KVK Ride to the Seaside - Sunday 26th June

Raring to go: missing a few!

Leaving the feedstop at Bethersden

The day arrived for the KVK ride to the seaside, having had a successful ride last year I was feeling relaxed(ish) and looking forward to a day in the saddle.  As usual, nothing is entirely straightforward with the KVK; Hope and Izzy were due to join the ride in Hadlow to get a head start and lose a few miles, meanwhile both the 50 milers and the 100 milers were meeting at Hilden, ready to ride at 8.30am.  Jake had headed off early to pick up Claire and Hope, Rog took Katy and Izzy to the rendez vous point, he also took most of the feed stop provisions, leaving Rob with limited supplies, not too worry he could top up when they met up at Bethersden.

Time ticked on and there was no sign of Stuart and Ben, a few quick calls and it transpired they were waiting at Stocks Green for us, so we headed out to pick them up on the way.  This also gave Damian the chance to pick up his water bottles from home, so avoiding a very thirsty day for him.

More refuelling at Bethersden

Polly trying to take a selfie!

Refuelling at Bethersden

Eventually we were on the road and rolling along at a good pace.  Claire, Katy, Izzy & Hope were in the break up the road with two groups chasing behind; Damian, Malcolm and myself with Toni, Calvin, Hannah and Polly, followed by Sarah, Nick, Michele and Stuart with Ben, Luke, Sophia & Ellen.

Even more refuelling at Bethersden

The plan was to check in with Rog at the grass triangle (c. 20 miles) and take advantage of the hedgerows for a comfort break.  He confirmed that the break away were still well out front but with no sign of Sarah's group, it was decided that Rog would hang on and check all was well with them.  We headed off towards Bethersden to meet up with Rob.  We arrived to see the leaders just leaving with a shout of "we waited as long we could", fortunately they hadn't eaten all the cake, so we set about refuelling.  I was starting to feel slightly anxious about the others as I was pretty sure with Sarah on the front they wouldn't be hanging about. I got in contact with Rog and he confirmed that Stuart had had multiple punctures which had slowed them down, but they were making progress now as he'd opted to let them ride on and he had called his wife for assistance!  Rog was planning on giving him a lift in the van...............but while on the phone he saw a bloke go by on a bike, "I guess that was him" said Rog.

Dynamic planning was now called for, the breakaway and chase group were well on their way to the seaside now, so I decided to send Rog onto the coast and wait for the final group with Rob, we checked out the food supplies and figured we still had enough crispy cakes, brownies and bars to feed a few more riders.  Some time later they rolled into the car park, fell on the food and regaled us with tales of Stuart's punctures..........

Everyone at Varne

I joined them on their final leg towards the coast; Luke and Ellen both did a sterling job sitting up front as we started to encounter the sea breeze.  We made good progress and before long were rolling along the sea front towards The Varne Boat Club.

The others had already made themselves at home and were enjoying the warm welcome of the Commodore.  Rog was enjoying finding out all about the club and their plans for the future.  Katy and Claire were making tea and coffee in the little kitchen and we helped ourselves to the sandwiches and crisps left for us by Sue.  All in all a perfect stop.

Time to move on though, so we said goodbye to Luke, Ben, Sophia, Izzy & Hope who were all feeling pleased to have made it to the seaside but ready to relax and enjoy the rest of their day out of the saddle.

Just the KVK at Varne

We split into two groups again; Damian, Malcolm and Sarah took Calvin and Toni, Nick, Katy and myself made a perfect six with Polly, Hannah & Ellen.  Nick announced that ours was the fun group, but a short burst of chainganging across the marshes soon changed his mind on that one!  We'd opted for two check ins with Roger on the way home; the first at Woodchurch (68 miles) and the second at Marden (88 miles), everything was going smoothly, we even managed to stop at real toilets, rather than the imaginery one at Bethersden.   We promised ourselves carrot cake at Marden and it seemed to do the job and fuelled us back to Hilden, we arrived a few minutes after Damian and just as Michele was pulling into the car park.

What a great day; warm sunshine, excellent bike riding, no punctures (excluding Stuart) and of course good cake.  Well done to all the riders that took part, hopefully you will be inspired to do it again or maybe it's time to come up with a new challenge for next year?

The Team: Hope, Izzy, Luke, Ben, Sophia, Ellen, Calvin, Hannah, Polly, Toni joined by Katy, Claire, Stuart, Michele, Sarah, Nick, Malcolm, Kary & Damian. Roger & Rob on 
support.

The Distances: 48 miles for Izzy & Hope, average speed 14.1mph, 55 miles for Ben, Luke & Izzy, average speed xxxmph, 105 miles for Toni, Calvin, Polly, Hannah and Ellen, average speed xxxmph.

Izzy & Hope at the seaside after a cracking ride averaging over 14mph