Offroad clubrun this Sunday, Jan 14

Senecio [Daniel D]

No CX race this weekend, so what to do?

I propose we do an offroad ride starting at 09:30 from the 3 Tuns, that way we can say 'hi' to the regular club run.

Route similar to one I've done before which heads out of Ashwell to Baldock, then Preston, Pirton, Letchworth, Baldock and back to Ashwell. So reasonably hard core. Mud tyres will be needed.

Dan Hall

I’m in

RichardL

What to do? Get press ganged into doing the tech for a panto.
So cannot make this as get out is Sunday

Senecio [Daniel D]

Awe, poor Cinders! Hopefully Socks the cat will sing you a song.

Peter D

Sam and I will be there on Sunday

Senecio [Daniel D]

Coooooooool!

IainF

hope to make it out too.

Senecio [Daniel D]

Great

Senecio [Daniel D]

A year or two ago I tried to create a mud library. The idea was to have a sample from key cyclocross courses in a glass display case with notes for each sample, such as riding characteristics when wet and dry. I had quite a few cubes including Milton Keynes, Ipswich and Shrewsbury. Sadly my wife threw them away dismissing them as ‘revolting’. (This may have something to do with the unfortunate fact that the majority of the Shrewsbury sample had recently been inside a dog). Anyway, had I had a sample from Hertfordshire the notes would have read ‘Do not try to cross a ploughed field when wet’.

Of course this is precisely what we ended up doing today.

Six of us rode out. Ian Foulkes, Sam and Peter Daniels, Dave Hadsley, Dan Hall and myself. We gathered at the same time as the main clubrun and it was delightful to see so many people. Certainly one of my aims of the ride was to break Sam Daniels!

I had a route in mind but with some critical gaps which Dave had offered to navigate. His routing was, by and large, excellent. However there was one notable deviation which Dave warned ‘might be a bit heavy’. Well ‘a bit heavy’ turned out to be the ploughed field. We nearly crossed it before our bikes became so engorged it was impossible to turn the wheels. The next ten minutes was spent with sticks trying to free up our machines with Dave stressing how much of an improvement his route modification was.

We all thought dark thoughts but did not voice our resentments.

A bit later on we clattered down a descent on a rough but dry track to the base of Telegraph Hill. The shaking was so violent fillings were freed and, it must be said, the majority of the mud on our bikes liberated. We regrouped at the bottom and Dave turned to me and said ‘you have to see the whole’.

And there it is ** The Tao of Dave **. You have to see the whole.

We pressed on and by the we had reached Pirton Dan asked a somewhat urgent question ‘just where are we?’ I realised time had marched on and it was no longer morning. Thus we stopped at Letchworth and revived ourselves with coffee, a skinny wet latte, lemon barley water and cake.

For the final section back to Ashwell my route apparently had the wrong ‘chi’ so we missed the chance for Sam to get a time on the Newfield Hill climb on the ‘Clothall loop’ and took the more direct route past the model aircraft club. (Wow, some of these aeroplanes are massive!)

It was well past 2 o’clock by the time we got back to Ashwell, so later than planned. Furthermore Sam was still sprinting up the hills and showing none of the outward signs of exhaustion that the rest of us were - we hadn’t broken Sam.

Good day out and good to get a few off road miles in. Thanks to all, especially Dave for his excellent navigation.

dhadsley

Very good write up Daniel. Thanks for organising and the excellent coffee and cake, it was very much needed at that point.

Dan Hall

Really enjoyed that and great prep for Mille Maglia. Thanks for skinny wet latte.

IainF

Great route - and even better cake. Thanks Daniel/Dave for the navigation - good to get some mud training in.