Saturday 17th December Pimp My Ride

As usual the KVK had pulled out all the stops to get themselves and their bikes looking super festive for our annual Christmas ride.  We met up at school, an amazing sight; forty riders all resplendent in tinsel and baubles.  This year we had two Santas alongside elves, reindeer, a christmas tree and a snowy star.  Gareth climbed on top of his car to take a photo before we set off along the cycle path to Tonbridge.

 It is no mean feat negotiating the path with it's numberous crossings and side turnings but in true KVK style everyone lent a hand and we made it smoothly all the way down to town with no mishaps.  Once on the traffic free path there was time to let off some steam before heading back through Powder Mills and back to Hildenborough.  Cafe stop was my house, Rog was on hand with the tea, coffee and hot chocolate and there were lots of treats brought along by the riders and their families.  We tried out Jacob's light up Christmas Tree, powered by our club Isla bike on a turbo.  Thanks to everyone who came along to celebrate the end of 2016 at the KVK.  Looking forward to lots more fun in 2017.  I've been sent lots of photos but here are a few to give you a flavour of the ride.

Saturday 10th December - Col de Coldharbour & Youth Ride (To Be A Pilgrim)

Today was an experiment, we decided to run an off-site ride for Go-Riders
as well as a Youth Ride for our older riders.  The day dawned, miserable, damp and grey but this didn't affect the KVK's enthusiasm for bike riding.

We all ended up together at the exit of the bumpy field, ideal for a quick group photo

Our minis at the top of Col de Coldharbour, won't be long before none of the adults can keep up with them.

Betsy and Gareth after a successful ascent of the Col de Coldharbour

 Eighteen young riders met up at West Wood; four of them headed off "To Be A Pilgrim" (they were heading towards the Pilgrim's Way), and I split the remaining fourteen into four groups.  Malcolm and Christophe headed out with Luke, Dan, Eloise and Hope with strict instructions to do at least two laps this week.  Previously, they had 'convinced' Calvin that they were tired after just one and returned to play on the pump track.  Michele and Claire took the youngest riders; Betsy, Franklin, Ivo and Serena helped by Sarah, Gary & Cas.  They met up with Ewan and James in the lane, some early morning puncture repair had delayed them.  Finally, Joel, Joshua, Albert and Oliver rode out with myself, Jez, Gareth, Andrew and Ella.  All my group made it non stop to the top of the Col de Coldharbour.  All went well, and we were just thinking about an extra climb up the Chestnut Walk when Joel got the first of two punctures.  The kids took time out for some snacking and we did a few mini races while the puncture was repaired before setting off again.  When Joel's back tyre deflated for the second time, I sent the group on and launched a van resuce.  On the plus side, Joel was finally convinced it was time to upgrade his bike.  Everyone met back a the pump track, no sign of the Pilgrims though..............so I headed home wondering where they had got to.



Damian texted soon after to let me know all was well but that he'd had a series of punctures that had slowed them down.  Time for some new tyres or better road sweeping by KCC???

Next week is our final session and is our popular Pimp My Bike ride.  Decorate yourself and your bike in festive fashion and join us for a short ride before returning to Coldharbour Lane for hot chocolate and cakes.  Suitable for all our riders, adults riders welcome (and needed for our youngest members).

Sunday 4th December Regional Cyclocross Champs at Cyclopark

Four of our riders took part in the Regional Cyclocross Championships at Cyclopark on Sunday; Toni, Polly, Hope and Oliver.  Toni and Polly have been regularly competing in the London League but for Hope and Oliver it was their first race.

Hope cheering Oliver on while Claire gets a photo!

The course featured some challenging off camber sections together with the usual twists and turns.  There was even a steep bank climb and a sandpit, no time for sand castles this time though.

Toni takes the bronze medal in the South East and East Regional CX Champs

Saturday 3rd December - Go Ride Club Cluster at Cyclopark

Today was the second of the Go Ride Club Cluster sessions at Cyclopark.  Seventeen of our riders signed on and riders were given the choice of a road session or an MTB session.  I headed down to the road circuit with coaches from Wigmore and Woolwich.  Jimmy headed off on the MTB trails.  Thanks to Christophe for the photos.

Saturday 26th November - Off-Site Ride - Col de Coldharbour

At the pump track in West Wood, our start and finish point

The great thing about the dry weather we've had over the last few months is that the trails  in the woods are still very manageable even for our youngest riders, and so it was that we met up at West Wood before heading for the Col de Coldharbour.  To get to the woods, we must first negotiate the B245 and Coldharbour Lane, so very controlled group riding is the order of the day.  The last on road section climbs up from the Pooh Stick's Bridge, past Trench Farm and up to the top of the lane, where the road stops and becomes a track.  Shortly after there is a dog leg that we call The Chestnut Walk, that's an addition to the main route that continues up a partly metalled track through the woods to the top of the hill and our usual re-fuelling point.  Back on our bikes and one last corner of road to negotiate before we hit a downhill section through the woods to The Chocolate Box Cottage. 

