Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th May

Friday night seems to come round fast at the moment.  I've swapped my winter pint and a pub supper for an evening at Cyclopark with over 100 young riders from clubs around the region, including at least half a dozen from KVK.  The evening skyscapes at Cylopark can be breathtaking and the pride and pleasure I feel watching our riders progress makes for the perfect start to the weekend.

So, the Round 3 team was: Hope, Ellen, Catriona, Sophia, Polly & Hannah.  Nico and Toni were on school trips and Calvin was nursing an injury.  Of course everyone rode well and enjoyed the evening - it's the KVK after all - lots of  firsts; first race for Catriona, first definitive last lap for Ellen and Sophia, first mid race mechanical for Polly, first entire race in the bunch for Hannah.  Not the first time I've missed Hope's race organising the marshals :-(.  First Oreo milkshake at the cafe???

Round 3 Results: U10 Girls Hope Inglis 3rd,, U14 Girls Polly Burge 1st,  Sophia Netherclift 2nd, Catriona Veal 3rd, Ellen Inglis 4th. U16 Girls Hannah Graveney 5th.

Wasn't long before everyone was back on their bikes again...................

Youth Ride - saturday morning

Izzy, Hope, Calvin, Catriona, Polly, Ellen & Hannah all rode this morning.  We headed out via Powdermills and along the Causeway before heading up to Weald via Hale Oak or Bore Place Road (whooopps).  Small wheels tackled the sharp climb into Weald village while the bigger wheels headed up Baileys and round the back of Knole Park to Ightham Mote.  Inevitably there were some tired legs but they didn't stop us riding 20/14 miles.

Go Ride (ride out) and Quick Start
I was on site this afternoon with our Quick Starters, Damian headed down to Hayesden Country Park with our regular Go Riders; there was mention of ice cream........

We started off with some bottle pick, this built on some one handed work we did last week but also provided the opportunity to try picking up a range of trickier items including chain links and coins and of course the teddies!

On site we did a quick Chase the Snake warm up on the grass before moving onto practising some slow riding.  After a quick break we tackled Damian's legendary town centre challenge, a tricky course make up of twists and turns, some narrow sections and even the limbo.  The challenge was to get around the course as fast as possible next to a partner without clipping any cones.  Alexia and Ellie made the best job of riding with each other but Franklin and Max navigated the course in the quickest time.

Well done to all the riders that have taken part in Quick Start we look forward to seeing you at our regular sessions soon!

Please note there are no Saturday sessions next weekend (May 30th).  The next Saturday session is 6th June when we will be hosting our very own KVK Hour Challenge - details to follow.

Saturday 16th May - Youth Ride, Go Ride and Quick Start

Youth Ride

Another good turnout for Youth Ride this morning and a choice of two routes for our young riders; 12 or 20 miles.  We all headed out towards Ightham Mote for Col de Mote before either turning round or continuing on towards Plaxtol before returning to Stocks Green.  A lovely sunny morning but with a few punctures and and one unscheduled dismount ;-)

We all met at the top of Col de Mote - riders enjoying a snack & drink int he sunshine

Hope and Nico back at Stocks Green

Go Ride and Quick Start

Yet another sunny afternoon for Go Ride.  Ten riders signed on for Quick Start for me , Michele & Claire, while regulars Bailey, Harry, William, Kieran & Hope rode out with Damian, Hannah, Luke & Jacob.

My riders made lots of progress today; they are really starting to get the hang of riding in control.  They really enjoyed the mirror game where they had to use all their skill to control their pace to match their partner.  They all managed to high five down the channel.

The kids would happily have played jail break all afternoon but Mums and Dads wanted to go home!

Meanwhile.................Damian and the others rode out........

The plan this week was to again tackle the Col de Coldharbour but this time, in a break with tradition, to do so in reverse.  As with the best laid plans, it was scuppered by the unexpected; a puncture shouldn't have caused a problem (even if it did involve three separate thorns) but a very stubborn tyre and then a brake balance issue caused quite a delay and whilst the riders enjoyed the rest (and the impromptu sweet stop) it did mean that there wasn't enough time to do the whole circuit. However we got across the bumpy field and up the hill into the woods before turning round and enjoying the speedy descent, but after two crossing of the bumpy field everyone was feeling the effects and were glad to get back onto the relative smoothness of the track (avoiding the pot holes) and the luxury of the road.  Some good descending of Coldharbour as a group saw us back just in time.  Well done to Kieran, Harry, Bailey, and William (making his first appearance on a KVK ride out) and to Luke, Hannah and Jacob for helping.  Sorry no photos again this week (note to self - must do better job of taking photographs)

Sunday Ride

Katie joined Damian, myself, Calvin, Hannah and Polly on Sunday morning for a longer ride (34 miles 2700ft of climbing).  We are hoping that this ride will eventually bridge the gap between KVK and the adult sections of the club.  A lovely ride with only one puncture.

Hannah seems to be attracting punctures this weekend

Back at Hilden - even Calvin was tired by the end.

