Category: Rides
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Nice and easy does it
There were a couple of rather tired and creaky participants at the start of this ride who would have sloped off home given a dark cloud and a couple of raindrops. But, fortunately, the weather was clear and after a nice easy start to the ride along the lanes everyone was in better fettle. We were glad to welcome Helen to the fold, and true to the blithe spirit of the group, we followed her along a new route to Shearwater which gave fine views and missed some of the nastier muddy ascents.
We were blessed with a total absence of mechanical failures. Juliet and Rachel deserve special mention for upping the sartorial elegance of the group. That was some fine new kit and I for one am definitely liking the “technical-but-chic” look! We had been taking dry trails for granted, but Helen showed her mettle and took on the return muddy tracks like a demon. Caroline kept us all together and showed us how to take the ford with panache.
There is some disruption to the usual routine with quite a few people away at half-term etc. Remember there is the Anniversary Ride 3.30 till 6pm on Monday 25th which would be an excellent start for any new girls who are interested.
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375 Day Anniversary
On the 15th of May 2008 the Black Canon Collective signed a licence for ‘The Allotment’ – the area of forest we manage in Longleat. Now on the 25th of May 2009 we are planning an anniversary cross-country ride around the Longleat estate for all members and anyone else who wants to come along.
The ride will be for all abilities and will run from 3.30pm to 6.00pm from the Horse and Groom pub at East Woodlands (please car share where possible as car parking is limited) and we hope you can join us afterwards for drinks, food and chat.
(We will try and cater for all abilities and fitness levels.)
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Round and round and round we go…
Enjoy riding round in circles?
Like massive berms?
Hate braking?
Bored of gears?
Like curry?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above, or just like the look of what you saw in the video then check out the forum for our BCC Velodrome outing comming up soon!
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Inaugural Sunday ladies' night
We had a good turn-out for the first evening ride to be aimed at less experienced riders. We set off with a fairly casual attitude route-wise, deciding to follow the Tues night direction, but to keep to wider tracks when possible. A few wannabe’s also turned up (including Andrew, Alastair and Colin) but they were dismissed to find their own less comfortable pace up ahead.We were soon bowling along towards Shepherd’s Wood, warming up and getting better acquainted. The chat diminished on the first climb. However, a few enforced stops so as not to frighten the horses or the previously mentioned sub-group that we met on the way, allowed us to get our breath back. Mark was our token-male, and we were grateful to him for encouraging us to take a little detour in order to admire the beautiful carpet of bluebells in the woods.
Everyone made it safely through the ford, and special mention should be given to Juliet who sailed through without a hitch. Reckon it was being with us girls that got rid of the jinx! Caroline, Maria, Rachel and Juliet were setting the pace, whilst Leanne, Mark and myself lurked at the back. The evening stayed fine, the tracks were dry, and we soon arrived at the allotment. Here the newcomers were given their first opportunity to see Andrew and Chris bomb down 143. Suitably impressed (probably), it was on to Shearwater. Leanne and I took an early bath, so-to-speak, and were first in the pub for chips and other refreshments.
The new ride seems a success with people keen for another. I’ll be out next Sunday, with or without a hangover. Who else is up for it?
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Night Rider
Tuesday’s Night Rider was ace! The weather was great, the trails were dry and there was more light than we had remembered was possible.
15 of us made it out and enjoyed every minute of it, well apart from newbie Jim who suffered a mechanical 1/4 of the way around. Still waiting for us in a pub couldn’t have been all bad.
Fancy joining us next Tuesday?
Remember even if you’re not a member you can do up to two times before committing to the ‘not so significant’ 49p a week that membership works out as.
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The Glyncorrwg Mountain Cycle Trail Centre for Bikes
On the 28th of Feb myself and a van load of BCC members headed north, and a bit west, and over a river to the Glyncorrwg Mountain Cycle Trail Centre for Bikes.
