Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th March

KVK riders at Lee Valley give a perfect demo of stacking at the South East Club Cluster Session

Saturday 7th March - KVK at Herne Hill Velodrome

Booking Herne Hill for a session in March is

always a gamble on the weather front but this time we came up trumps!  Our coaches for the afternoon Peter and Tony got everyone fixed up with bikes from the container and we moved quickly onto the track.  Novice riders started on the safety zone with Tony, while our intermediates got straight on with warming up, riding in pairs above the blue line.  Once everyone had mastered the fixed wheel, no brakes thing we moved onto a drill called squares and circles; riding on the white line in the straights, then driving on up the banking in the corners, this required lots of skillful riding, with everyone riding at different speeds there was overtaking and undertaking to do and of course lots of observation required.  With everyone riding confidently we progressed onto chaingang style riding, stronger riders were able to push on and by the end of the block some natural splits had developed.

We finished the session with a couple of scratch races and a team relay.  Great riding from everyone and makes my day to see our young riders challenging their coaches; we know we've done a good job when we can nolonger keep up with them :-)

Saturday 28th February

I missed these sessions as I was away but it looks like everyone worked had and had fun. Kary

Mud Glorious Mud - MTB Ride Out

A small group set off in misty drizzle to tackle our old favourite, Col De Coldharbour.  Things went well with a steady ascent to the end of the lane but than Nico's dad got a puncture - secretly I suspect most were glad of the rest before tackling the first of the muddy sections.  The recent heavy rain had certainly made things "interesting" but all made it through.  With some firmer ground under wheel the pace picked up before the descent into the "muddy field" - it has that name for a reason and it certainly lived up to it today, sucking momentum and trying to drag riders to a stop for the dreaded foot down in the mud - several fell victim and received a muddy boot.  With back wheels spinning and riders fighting for grip it was an epic struggle, but eventually everyone made it through to the welcome relief  of the graded bridleway for an largely routine return to base, except for the new game of lifting the front wheel up and dropping into the puddles to see how much of splash could be made (or who could be splashed!).

Well done Hannah, Calvin, Polly, Nico, Toni and Luke (and Juan and Michele of course) for a fun ride.  Hope your kit comes up clean.

Go-Ride - Group Riding

With the miserable weather it was great to have seven hardy souls turn out for our afternoon session which focussed on group riding.  After a warm up of chase the snake we worked on riding close to another rider and riding in contact, before moving onto our oval and riding as a group.  As confidence grew amongst our younger riders we moved on to thread the needle, firstly with a single rider coming through and then pairs, before singling out and having a rider slalom through the line of riders to the front.  It wasn't long before everyone got the hang of it.  Jailbreak follow and it was fantastic to see the younger riders ordering the older riders around, making sure they didn't let the prisoner escape - in fact security was pretty tight with few escapees and some fabulous close riding and not a single crash - and the older riders helping the younger ones where needed.  Brilliant.

Well done everyone, a great session and a special mention to Sammy, Tilly and Freddie for making such amazing progress over such a short time.

Sunday - Power Pack


Some of our youth riders were at Cyclopark on Sunday afternoon for John Leitch's Power Pack session working on their through and off skills, bunch riding and fitness in what was quite a busy two hours of riding, with a very fierce wind proving a genuine Belgium experience. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves though and put in some strong performances but were glad to get back to the café at the end to shelter from the wind (oh and to drink a milkshake or two - strictly for recovery purposes of course).  Well done Hannah, Calvin, Ellen, Hope and Toni. 

Saturday 14th Of February - I Love My Bike Day for the The Kent Velo Kids

Great to welcome twenty three riders this afternoon for our February Go Ride Racing event..........pictures to follow.

As riders arrived and signed on we started the first ride through of the afternoon's course.  As well as the usual 'top lump' and 'play trail chicane', Jake and Damian added a new section including a small bank and a stepped section that required a dismount/remount manoeuvre.  Heavy rain in the preceding days meant the grass sections quickly became pretty muddy, so going was hard through these parts.  

