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CCA Mudflap rides.
Those of you who rode with me a bit in the winter last year will know of my annoying whinging about mudguards and mudflaps on the club runs in the winter. I will be back to do some 9am shouty mudguard rides on a couple of Sundays in the near future and will post up when I'm about. I'm not around for a couple of weeks as I'm off on a little tour (if anybody's off to see the four tops/temptations over the next 2 weeks give the slightly gingery bearded trumpet player a wave) but will hopefully get these up and running when I'm back.
The aim of these rides is to ride at a steady effort (not speed) so you end up going up the hills pretty slowly and carry on pushing with the same effort down the other side (unless it's not safe to do so), this way the group should find it easy to stay fairly tight and tidy. It's a ride that won't be particularly fast or leave you feeling like you've had your legs ripped off, but the majority of them will hopefully be for 4-5+ hours long, so you'll certainly feel like you've done some exercise. For those that are looking to race next season these will be useful as some of the more experienced racers in the club often ride on them, so can give you any helpful advice about what to expect in a road race/crit/time trial etc. They're otherwise known as BASE rides, so the idea is you never put yourself into the red.
Now, here's the fun bit. Look what I've been sent by Neil at tmgpro:
The purpose of the flap on the rear is to stop you decorating your fellow cyclists with muck from the road (nobody really needs to get wet on a club run unless it's raining and no shop sold mudguards extend far enough to stop the mud coming off the road and all over the person who's following you) and the flap on the front is to stop said grit decorating your feet and getting into your drivetrain and shortening the life of it. Sensible things.
If people are interested in the CCA flaps then I can order a few in at any point, they're made by a company called RAW, we get them cheaper if we go through tmgpro so I can get an order in with Neil any time. Will let you know the cost of them when I find out! If you don't fancy a CCA one, you can craft one yourself from an old folder, a plastic bottle, a shatterproof ruler, pretty much anything that will bolt onto the bottom of your mudguard. Most mudguards come with pre-drilled holes that may hold a small rubber flap on, just take the rubber flap off and replace with a proper length one. These flaps will fit to any mudguard (even the race blade style strap on mudguards) , every one can be adapted with a bit of drilling if need be. They take about 5 mins to fit.
Those of you who remember last year will remember that you won't be allowed on the ride unless you have full mudguards and flaps (if you don't you'll be asked politely to ride on the back of the bunch for the duration). Geared bikes only, no fixed wheels and no banging it up the hills/freewheeling down the other side. The aim of the ride is to stay together as a tidy group.
Happy riding and see some of you in a few weeks time!
Will "Mud" Flap-Smith
The aim of these rides is to ride at a steady effort (not speed) so you end up going up the hills pretty slowly and carry on pushing with the same effort down the other side (unless it's not safe to do so), this way the group should find it easy to stay fairly tight and tidy. It's a ride that won't be particularly fast or leave you feeling like you've had your legs ripped off, but the majority of them will hopefully be for 4-5+ hours long, so you'll certainly feel like you've done some exercise. For those that are looking to race next season these will be useful as some of the more experienced racers in the club often ride on them, so can give you any helpful advice about what to expect in a road race/crit/time trial etc. They're otherwise known as BASE rides, so the idea is you never put yourself into the red.
Now, here's the fun bit. Look what I've been sent by Neil at tmgpro:
The purpose of the flap on the rear is to stop you decorating your fellow cyclists with muck from the road (nobody really needs to get wet on a club run unless it's raining and no shop sold mudguards extend far enough to stop the mud coming off the road and all over the person who's following you) and the flap on the front is to stop said grit decorating your feet and getting into your drivetrain and shortening the life of it. Sensible things.
If people are interested in the CCA flaps then I can order a few in at any point, they're made by a company called RAW, we get them cheaper if we go through tmgpro so I can get an order in with Neil any time. Will let you know the cost of them when I find out! If you don't fancy a CCA one, you can craft one yourself from an old folder, a plastic bottle, a shatterproof ruler, pretty much anything that will bolt onto the bottom of your mudguard. Most mudguards come with pre-drilled holes that may hold a small rubber flap on, just take the rubber flap off and replace with a proper length one. These flaps will fit to any mudguard (even the race blade style strap on mudguards) , every one can be adapted with a bit of drilling if need be. They take about 5 mins to fit.
Those of you who remember last year will remember that you won't be allowed on the ride unless you have full mudguards and flaps (if you don't you'll be asked politely to ride on the back of the bunch for the duration). Geared bikes only, no fixed wheels and no banging it up the hills/freewheeling down the other side. The aim of the ride is to stay together as a tidy group.
Happy riding and see some of you in a few weeks time!
Will "Mud" Flap-Smith
Comments
Hope to make it along to some of these rides if possible.
Enjoy the tour.