Saturday 28th November - Go Ride & Youth Ride

A bright but chilly morning greeted me when I opened the front door this morning.  Despite low overnight temperatures there was no sign of ice in the lane so looked like we were good to go.

Chase the Snake with Toni

My group changing off the front 

The warm up was organised by our Young Volunteers who used the top half of the site to create a mini circuit including the popular lump and some riding on the now pretty boggy field.  Our Go Ride session focussed on group riding skills and build on the techniques we've worked on in previous weeks we split into two groups; Damian took charge of the older riders on the main playground while I had the younger riders on the Infant playground.  Our young riders were soon whizzing round in pairs so we moved onto a bigger group of four and then the full 'egg box' six.  Once we'd mastered this we started changing off the front with one pair drifting to the side and rejoining at the back.  These are challenging maneouvres, requiring the riders to control their pace and position in relation to other riders; what a great job they made of it!  We spun our legs out with a quick round of Chase the Snake with Toni, one of our Young Volunteers acting as pacer.  After the biscuit break we tried some pairs slalom; once again a skill that requires considerable concentration and judgment.  With some help and encouragement from Ash everyone was soon making it through the course as a pair. 

Meanwhile our older riders were working with Damian on some similar activities on the main playground; more space to play with means more speed and a few more thrills.

Damian explaining the session

Nico, Hope and Sophia on the Youth Ride

Our Youth Riders headed out after Go Ride on a couple of routes called Easy Peasy and Not So Easy Peasy.  Claire and I tackled the shorter route with Hope, Nico and Sophia while Damian, Sarah and Malcolm took on the longer route with Toni, Luke, Ellen Sophia, Polly and Calvin.  They didn't get far (Carters Hill I think) before a loud crunching preceded Calvin's rear mech disintegrating.  Nothing for it but to wait for a rescue, at least they got some shelter in the pub.

Toni, Luke, Sophia, Ellen and Polly, Calvin had to abandon with a broken rear mech :-(