Saturday 23rd January Puncture Repaire & Rollers Workshop

We met at St John's Church Centre in Hildenborough for an indoor session today.  It was great to see a good crowd and we got stuck straight into a quick demo followed by practise removing wheels, tyres and replacing inner tubes.  We didn't dwell on the patching side of things this time, we'll save that for another day.

Alisha getting to grips with her tyre

Given we had indoor facilities, the biscuit tin was swapped for a fine selection of treats including flapjack, lemon drizzle cake, cookie cake and ginger cake.  All washed down with tea, coffee and hot chocolate.  We even had a comfy lounge area to eat and drink in.  I set up the bike essentials memory box in the lounge area and played the memory game with some of the younger riders, while Luke manned the tyre change challenge for the adults and teenagers.

Sue arrived from the KVG and was keen to see the rollers in action, so that was the signal for the static trainers to come out.  Before long everyone was working hard on rollers or turbos, practising skills and generally getting out of breath.

Twelve o'clock came round all too soon and we were locking the door and saying goodbye to our temporary clubhouse :-) (I can dream............)

Well done to everyone who took part, I look forward to you mending lots of punctures unassisted in the future!

Charlotte helping her Dad

Nico shows Juan how to get the tyre back on

Great team work from Zara & Louise

A loud bang is what you get with a pinch flat!

Caitlin delighted with her work

And now for something different.......

Katy embarking on the tyre change challenge

Tony & Polly eating oranges (thanks Michele!)

Naomi and Aleasha trying out the turbos

Ooops, no excuse for slow tyre changes now!

Next Week: Ride Out - Bedgbury.  Meet at the bike wash 9.45am. We will split into groups and should be able to accomodate all riders, please let me know if you would like to join us.  You need to bring an inner tube, pocket snack and drink, packable jacket.  Please note parking is £10 per car (you can park outside for free if you do your homework).  

Saturday 16th January - Go Ride

Once again this week we invited those riders who own road bikes to bring them along to practise their skills.  Much of the site is currently pretty soggy so we are limited to the playground and some sections of the path.  Less opportunity for racing around but plenty for riding slowly and in control.

A chilly start to Saturday's Go Ride

The frosty start seemed to have delayed most people's arrival so we went straight into the session.  A quick warm up of 'whistle stop' ended with Cartriona and Luke going head to head for the longest balance; Luke was victorious in the end but it was a hard fought battle.

We split into two groups, I worked with the small wheels on the infant playground practising riding in lines (wiggly ones and straight one), riding one handed and stopping in the box.  The bitter cold made squeezing the brake levers very uncomfortable so we had ten minutes on the play equipment after our biscuit break to get the feeling back in our hands.  

Meanwhile, the older riders had been practising riding in contact with each other in a build up to some Madison hand sling practise, judging by the looks on their faces I think this session will have to be repeated it was such good fun.  Meanwhile we constructed a huge multi skills circuit on the playground including ride the line, slalom, mounting, dismouting, scooting, the post office queue, taking a teddy and stop box/sumo.  A great way to end the session with plenty of skillful riding from everyone who took part.

Madison hand sling, can't wait to see it on the bike!

Next Week: Saturday 23rd January 2016 9.30am - 12 noon Indoor Session at St Johns Church Centre, Hildenborough.  Please bring a CLEAN bike, if you would like to learn how and practise puncture repair.

Saturday 9th January - Welcome to 2016!

Our first session of 2016 kicked off with an off the bike warm up which involved some core strength exercises and running, not all the riders embraced this activity with the same level of enthusiasm ;-)  We moved onto a bike warm up of 'thread the needle', riding in a block of club run pairs, the two riders at the back have to wiggle their way between the other riders to the front.  Lots of concentration is required for this to go well.  As usual our stunning riders managed this tricky activity with a wide range of ages and abilities.

Good controlled riding from Cayden & Thomas

For the next part of the session we split into two and worked on our slow riding skills.  Our younger riders are still getting to grips with the concept of riding slowly, we threw in some human cones to ride around and take objects from which seemed very popular.  Finishing off with riding slowly with a cone on your head. Older riders were challenged a step further and had to pick up items from the ground including tiny twigs!

Ben and Luke, start their move from back to front

Perfect pace from Zara and Jacob

Smooth riding from Catriona and Alisha

Did Ben get the baton?

A pretty soggy youth ride today.

Next Week: Saturday 16th January - Go Ride at Stocks Green 9.15am, Youth Ride road bikes only 11.30am - contact me to sign on.

We are now on Twitter!

Damian is now managing our Twitter feed.  If you'd like to find out what that means don't hesitate to have a chat to him at the next Go Ride session. Alternatively find us on Twitter

https://twitter.com/the_KvK

Saturday 19th December - Pimp My Ride

Calvin and Michele delighted us once again!

Nico, Stuart, Toni and Albert

Santa (AKA Malcolm), Gareth, Izzy, Louise, Zara, Catriona and Sophia

Thirty riders met up for our now legendary Christmas ride.  Our youngest riders joined us this year and demonstrated their impressive bunch riding skills in the large and dynamic group.  We delighted local residents who waved and hooted as we headed down the cycle path to Tonbridge.  We returned via Hayesden and Powdermills and headed up to Cafe 1809 for coffee and hot chocolate.

Chris, Damian, Luke, Caspar, Franklin and Ben

One to watch Calvin, Franklin's reindeer bike shows great potential!

Returning via Powdermills

Relaxing at Cafe 1809

Christmas KVGs (and Serena)

Our very own Angels! Serena, Betsy & Zara

Malcolm and Hope