I’ve cycled down a few Welsh mountains before but this was my first attempt at going back up. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, which is a good thing because I was expecting a long slow “drag-the-bike-up-with-you-by-your-shoelaces” struggle. That’s what riding up fire roads is like, generally horrible and boring. Riding up a technical, scenic route is totally different. Yes it’s still leg achingly hard work but you have to use your head aswell as your lungs, you have to plan you way up the trail as you would when you go down it, trying to hold the smooth lines, not being nudged aside by off camber roots. And it looks nicer. I had a few tumbles on the first ascent and was splatted with that sandy grit-mud they like to grow in Wales and swam off some of the rocky sections that were tremendously lacking any sort of grip. I also managed to crash before we had even left the car park, much to everyone’s amusement. It was a sign of things to come – Ben Irons got slightly further away from the van than I did and then launched himself stylishly off a bank into a fence and was awarded with a puncture. We still hadn’t made it to the start of Whites Level.
Near the top is a rather large wind (not cow) farm, but you won’t find any milk. I was in two minds about the descents – Mostly I was scared because I didn’t feel confident or comfortable riding a hardtail with a steep head angle. I didn’t have much faith in my brakes either and felt like I was perilously close to flying over the bars. Despite that, I followed the other guys on to The Black run. It was great fun and scared the hell out of me at the same time. This was about the same time Chris Sheppard washed out and popped his shoulder. Get well soon Chris.
The second descent was longer and less steep, so it was just as fun but less scary, I was more relaxed and starting to enjoy the ride more. Then my bike died. The rear mech was bouncing along wildly on the rocks and latched itself onto a handful spokes for moral support. The spokes riped out, eyelets and all, the wheel locked up and I ground to a halt. A few choice words were selected. Chris helped untangle everything and after a couple of minutes and more choice words I was back on track, somewhat more sluggishly and with and an irritating “bwup, bwup, bwup” noise as the rear wheel and tyre slowly munched in to my chainstay. Later on I caught up with the rest of the group who had stopped for a break. Neil built an emergency spoke key with a tree stump and his foot and achieved a temporary fix, for which I am grateful.See photo below of the guys fixing my bike while I stand next to them (left corner) being extremely helpful and eat flapjack at the same time.
After limping back to the cafe with a squidgy tyre, half a wheel and no back brake, we all sat down for a coffee and a mars bar. There was more riding to come but I had no bike. Luckily, Ben Irons had a spare (by spare I mean he was too tired to ride his own!) and kindly offered to let me use it for the rest of the day. Thanks Ben. It was even more old school that my bike and didn’t break “cos it’s made ‘ah steeel” .
Next time I go to a trail centre I think I’ll bring a more appropriate bike, something that wont give up half way round the mountain. Also, the food at the Drop In Cafe is brilliant so don’t forget to pop in next time you’re there. Fruit cake, Beans on Toast, with more Fruit Cake. And then someone else’s Beans on Toast for pudding.
Thanks to everyone who came along for the picnic, the drivers for the driving and the cooks for the cooking.
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Beans!
One of the best parts of any trip to Glencorrwg is visiting the ‘Drop Off’ cafe….
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Post New Year Arctic Offensive
(An epic write up for an epic event! – AD)
The objective of this years annual post apocalyptic (oops I mean new year) Arctic (cold area near Westbury) operation was the aggressive projection of armed (but mainly legged) force to occupy a 50km strip of Wiltshire which is owned by some blokes with big land rovers or summat (also known as the SPAM Winter Challenge).
As with all successful campaigns, preparation is key. Bike preparation. Snacks. Hydration. ALL your clothes. Tucking into a bottle of Jack Daniels over dinner, whilst your dining companions remind you about “that 50km ride”. You know, the usual stuff.
As Chris and I frantically hunted for the start of the 50km race, Neil nursed his hang over and planned his assault on the 35km category. The sedate rolling start confused Chris into a false sense of security (he didn’t know if we were cruising to the start or if we had started already) and I used the opportunity to catch up and sneak past. Climbing up the first hill the pace dropped significantly and finding routes around the mass of slower riders became increasingly tricky as people dabbed and crunched down through their gears. Once out onto the top the speed picked up and I tagged onto the back of faster riders as they passed, dragging me along in their wake. Eventually I couldn’t hold onto their tails, I gave up chasing them and settled into a mini battle with about 5 other riders.
