Chain gang, Tues 2nd May. 7.30pm

Martin L

Hello
I'll try and make the chaingang tomorrow. Easy to forget with the bank hol disruption. 7.30 Tuns, Ashwell. 7.35 lap start at Steeple. I will be near the Waggon & Horses.

Come on down!

Will try and go to club night for a pint after too.

PS The council have filled those bad holes on the Wendy Road.

Steve J

If all goes well I'll be at the Tuns for 7:30, don't hang around if I'm not there!

tduckett

Hoping to do chaingang too but I'll see you on the circuit. Don't think I'll be able to Tuns it afterwards.

Martin L

Great.

Any more thinking about it - jump on.

If you're unsure how you'll get on: simply stay at the back of the pack; tell each rider in front of you you're hanging back as they drift back, so they know what you're doing and they will rotate into the fast line, and let the chain in front of you maintain a helpful windbreak.

Then shout out if you want to jump in and join the chain if you're confident.

James D

Will try to make it tonight subject to trains behaving

Nathaniel Rosa

Will try and make

Vincent

Planning on coming out if not raining

Nathaniel Rosa

Good to see you vince!

Nathaniel Rosa

I just looked on strava and it says 2nd overall on chain gang finale? And we weren't even going for a sprint? What the heck??

tduckett

yes, quite a lively finish, tail wind i guess made it quick. enjoyed that a lot and sorry i didnt do too much. seemed quite tidy considering such a big group...12 or so?

Martin L

Wow. At least 16 out tonight. Probably as big as it gets. A good mix of riders: I think we all held together for the first lap.

Some only fancied one lap, and it all started to splinter on lap 2. But many held on all the way, by having a breather at the back.

Yep: Nat's right. We went full gas on the North Brook End hill and clipped into the top 10 on Strava just a few seconds from the fastest time. So well done all. Not bad for a coldish and quite windy evening.

I reckon we can start looking at 3 laps in a couple of weeks. Maybe next week if it's not cloudy.

Lap 1: 23.8mph
Lap 2: 24.2mph

carmelo

Good session...thanks all

IainF

great session - and good to see the 'youth section' holding their own.
One thing we've done in the past is neutralise the ride through steeple (once we're up the hill and past the village sign) - can be a bit sketchy if cars coming the other way see us lot barreling through at 25mph in middle of road!

Vincent

I was neutralised by the the top of the hill. Or is there another term for that. Fferdoing.
Really good ride. Tough though. Clearly some fast ones.
Is everyone ok with that sort of pace? If not we need a very slightly steadier group. We can organise that if enough want it. But clearly everyone managed the first lap and wheel sucking is allowed and can get you round lap two. I should know.
Great to see most doing regular turns. Club getting strong.

ianclarke

Hi guys, my first ever chain gang, and I really enjoyed it. Managed to stay involved for the first lap but the bump out of Steeple up to the monument max'd me out on the second lap. All felt pretty chaotic and not sure if I was making any errors or breaking any protocols, so please feel free to "call me out" if I did.
Target for this summer is to make more than one lap.

Martin L

Nice one Ian. You looked good to me. You'll be good for 2 and 3 laps in no time. Maybe a spot of short interval training will get you up that hill and keep with the bunch.

Just a couple of general points for all: make sure you ease back once you've rotated off the front to keep the chain moving.

And if you're on the front as you turn a corner, don't spring out of it. The concertina effect means you'll break the chain for those at the back who then have too much to do to sprint back on.

I also thought we rode a bit too close to the edge of the road at times last night. More holes, stress and hazards there. And less space to manoeuvre. Let's own the road a bit more.

Great to see the Juniors rocking it: well done Adam, Sophie, Harley.