Roberto

86 miles solo effort headwind around 80% of it, total hardcore eh. Won't be doing it next year if same route; some of these single-track roads were mind-numbingly tedious imo.
 
Highlights? Moniaive (how pretty is this wee place?!) Moniaive reprise, zero punctures for a change, and the Domane going like a dream!
 
Lowlight: missing out on some teamwork. I would've aimed for the 08:30 start of the other lads if I'd known there was some super-coordinated team planning going on. Disappointing...

86 miles solo effort headwind around 80% of it, total hardcore eh. Won't be doing it next year if same route; some of these single-track roads were mind-numbingly tedious imo.
 
Highlights? Moniaive (how pretty is this wee place?!) Moniaive reprise, zero punctures for a change, and the Domane going like a dream!
 
Lowlight: missing out on some teamwork. I would've aimed for the 08:30 start of the other lads if I'd known there was some super-coordinated team planning going on. Disappointing...

86 miles solo effort headwind around 80% of it, total hardcore eh. Won't be doing it next year if same route; some of these single-track roads were mind-numbingly tedious imo.
 
Highlights? Moniaive (how pretty is this wee place?!) Moniaive reprise, zero punctures for a change, and the Domane going like a dream!
 
Lowlight: missing out on some teamwork. I would've aimed for the 08:30 start of the other lads if I'd known there was some super-coordinated team planning going on. Disappointing...

Well done guys for doing the ride and for supporting the charity

Excellent day out. As Geo mentioned it's a new route- one 86 mile loop - and quite tough, especially today with the weather. But, we hardly saw a car all day.
 
Also present was Ian Holms and also Robert Shennan.
 
This sportive is highly recommended. It is also for a good cause - a charity. No one makes any money out of this. They are all volunteers. A refreshing aspect of this event in our over-monetarised times is the fact that they don't take the piss and charge you £60 or more.Rather, they ask you to decide what you wish to pay!!!

All the best guys have a good one!

Good luck guys. Hope the weather is great!

In bed, unwell, tonight. Head bursting & shivery but definitely riding on Saturday.

From what i gather a couple of members have asked about midweek training rides geared more at an intermediate pace. Is this something others would be interested in?

The intention would be to have a couple of experienced main bunch riders involved - not to make the ride hard but to keep things together and hopefully pass on some tips.

Wednesday evenings are probably best so it doesnt clash with the confined events on a Tuesday and the chaingang on a Thursday. The route would be something like the Renfrewshire lanes or Peesweep circuit and would meet outside the clubrooms. About 60 - 90 minutes of riding, distance depends on how hilly the route is. I think it's probably best to avoid the west ferry and also the Georgetown road (the ctt time trial series will be running here) . On the flatter parts the group can practice riding in a chaingang or paceline and as the distance is shorter expect it to be somewhat faster than a social sunday run. It would however be a no drop ride with a regroup at the top of any hills.
 

 

Just Graham and me. After some early misty drizzle the weather improved and the return journey was dry and not too windy.
An enjoyable run! (apart from puncture at the bottom of the Whin).

Graham and I are planning a run tomorrow.
Brisbane Glen, Largs (+cafe) and return via Fairle Moor.
Meet 9:30 at Pullman Inn Kilmalcolm.
Post if coming.

Gerrard, Graham, Boyd, If Not Wet Dave (see above) and me braved elements and headed south.
Decision made to stop at Jack's cafe in Stewarton for much needed warmup
Back via Neilston and Dalek hill. 45 damp miles.
Thanks guys for making the effort!!

Must have been hard to get going again after the cafe stop. The non-stop, cold rain had me borderline hypothermic by the time I got home. Bad choice of gloves in particular had me stuck on the middle ring, fumbling at rear changes and having to ask for help to unzip pockets to get keys out when I got home with 35 miles on the clock. The conditions made this the hardest run of the year for me.
 
A warm bath and a coffee got me warmed up eventually.

Have to agree with Greg. Cycling and jwcc should be for all, not just for the middle aged and middle class. It's bad that cycling has become the new golf, no need for jwcc to become one of those elitist type clubs. There's something romantic about the blood sweat and tears of nailing yourself on the bike, whether it be on mid week training runs, long hard Hilly club runs, challenging sportives or racing. It would be amazing to also do this abroad, pricing out fellow club m8s to amble around the country side to then retire to a king size duck feather duvet just seems wrong ... treat the wife/boyfriend whomever if that's your bag... hard days cycling, enjoy the beer, somewhere to rest the head, simple.
 