Meeting up with the others at the top of the lane

Time for a biscuit!

 Next up is the single track section through the woods, down the hill and through the gate into the bumpy field.  The final challenge from there is the gradual climb up a wide but stony path back to Coldharbour Lane.  Once again, good controlled group riding is required to get riders safely down to the bridge and back up to re-join the B245, cross over and arrive back at the park.

Puncture repair at Chocolate Box Cottage

We had fourteen young riders sign on; seven Minis came with me and Michele, four Mediums joined Damian and Christophe and the three oldest riders headed out with Calvin and Juan.  All three groups did slightly different versions of the same route and arrived back at the pump track at pretty much the same time.  Great riding from all concerned; very impressed with my Minis, who really showed they could ride well in a  group on the lane and put in loads of effort on the climbs.  Eloise, Rosemary, Joshua and Oliver all added The Chestnut Walk to their route while Nico, Hope and Dan pulled the wool over Calvin's eyes by telling him they were tired and avoiding extra loops of the Col. You won't get away with it again though guys, he's got the measure of you now!

Thanks to all our parents and ride buddies for helping us to get fourteen kids out of the house and into the woods! Keep up the good work.

Next Week: Club Cluster Session at Cyclopark, Gravesend, DA11 7NP 10am - 12noon

The Minis, hiding in the barn

Sunday 20th November Lee Valley Velodrome, Cyclocross and Power Pack(?)

With three different sessions on offer today the KVK were spread between Lee Valley, Ardingly and Cyclopark.  Polly, Toni and Damian had opted for CX so we headed over to Ardingly, meanwhile Nico, Hope, Ellen & Hannah were at the Velodrome, I think Joshua was at Cyclopark (??).  

It was a big day for Nico and Hope as it was there first session at the Olympic Velodrome.  All our riders are eligible to take part in this once they are 12 years old.  All four of our KVRT riders currently race at LV and they all started with these cluster sessions.


Claire sent me these photos and a few quotes about the session.

"It was big smiles all round. Nico was a superstar and went for it - he got high up and above the advertising. He gave it some welly in the elimination race too and came off feeling sick!"

"Ellen and Hannah were looking like pros on their rollers and Ellen has got the hang of pedalling on the top tube". 

 "They picked up lots of tips for the elimination race and Ellen put in a cracking move but a lap too early then got recycled through the group and caught out on the inside again"!

Saturday 19th November Go Ride & Youth Ride

Calvin gets started with the briefing

I woke up to a frosty scene; bright and chilly, not always the best for bike riding but very inspiring in the otherwise dark days of winter.

Calvin was running the session today, working from a plan I'd prepared the day before.  Once we'd got ourselves organised, I was free to catch up with parents and in particular discuss with them how we can extend the coaching team next year.  It was great to have so many positive responses to my request for expressions of interest, looks like 2017 will be an exciting year for us.

Back to the session now.  This time of year, it's all about keeping moving.  The session focused on pace, moving all the time but at various speeds.  The first activity involved riders following a figure of eight course which required them to cross at in intersection.  The aim was to judge your pace to get through the gap and avoid stopping.  After a slow start, which lots of hesitation and confusion it started to come together and riders where slotting into the gaps and keeping everything smooth.  Next up, some work on gears.  Younger riders in particular struggle with gear changing, riders completed a series of short sprint heats, using a different gear each time. The aim was to get riders to 'feel' the gear rather than rely on the indicator on the handlebars.  After a short re-fuelling break we moved onto our endurance activity which involved a circuit including a sprint zone, dismount and hill run and a limbo challenge.  Riders collected a cone for each circuit they completed.  They's already been split into three teams, and the winning team was ??? 

We finished off with a few heats of Marymoor Crawl, the ever popular slow/fast race.  A great session, lots of good riding and lots of things still to work on!  Thanks to Calvin and the team for giving me a day off, I could definitely get used to it. :-)

Despite not running the Go Ride session, I was still last to be ready to ride with the Youth Ride.  We headed out in one group and clocked up 20 miles on our route Rabbit Ears.  Well done to Hope, as the youngest rider in the group she got a fairly good work out!  

Next week, we'll be meeting at West Wood Park at 9.15am for a 9.30am start and riding up Coldharbour Lane. Please let me know if you are planning on joining us.

Saturday 12th November Go Ride at Stocks Green

Kary was away for the weekend and the weather was duly miserable; not so the small bunch of hardy riders who turned up to our Go-Ride session, including new rider Ivo, who were all raring to go. 







The session continued our focus on cyclocross skills and there was much dismounting and mounting, pushing bikes up the mound and hopping back on, before working on our cornering with the well-established favourite, the post office queue. We finished off with some games of sardines (and Hope did not win all of them).  





As always, it is amazing to see just how much progress riders can make in a single session; really well done to all on some great riding.  Now we just need some more mud for the authentic cyclocross experience