Like a well oiled machine, riders got themselves organised in number order for the start of the TT, a one lap loop of the course.  This was followed by mass start races for U8's, U10's, U12's, U14's and U16's.  We finished the set of races with a one lap handicap race, which saw our younger riders racing to victory over their older team mates.  After a quick biscuit break we moved onto some team relay races on the playground.  Michele's Yellow team cam in first with 11 points, followed by Hannah and Michael's teams with 7 points.  Damian's green team came in third with 5 points.  Some really close and exciting racing and as every good to see riders of different ages and clubs working together and cheering each other on.

We moved onto the results and medal ceremony before drawing the session to a close.  Well done to all the riders, parents and volunteers who make these events so enjoyable for everyone.

Our next Go Ride Session is February 28th at Stocks Green 1.45pm sign on for a 2pm start.

Saturday 7th February 2015 Bedgbury

We arrived at Bedgbury to an icy Northerly blowing in the car park and lots of people looking decidedly chilly.  The plan was to split into two groups; one tackling the single track and one the family trail.  However in true KVK spirit our younger riders Hope and Nico were up for a challenge and immediately opted to try out the red trail.  Toni & Luke had ridden it before with Damian but Ellen, Sophia and Polly were all slightly apprehensive as they were new to the single track, Calvin was still in discussions about clothing.  That left Michele, Claire and Malcolm to roll around the family trail.  We agreed to meet up with them at Louisa Lake, where we could split the group if necessary.

I'm sure Claire will have something in her basket
that can saw through that.

After the first couple of sections it was clear that everyone was comfortable riding berms, and descents with a few lumps and bumps and well placed trees thrown in.  By the time we reached Louisa Lake there were smiles all round as we discussed the bits we'd enjoyed most.  We met up with the Family Trailers and discussed options from here; conclusion was they would complete their trail solo as all the riders were keen to continue.

With no kids to supervise Malcolm and Claire had to
have a go on the play equipment themselves

That meant we all headed off up 'Cardiac', which might have left some people wondering whether or not they'd made the right decision but we were soon rewarded with some lovely descents, berms and bumps.  As riders started to tire (tyre??) we had a few extra sugar burst stops which kept everyone going.  I think we were all a little surprised when we popped out by 'Genesis', the start of the red trail.  There was much relief and excitement as we headed off to 'Cake Run'.  After some of the interesting sections we'd ridden the section seemed quite tame, or maybe that was just because I wasn't riding fast enough :-)

Hope and Nico kept up well on their first go at the single track.  Ellen, Sophia and Polly were a little nervy to start with but soon worked out it was alot of fun.  Calvin seemed unphased, just over dressed ;-), Toni & Luke our experienced red trailers took it all in their stride.

Back at the car park everyone got sorted out before stopping for a quick coffee and a sandwich.  What a great morning, I can't think of any better way to spent a miserable, cold February morning than with such an accomplished group of young riders.  Our journey home took us along the A21, Polly and I chatted about our morning as we watched the queue of cars lining up on the way to the shops, I wonder if they have any idea of what they are missing out on???

Thanks as ever to parents and riders for making it over to Bedgbury for an awesome ride.

Next weekend:
Go Ride Racing at Stocks Green School.  Sign on 12.45pm £4. MTB/hybrid multiple races.

Sunday 1st February Club Cluster Session at Lee Valley Velodrome

Ellen, Toni, Polly, Luke, Calvin and Hannah.  Rider briefing prior to the session.

Power Pack at Cyclopark - More Young Riders Needed!!

There was just one hardy KVK out on the track at Cyclopark today. Numbers were well down with only 9 riders today - probably a combination of the cold and the Lee Valley session. Despite the cold, Hope had fun and enjoyed the session. They started with some handling and cornering skills then moved up to the oval for the second half. They rode in small groups and took it in turns to orbit around the group. Hope particularly enjoyed that exercise. As usual, they finished with a handicap race then it was up to the cafe to warm up with a well deserved hot chocolate. Despite the cold, she had fun and came home still smiling















Next Power Pack: