CCA Spring Classic G-Ride on Sunday 29th April

mwyer

Spring Classic G-Ride 2018 Sunday 29th April

9am from the Three Tuns.

Think of it as our version of the Strade Bianchi on the surfaced (rough and potholed but surfaced) and unmade lanes of Hertfordshire. 80-90 miles with 20 miles of unmade roads. The route will be similar to last year's clockwise classic version with a food stop at Puckeridge or Ardeley (or both).

The only rule is your bike must have road/touring tyres, no cyclo-cross tyres. Otherwise I recommend you leave your best carbon bike at home.

Book out the whole day it's not a ride to rush. I will work out a Mini G route for Youth riders and those time pressed but you will regret not doing the whole route.

A badge for every finisher - please Martin!

Martin L

Bringing this to the top of the forum...

mwyer

The route in current draft is very similar to last year's with a different run in. I might be able to make a couple of tweaks over the coming weeks.

Here are the gravel sections as things stand. The asterisks denote how hard the section is with 3 being the hardest.
1. ** Ashwell Street 0.4 km
2. ** Park Lane 0.7 km
3. *** Notley Lane 2 km
4. ** Bucklandberg 1.2 km
5. * Nuthampstead 1.2 km
6. ** Cokenach 2 km
7. ** Chrishall Common 1.6 km
8. * Park Wood 1.1 km
9. ** Coopers End 1 km
10. ** Clodmore Hill 1 km
11. *** Clavering Berg 0.9 km
12. ** The Druce 2 km
13. *** Dassells Berg 1.1 km
14. * Latchford 0.8 km
15. *** Whitehill 1.1 km
16. * Beggarmans Lane 1 km
17. *** Tranchee de Ardeley 2 km
18. * Greenway (Great Wymondley) 1.2 km
19. * Greenway (Willian) 1.2 km
20. * Greenway (Baldock) 1.6 km
21. ** Old Wallington Road 1.1 km

Simon.R

Mark - I'll join you again if OK.

this year's SNCC Hell of St Neots will hopefully be sometime early May* - will let you know when confirmed

cheers

Simon



*subject to me getting my finger out and organising things

Dan Hall

Count me in Mark

Martin L

There's a badge for every G-Ride Classic winner...

mwyer

I've added in two new sections at Thundridge. Nothing tough going but brilliant scenery along the river Rib and through Youngsbury Park. The current route is 83 miles but there is still time for a couple more tweaks.

A reminder that the ethos of this ride is to find all the quiet lanes and byways that we don't usually tackle on a road ride. We do just a couple of miles of B road otherwise the route is virtually entirely singletrack road, byway, bridleway or farm track. It's also testing the limit of road bikes and riders. The route is inspired by the Spring Classics, Paris Roubaix style road conditions, Tour of Flanders short steep climbs and Strade Bianchi/Ghent Wevelgem unmade roads.

Booked on so far
Mark W.
Daniel D.
Dan H
Simon R
Richard L
Dave H

Revised Section list
G-Ride Sections 2018
1. ** Ashwell Street 0.4 km
2. ** Park Lane 0.7 km
3. *** Notley Lane 2 km
4. ** Bucklandberg 1.2 km
5. * Nuthampstead 1.2 km
6. ** Cokenach 2 km
7. ** Chrishall Common 1.6 km
8. * Park Wood 1.1 km
9. ** Coopers End 1 km
10. ** Clodmore Hill 1 km
11. *** Clavering Berg 0.9 km
12. ** The Druce 2 km
13. *** Dassells Berg 1.1 km
14. * Latchford 0.8 km
15. * Cold Christmas 1.4 km
16. * Youngsbury 2 km
17. *** Whitehill 1.1 km
18. * Beggarmans Lane 1 km
19. *** Tranchee de Ardeley 2 km
20. * Greenway (Great Wymondley) 1.9 km
21. * Greenway (Willian) 2 km
22. * Greenway (Baldock) 3 km
23. ** Old Wallington Road 1.7 km

Any further ideas for lanes to be included is always welcome.

Senecio [Daniel D]

Looking forward to this Mark. Looking forward too to seeing Simon again.

