piece of cake.  Thanks to everyone who attended for making this a fun end to a great year for the Kent Velo Kids.  See you in January!