Weekend of 29th & 30th September

• Col de Coldharbour Off Site Ride
• PPYCC Youth Racing at Cyclopark
• London League Cyclocross Racing in East Brighton Park

My group made it ALL the way to the top of the lane without a stop - Hurray!!!

Yes, it was another hectic and varied weekend for the Kent Velo Kids. Here's a few photos to give you an idea...........I don't have any from Brighton, but I think the team was Hope, Ivo and Oliver this week.

Michele insisted on a photo with me in it.

Our youngest riders celebrate arriving at the top of the lane - well done everyone

Look who I bumped into at Cyclopark on my way to a meeting :-( They are smiling 'cos they love racing :-)

Weekend of 22nd /23rd September

Go Ride at Stocks Green

It felt a bit like turning the clock back this morning, as we had just sixteen riders to work with; what a treat.  Smaller numbers mean we can get stuck into some really good quality

Getting set up for a big endurance block

coaching.  Our initial focus was pedalling, the aim being to banish the pedal-pedal-freewheel approach from all our riders. Lovely smooth pedalling makes riding in a group so much more enjoyable.  To challenge the smooth pedalling, we practised Thread The Needle and Chaingang before moving onto some classic Post Office Queues but in pairs and groups.  All the coaches agreed that the riders' excellent focus during the session resulted in noticeably smoother riding by the end of the skills block.

To finish off we set up a fast and furious endurance block with lots of twists and turns.  Despite a few inevitable unscheduled dismounts everyone finished the session smiling and puffed out.

Great riding today from everyone today at Go Ride and then later at ...................

Herne Hill Velodrome
This was our second session this year at Herne Hill, sadly the weather was not exactly on our side.  Everyone put on a brave face though and got stuck in.  Those rides who'd been before and were confident got started with Pairs on the Blue, whilst coaches Tony and Joseph briefed the other riders.  Once they'd got the basics of starting and stopping on the fence, it was straight onto riding the Five Lines of HH; black, red, blue, ghost and fence.  No one wavered, and before long everyone had made it up to the fence, even our youngest rider Isaac.  Our Go Ride coaching came in useful as everyone quickly picked up Half Lap Changes, which led smoothly onto a block of Trains and Stations; four riders ride off the front of the bunch and work together to rejoin the back of the bunch.  The finale of the session was an Australian Pursuit, Ivo just pipped Christophe to the line!  Well done to everyone who took part, don't forget to check out their website if you fancy trying some more sessions there: https://www.hernehillvelodrome.com/

London League Cyclocross at Leeds Castle
The crazy gang that turned up to race in very challenging conditions were: Betsy, Albert, Ivo, Oliver.  Lucy made her first appearance on the team and Hope raced later (although it was difficult to believe when I saw how clean her bike and shoes were at 5pm).

Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there :-(, If I had been I would have been cheering VERY VERY loudly for these gritty bike riders, who showed true KVK spirit, even managing the odd smile.  I believe Johnny (Lucy's Dad) raced too...........Great Work Everyone!

Lee Valley Olympic Velodrome

Finally, I was up early to join Harry at Club Cluster Track session at Lee Valley Velodrome.  I didn't take any pictures, which means he'll have to go again, but I'm guessing that won't be a problem ;-)

Please talk to me to find out about riding track, as members of Kent Velo Kids you can access the Club Cluster sessions.

Weekend of 15th/16th September

The bike paths at Kingdom, Penshurst.

We kicked off the weekend with our first trip to Kingdom in Penshurst for a Go Ride session.  We have been there before; a few years ago now, and of course for cyclocross racing, but this was the first of a few sessions we have planned there for this term. I spent few sessions before we arrived, exploring and thinking; this is going to be fun:-)

Getting started a the natural velodrome

As this was our first session, our main objective was to get to know the site and work out what we can do here in the future.  With this in mind, we started at the far end of the site in an area known as "the natural velodrome".  To be fair you do need a fairly good imagination to view this as a velodrome, but ridden anti clockwise you are just turning left.  Unlike most velodromes, the surface is fairly grassy and there is a wicked gradient.  Apparently there is hard core below the grass though and if we ride it enough it will emerge!

At the top of Heart Break Hill

Our next challenge was to climb Heart Break Hill.  This section provides a the opportunity to practise using gears to climb efficiently; the descent provides a good recovery and some practise at braking before going back up the hill, again and again......

Practising slalom on a flatter section

Once we'd climbed Heart Break Hill numerous times, we landed on a flatter section.  Once we'd had a quick biscuit break, Damian, Michele and Calvin ran some mounting and dismounting drills, while Jez and I marked out the course for our final team relays.

We had a great time at Kingdom, the coaches and the riders are already looking forward to being back there very soon. It was good to see a few riders and their families enjoying a post ride snack/lunch.  Damian took this photo of the cake, it did look very tempting...........


Meanwhile, up at Brands Hatch, Hope, Ellen and Polly was getting ready for the last of this year's National Youth Series races.

And finally, Sunday saw our growing cyclocross team competing at beneath the iconic mast (and steps) of Crystal Palace.  As ever it certainly was a busy weekend for the KVK.

Next weekend: Go Ride at Stocks Green, Herne Hill Velodrome Session, Lee Valley Club Cluster and Leeds Castle Cyclocross.

First September Go Ride - Saturday 8th at Stocks Green

There was a week's delay in our intended re-start date as I ended up going to Loughborough with the  South East Cycling Team for the UK School Games, but that is a whole another story............

So, better late than never we were back at Stocks Green (our spiritual home ;-)), the sun was shining, the grass was short and all the coaches were raring for action.  As well as our regular riders, it was good to welcome a few new faces to the session.

We launched straight in with this term with a group riding session. Splitting into two groups and working on riding close and riding in contact.  We also threw in some group riding drills; thread the needle and half lap changes.  The coaches commented on the high levels of focus and concentration shown by the riders (must be after the holidays ;-)), which all contributes to excellent riding and happy coaches.

Darcy & Felix leading the group out

Millie and Alice, concentraing hard on their group riding

We put the group riding skills we'd just practised to get the endurance block started.  Riders worked in groups of three, changing leader each lap.  As some riders started to tire, it became more difficult for some groups to stick together and this provided a great opportunity for some dynamic planning from the coaches.  We started to swap riders between groups.  The emerging opportunities to push a little harder saw the pace of some groups increase dramatically.

Getting organised into groups ahead of the endurance block.

A great session that combined valuable skills work with a challenging endurance block.  The riders certainly pushed themselves hard throughout the session.  Well done to everyone who rode and thank you to all our volunteers and parents.

Next Week: Go Ride at Kingdom Penshurst

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR BAR ENDS ARE SAFE