Simon.R

I rode past a CCA rider yesterday and then got no more than 200 yards before my bike fell to bits; hopefully not an omen for the G-Ride!

mwyer

Two final sections added for the 2018 route, bringing the total distance to 135 km (84 miles) with 40 km (25 miles) of unmade roads. This includes a great new section near Cold Christmas. It looks like the tracks should all be dry by the end of the month with a couple of dry weeks forecast. That will makes things a bit faster and punctures less likely.

1. ** Ashwell Street 0.4 km
2. ** Park Lane 0.7 km
3. *** Notley Lane 2 km
4. ** Bucklandberg 1.2 km
5. * Nuthampstead 1.2 km
6. ** Cokenach 2 km
7. ** Chrishall Common 1.6 km
8. * Park Wood 1.1 km
9. ** Coopers End 1 km
10. ** Clodmore Hill 1 km
11. *** Clavering Berg 0.9 km
12. ** The Druce 2 km
13. *** Dassells Berg 1.1 km
14. * Latchford 0.8 km
15. ** Bakers End 2 km
16. * Cold Christmas 1.2 km
17. * Youngsbury 2 km
18. * Lowgate Lane 0.9 km
19. *** Whitehill 1.1 km
20. * Beggarmans Lane 1 km
21. *** Tranchee de Ardeley 2 km
22. * Greenway (Great Wymondley) 1.9 km
23. * Greenway (Willian) 2 km
24. * Greenway (Baldock) 3 km
25. ** Old Wallington Road 1.7 km

Link to route here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2014371556

mwyer

Committed (or should be)
Mark W.
Daniel D
Dave H
Simon R
Richard L
Dan H
Tim
Thomas A
Sean (Guest)
Mark S (Guest)

Possibles
Pete and Sam
Harley
Nick M
Adam

If anyone else is intending to come can you let me know so I can warn the cafe.

Mark.

Senecio [Daniel D]

Looks great Mark, looking forward to it. Dave Watson will be joining us.

RichardL

I wont be there tomorrow as I have double booked myself so I'll be marshalling St Ives RR instead

Simon.R

great fun as ever, thanks everyone.......especially as I now know to stay away from that watered-down Spanish CO2!

Senecio [Daniel D]

8 out; Dave H, Dave W (CC Luton), Dan H, Thomas A, Tim, Mark (red leader), myself and the notorious Frenchman Simon R (Velo Club St Neots). Deceptively harsh conditions with the calendar date tricking some into wearing inadequate clothing and especially footwear.

Upon my arrival at Ashwell I was accused of ducking out of completing previous editions of the G Ride by missing the final section from Letchworth (my home) to Ashwell. My defence that I had already cycled from Letchworth to Ashwell before the start of the rides were not received sympathetically so in order to maintain my honour I resolved to do the whole distance; as it turned I would be one of only two.

The route is really clever and I am still find myself saying out loud ‘oh this is where we are’ as some bridleway terminates on a familiar road. We made excellent progress to Puckeridge (only one puncture) and the wonderful tearoom there. We dined in the children’s room, which suited us well. I was rather hoping Dave would take advantage of the book corner and read us a story; however Mark, now replete with beans and toast, got us back on the road. It was hard starting again in the bitter cold of late April. (I know, it is supposed to be Spring).

Punctures and the now more present wind made our progress less smooth. Spirits remained high.

By Letchworth though riders were dwindling, our number had thinned to just 5. Time had marched on and energy levels were fading. We split up with some deciding to take the most direct route back to Ashwell. I, of course, was under contract to complete the entire route and so Mark (who was in a sort of Faustian pact) had to join me.

I am not going to lie I was on my last legs and was struggling to get ‘back to Ashwell’ knowing I then had to return home to Letchworth. Happily for me Dave had picked up his vehicle and was waiting at the 3 Tuns to offer me a lift. In my now depleted state I had no truck with pride, just pride in Dave’s truck. So a luxurious journey home with all mod cons, though sadly no heated seats.

Thanks to Mark for a great route and planning. Thanks to all for excellent company. And thanks to the Bontrager Air Support HP Pro S (RRP £24.99) available at excellent bike shops (including Spain); this proved to be the most reliable pump!