Pimp My Bike Ride - Bringing the Spirit of Christmas to Hildenborough

Wow, what an amazing morning.  After 48 hours on checking weather forecasts and re-arranging the ride to try and coincide with a break in the rain cloud, it actually happened, it stopped raining and it was all systems go for the KVK pimp my bike Christmas Ride.

Saturday 14th December

Last Youth Ride of 2013
Well done to Toni, Calvin, Polly, Tom and Hannah who all braved a chilly morning for the last Youth Ride of the year.  We rolled out on our original 10 mile route, which feels like a breeze now for our regulars.  Damian was keen to throw in an extra challenge so Toni, Calvin and Polly made a small diversion to ride the first third of Carter's Hill.  No major problems there so I'm sure we will be adding the Col de Carters to our regular schedule.  Back in Hildenborough in good time we took the opportunity to test our riders judgment by going solo on a couple of tricky junctions.  I am happy to report that they all demonstrated a strong sense of self preservation.

Last Go Ride of 2013
In the afternoon we met up for our last Go Ride session.  The grass is way to muddy to use now but we constructed a giant circuit on the playground with ALL the cones that we own and worked on group riding skills. We finished off with a new variation on a bottle relay game, conclusion: good fun but could benefit from a few tweaks!

Next week: Pimp My Bike - meet at Tonbridge park 9.30am

Saturday 7th December

A small but select turn out for the Ride Out this morning; Ashley, Tom and Hope.  That's the trouble with the festive season, people get busy!  We had a great ride, back in under an hour and no punctures - good job as we didn't have Damian with us.  Pleased to report that all the fallen trees blocking the path through the woods have been cleared and the muddy field is still passable.

Later that day it was off to Cyclopark for Powerpack with John Leitch.  Ellen, Hope, Georgia and Shoshana were all spotted by Jacob (who was riding the trails with his friend). Thanks to Claire for the photos, looked like you all worked hard on your cornering!

Meanwhile, I attended a meeting about the planned Summer in Park racing series for 2014.  This is set to follow a similar format to last year; ten Fridays starting on 9th May 2014.

Next week: Youth Ride 9.30am - contact me to sign on
Go Ride at Stocks Green sign on 1.45pm

Racing Event at Stocks Green 23rd November 2013

We enjoyed a great afternoon of racing this weekend. Well done to all our riders, race reports to follow.  Some pictures to give you a flavour of the afternoon.

Saturday 30th November: no session today, enjoy a ride with your family or a day off :-)

Wildside Ladies Night 19/11/13

Ellen, Sophia, Toni, Polly & Hannah all attended the Wildside Ladies Night this week. They learnt about bike fitting, maintenance and cleaning, had a go a puncture repair and best of all tried out the fancy TACX trainer.  Pictures below, thanks to Wildside for a fun evening, I look forward to seeing our young riders put their new knowledge into practise!

No need to fix any punctures for these guys now Damian!

Or these two!

Toni was victorious on the velodrome

Hannah checking out this cost effective training tool :-)

Ride Out 16th November - Tonbridge to Penshurst

Fantastic ride today, we met at Tonbridge park for our ride out.  Plan was to ride for 45 minutes and see how far we got, with no punctures and a group of strong riders we got to the bottom of the Penshurst hill in good time for everyone to reach the top and enjoy the sunshine and a selection of snacks at the summit!

A handicapped hill climb ensured everyone had a good work out

 

The dog wasn't interested in dropped jelly babies, obviously looking for something more savoury.

 

Snack chat: qualities of fancy peanut butter versus own brand.

A leisurely descent and an equally strong return ride ensured we were back just after 11am. Plenty of time left to enjoy the rest of the day.

Back at the park.

Well done to the nine KVKers and assorted parents, a very enjoyable ride.

Next week: 23rd November Go Ride Racing at Stocks Green 1pm - 3pm
Following week: 30th No session at Hildenborough, Cyclocross open coaching at Cyclopark 10am - 2pm

Youth Ride 9th November 2013

Twelve intrepid riders set out on Saturday morning despite the dire forecast.  It wasn't a John Fish day, they had got it right and we returned to Stocks Green very very very soggy, having ridden our challenging Penshurst route (15.5.miles).  Well done Sophia, Hannah, Toni, Polly, Luke and Calvin and thanks as ever to our adult riders.  Didn't stop for a photo, but here's the soggy kit as evidence!

Next week: morning ride out - meet Tonbridge park 9.30am - please email me to sign on.