The roller coaster tank tracks rolled their way up and down, round fields, through coppices and over the back of a white horse leaving the shorter routes to their own devices. Somewhere along this theme park attraction Chris cruised by with a friendly “I thought I had already passed you!” and disappeared off into the distance. My battle continued with the pack of riders surrounding me as we dropped into the army barracks on the edge of Warminster, nearly half way to reaching the objective of getting to precisely where we started.
As I climbed the hill out of Warminster munching on my ration of Nutri-grain I spotted comrades Andy Stewart and David Bland that I used to ride with when I lived in Bath. Haunting memories of having my legs torn off on long sections of road and tow paths flashed through my mind. The summit of Sack Hill loomed ahead and I knew I had to tag onto the back of their group and catch a tow along the slightly downhill 10km section past Imber, so I sprinted, caught up to the hindmost rider and plugged into top gear, mashing away, desperately trying to hold onto the back as we dodged and hopped over pot holes the size of small eco-cars. As we neared Imber we screamed past my in-field-back-up-unit (mum and dad) so fast they barely noticed me. The punishment continued until a gradual incline forced me to concede defeat and my comrades disappeared into the distance, only for me to catch them up again and pass nearer West Lavington whilst they refueled on cake.
We were now on the final leg and joined by reinforcements from 35km (Yellow) operations and intermittently 25km (blue) operations as the 50km (orange) and yellow war machine rollercoastered its way on and off the blue objective. Stories were coming back from the blue army of missed start lines due to 8 minute long toilet queues and casualties due to wheelies in front of the first photographer at the top of the first hill , meanwhile the faster members of the Major Jack Daniels’ Yellow squadron were flat out attacking towards the safety of the finish line.
As one of the orange troops I picked my way passed the blue troops including our very own Richard and Karen Evans (Live2Ride) before I kicked off into what was to be the most dangerous phase of the mission. I sprinted down a smooth descent of frozen grass, blasting past my fellow squaddies, my 45(ish)psi tyres beginning to squirm. I decided to press on – unfortunately a greasy, off camber shallow bend was too much and “BOOM”, all the skills fell out of my bag and my front wheel disappeared, leaving me with a cracked combat helmet, a thumping headache, a mud grazed right hand side and a yard sale of helmet and face ornaments (peak and glasses scattered everywhere). I regrouped, found no major damage and was aided by comrades Stewart and Bland who helped me back on my bike. I stopped for a quick pork pie refreshment before the next climb and then set about catching up with comrades Stewart and Bland by passing as many riders as possible on the next heavily rutted and chalky descent. I was shocked to be passed by Paul Lasenby on the following climb, but found out that a couple of punctures had ruined his campaign.
Once back with my comrades we cruised in attack formation to the finish line, taking in the final woodland single track and field sections to be greeted by Neil, Chris and my in-field-back-up-unit. Objective complete and a great day in the -4 deg C Wiltshire countryside.
Although it is a non competitive event I thought I would show peoples positions and times:
Orange operations – 50km – 436 soldiers completed the objective
069 Chris Sheppard (1859) 02:25:34
137 Simon Truelove (1846) 02:39:15
302 Chris Snell (1817) 03:14:30
Major Jack Daniels’ Yellow ops – 35km – 229 soldiers completed the objective
010 Neil Cousins (1244) 01:39:44
Blue ops (men) – 25km – 80 soldiers completed the objective
024 Tim + Helen Flooks – Tandem (156) 01:30:14 (8 minutes late starting for some reason according to Tim)
048 Richard Evans – Live2Ride (429) 01:51:45
Blue ops (women) – 25km – 16 soldiers completed the objective
006 Karen Evans – Live2Ride (428) 01:51:45
Race numbers are in brackets – event photos can be found on www.photo-it.com
