Saturday 23rd April - Go Ride, Youth Ride and Lee Valley Velodrome

My group on site with Kylo Ren

GO RIDE Seventeen riders signed on this this morning and we got started straight away by practising 'saddle push', a really handy technique for looking cool or if you have a big bag to carry while pushing your bike ;-)

Serious concentration from Cayden

Next up we split into two groups; one groups headed off site with Jacob to tackle Col de Coldharbour while the other group stayed on me for some intensive skills practise.  We started by riding through a narrow line of cones, then mixed it up with one handed and looking behind before making the gap between the cones narrower and then finally turning the course into a slalom.  Everyone worked really hard on getting their pedalling smooth, looking ahead and most importantly avoiding the cones.  After a quick leg spin round the field and a biscuit break we laid out a multi skills circuit that included a narrow line of cones, a slalom, dismount-saddle push-remount zone, the infamous post office queue, bottle pick and stop in the box.  Needless to say the most frequently uttered phrase was "can I go again?".  Load so of great riding and lots of improvement in all the sections.

Getting organised to fit in the goal

Serena demonstrating her excellent balance

The Col de Coldharbour crew also had a great ride (photo?) and came back via the pump track in West Wood. Congratulations to Charlotte, Oliver, Freja, Hope, Joel & Nico and thanks to our volunteer adults for making the ride possible.

Smiling faces from Luke and Hope

YOUTH RIDE There was plenty of enthusiasm for Youth Ride despite the decidedly chilly conditions.  Luke, Ben & Hope were joined by myself, Claire, Stuart and Sarah.  The route "Avoiding Hever Tri" takes in Roughway and School Lane in Plaxtol but rewards riders with a mostly downhill run back to Hildenborough.  Luke and I met up with Claire and Hope just before we got back to school.

Enjoying the view at the top of Roughway

KVG Sportive Sunday 17th April

An important day in the KVG calender and one which the KVK look forward to immensely (could this be a cake thing?)  This year we had riders on each of the three routes; Izzy and Hope on the 20 miler, Ellen and Sophia on the 40 miler and Toni and Polly on the 60 miler.  Sadly Hannah and Calvin weren't able to join us this year due to D of E and racing commitments (I ll leave you to work out which one was which).  Needless to say, all our riders excelled themselves and I know that all our adult riders are immensely proud of them.  So Chapeau to Hope, Izzy, Ellen, Sophia, Toni & Polly and thank you very much to Damian, Malcolm, Sarah, Claire and Katy who have helped the riders get their miles in over the last few months.

Damian, Toni, Polly and me setting off (I spent most of the day at the back)

Ellen leading Sophia and Malcolm out of the start pen.

Hope and Izzy (have they dropped Claire and Ash already)

Heading for the finish line, tired but happy.

Go Ride & Youth Ride Saturday 16th April

Go Ride at Stocks Green
Saturday looked bright but it was chilly AGAIN, a few bare knees found that out quite quickly.  Thirteen riders signed on and we welcomed some new riders; William, Rosemary and Charlotte.  Our first skills challenge was to collect a marker cone on your helmet and ride in a straight line to a helper who either retrieved it.  A good exercise for encouraging a lovely still upper body while riding.  This proved very popular with the riders so definitely something we'll do again.

We moved onto a game of whistle stop, with Ellen and Andrew keeping a close eye on riders losing lives by putting a foot down, Hope was the last rider standing, which just goes to show the more you practise the better you get.

We continued the slow riding theme with a few tips on riding slowly and some slow race heats before moving onto our endurance block.  We encouraged riders to find a pace where they were out of breath but not absolutely maxed out and to sprint out of the saddle once every lap. By the end of fifteeen minutes everyone looked suitably pleased to stop for a drink and a biscuit.

After the break we moved onto playing Sardines in small groups before finishing with Marymoor Crawl racing.  Great riding from all the children as usual, look forward to seeing you all next week.

Youth Ride
I sometimes forget that our riders actually WANT to ride their bikes as much as possible, so on the odd occassion I give them an opportunity to skip a ride they always turn me down!  With the KVG sportive planned for Sunday I thought they might want a day off but not so.  We opted for an old fave, our Penshurst loop with a few miles added on to take us up to 20.  We made it back in time to see Claire struggling to get the automatic gates to open, after lots of helpful suggestions and different approaches the gates opened and they were free to go!  Smooth, confident riding from Toni, Luke, Polly, Ellen & Hope

The gates finally opened!

Toni, Luke, Hope, Ellen & Polly

Tonbridge to Penshurst Ride-Out - Saturday 9th April

A miserable rainy start to the morning threatened to dampen spirits, but eight determined young riders set off from the meet point at Tonbridge Park along the cycle path towards Penshurst and were rewarded with clearing skies and even a bit of sun.  

Despite a wide age range the group rode purposefully, keeping together and making good time; so good in fact that we had more then enough time for a run up the "concrete road" towards Penshurst Place.  Well done indeed to Zara and Oliver who made their debut KVK assent and all without any stops; fabulous.  We had time for a snack and a photo at the top and then, with a controlled descent, passing a horde(?) of ramblers with care, we started the run for home, again making very good time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and look forward to the next one, hopefully with yet more fantastic young riders.

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Oliver, Zara, Izzy, Sophia, Nico, Luke, Hope and Toni (with Katy, Juan and Malcolm) take a break after conquering the concrete road; despite the appearance it was actually quite pleasant at the top, with the wind absent for once!!