I'm laying it on a bit thick but you get the point

Very cold and wet. Not a fast day, but still took around 15-20 seconds off my time from last year, and with 50w higher output. Didn't hang around for the results, as I was 'ing freezing.
 
Good to see James S. and Mike there.

As Alan has posted it was a horrible day. Weather cold, wet...hope this is a blip as the forecast was okay the night before. Still struggling with my ribs and breathing after the crash so I was 50-50 whether i should start. But anyway I did and my first experience of an open TT event.  Looking forward to some better weather and being pain free from the ribs and breathing 

Well done to all who took part for the first week.  I get the feeling i'll be getting in the neck when i add the extra points to the spreadsheet after next thursday from those that didnt have an attempt
1. Iain Mct 25.0mi/h 1:43 (6 points)
2. Paul L 22.0mi/h 1:57 (5 points)
3. Paul Mcd 21.5mi/h 2:00 (4 points)
4. Ryan 19.5mi/h 2:12 (3 points)
5. Colin 18.9mi/h 2:16 (2 points)
6. Graham F 17.6mi/h 2:26 (1 point)
7. Ian H 17.5mi/h 2:27 (1 point)
8. Anthony T 16.0mi/h 2:41 (1 point)

Hi, Paul,
Yes  - we did have an intermediate group.
Steady pace and about 60 - 70 miles distance (with obligatorycafe stop, of course)
Lately I have been going out with the 30 milers and then adding on the some extra distance at the end to get the mileage up to 60.
Having said that we had a '30 miler' run last Sunday and nearly everyone did 50+ miles with an excellent café stop at Eglington Country Park
 
I am happy to resurrect the intermediates and I suggest a run to Troon on April 16th which is about 65 (flatish)miles from the club and a steady pace.

I have been contacted by a Top Supplier and they have offered to supply Skinsuits developed especially for JWCC members, Let me know if you are interested??
 
Once I have a list of interested members I will get back in contact with Ann Summers

This is a new competition (and a new spreadsheet ) and is running alongside the Thursday nights, and is for a virtual points jersey and will give those who cant make a Thursday a chance to take part.

Every week i'll pick a strava segment and the fastest riders on that segment over the course of that week can get points - 6 points for 1st, 5 for 2nd, 4 for 3rd and 3 for 4th, 2 for 5th. 1 Point for everyone else that completes the segment. This runs Monday to Sunday and you can have as many attempts at setting a time as you like. The scores will get added to the following weeks chaingang score. The points competition is also a seperate competition that runs all through the summer so you dont need to take part in the chain gang to take part in this.

I'll try to choose roads that don't feature on regular club runs and also try and spread it out around the area so everyone has a local one from time to time. First up (for week 3 April to 9  April) is Howwood to Cyclepath Its about 1km long and an uphill drag from Howwood to the Cyclepath.

https://www.strava.com/segments/8903752
 
Just testing the waters on this if there isnt much interest after a few weeks i'll quietly drop it!

Looks like a Team forming nicely here

Despite Roberto's warning I rode my first proper TT today.
 
For sale: Planet X Exo3...
 
I had watched the BBC "Wheel of Fortune" weather forecast change each hour of Saturday and went to bed happy the strong winds and heavy rain forecasted by the BBC had eventually landed on overcast with a bit of wind, only to wake to heavy rain and strong winds being forecast again.
 
The course is a 15 mile drag down the A71 to Carnwarth with a 15 mile drag back up. I had thought 1:15 was a good target (averaging 24mph).
 
The first 15 miles were torturous with heavy headwinds, showery conditions and far more hills than I can remember (very similar to Roberto's description). Struggled to hold 15 mph at times and my mind just counted down the miles to Carnwarth when surely the tail winds home would be epic! Think I was close to 50 minutes at the turn and reset my target to get under 1:30!
 
What a route of two halves! Holding 30mph for long periods and frequently 40mph + I watched the potential time tumble. With the tail winds and surprisingly fresh legs I spotted, caught and passed a fair few riders before rounding a summit corner for the final sprint to the line stopping my Garmin at a tad over 1:21. Not sure what final time was as results not posted yet.
 
Great spread laid on by West Lothian Clarion, including the fabulous chocolate Guinness cake. A great end to a most enjoyable 80 mins of torture!

The Cambusbarron course is always a tough one, but it's got to be done.

Thought that as a retired HM Customs & Excise officer, entering a Smugglers Sportive was appropriate. .............................

I've entered the Drumlanrig sportive 29/04/2017, 57 miles.
Looks as if the JWCC have a number of entrants for th the longer distance, but 57 mls is far enough for me!
See you all there 😊