 Next Week:

• Friday 22nd May - Spring in the Park Round 3 - We wish all our riders good luck.
• Saturday 23rd May - Youth Ride - Stocks Green School 9.30am Road Bikes Only
• Go Ride & Quick Start 1,45pm sign on.
• Sunday 24th May - PowerPack at Cyclopark - 10am - 12 noon 
• Club Cluster session at LV Velodrome - 3 - 6pm - fully booked

Friday 15th Spring in The Park at Cyclopark - Round 2

My partner in crime Tabby from Club Cyclopark with Polly, Toni & Hannah

Round 2 Complete!

Another dry and sunny evening at Cyclopark, although it does chill down fairly rapidly once the sun disappears.  The usual suspects were racing this evening plus some new additions to the team; Nico in the U10's and Catriona spectating/supporting. 

Before the start, Nico contemplates the start line.

Round 2 Results: U10 Girls Hope Inglis 4th, U12 Boys Nico Burrone 28th, U14 Girls, Polly Burge 2nd, Toni Wilkes 3rd, Sophia Netherclift 4th, Ellen Inglis 5th. U16 Girls Hannah Graveney 5th, U16 Boys Calvin Hooper 23rd

Given the choice, the girls opt for a separate start in the U14's race.

Taking on some well earned post race nutrition (aka Claire's crispy cakes)

Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th May - Youth Ride, Go Ride & Quick Start and Sunday Ride

Youth Ride
We split into two groups and tackled two versions of a simple route that took us out to Plaxtol and then back via Ightham Mote with a small diversion down to and back up from Seal for some.  Well done to everybody who rode:

• The tired legs from Friday night (racing not dancing;-)) Hannah, Toni, Ellen, Polly & Hope
• Reluctant climber Luke 
• Recently returned from injury Nico
• Newest addition Ben
• Longest serving rider Calvin (with fresh legs) 

Sadly I seem to have go out of the habit of taking photos so you will just have to imagine what they looked like.(Kary)


Go-Ride
With the quick starters on the school playground and a number of the more senior riders recovering from Friday night racing, we had a select group of riders tackle the Col de Coldharbour, including Tia who took on the challenge for the first time.  With the sun out, the ascent was hot work, but sustained by Haribo's everyone made it to the top and enjoyed the spin through the woods and the charge into the bumpy field.  Having checked nobody's teeth had been rattled out by the bumps we headed back to Stocks Green, stopping for a few goes on the pump track at West Wood before finishing the session with a game or two of sardines. Great riding Bailey, Nico, Harry and Tia. (Damian).

Quick Start
A great turnout for Quick Start with fourteen riders taking part in our coached session.  The main focus of the session was turning and by the end of the session most of the riders had picked up the key points needed to make good accurate turns.  We interspersed the coaching with some laps of the field helped by our young volunteers Tom and Hannah.  We finished off the session with some mounting/dismounting races and of course a few games of sardines.  Looking forward to seeing you all again next week when we will be working on riding close to other riders. (Kary)

Next Week:  Saturday 16th May Youth Ride 9.30am Stocks Green School
Go Ride and Quick Start 1.45pm - 3.30pm

Spring in The Park Round 1 - Friday 7th May

A fantastic evening at Cyclopark for our dedicated young riders.  Hope, Ellen, Sophia, Polly, Toni and Hannah rode, while Izzy came along to spectate.  There was good turnout with around 25 riders competing in each age group.  Looking forward to next week already.

Round 1 Results:

Girls U10
Hope 3rd

Girls U14
Polly 1st
Toni 2nd
Sophia 3rd
Ellen 4th 

Girls U16
Hannah 5th






Spring in the Park is a series of eight races held on Friday night at Cyclopark, Gravesend.  These are regional races run according to British Cycling Rules.  

Dates: 8th May, 15th May, 22nd May, 29th May, 12th June, 19th June, 26th June, 3rd July

Saturday 2nd May - Youth Ride, Go Ride & Quick Start

Go Ride - Col de Coldharbour
Lots of people turned up, so we split into two groups. The first group headed off with Kary, Chris and Tom, and our grouped followed with Malcolm leading. After pacing it around the original Col de Coldharbour loop, we decided to go down to the BMX track in Westwood. We rode around it a few times, then Malcolm came up with a challenge. It was a race to try and get air on the 4th jump. Toni steps straight up to the challenge and completes it effortlessly! Not having much time left we did some timed laps of the course. Kary's group then came past and wanted to have a go so we had a few more goes and then headed back. A very fun afternoon! (Polly)

Go Ride - Quick Start

The first of our latest series of quick start sessions went ahead today with a lively group of eleven riders.  The first part of the session focused on mounting and moving off and then we moved on to controlling our speed and braking to a stop.  These may sound like basic skills, and to an extent they are, but they are also essential for safe riding and for developing more advanced skills.  Great progress was made throughout the session and by end all riders were obviously much more aware of what was happening in front of them and able to adjust their speed accordingly and almost all feet were being used for pedalling and not braking. We finished with a game of limbo. (Damian)

Sunday 26th April - Power Pack at Cyclopark, Gravesend

Glad to see that while I was away in Mallorca, the KVK were out in force at Power Pack and taking pictures!  Well done girls, sounds like you had a good session.

Next Power Pack Session: Sunday May 24th 10am - 12 noon. Road bikes only. Contact me for more details.