Marc

Wham bam. Made even more "interesting" this week with the addition of Gregg O. Marc and I decided to grab a coffee to let Galeb and Gregg ride up the Heely at tempo and we would catch them at the top
They must have taken a different route as we never did see them ....I took a picture of my legs when I got home
 
 
 

Photo 1 Top of the rest 
Photo 2 Ride London 
Photo 3 Bar after the pro race LBL
Photo 4 Dearest hotel ever , think a few of the boys didn’t appreciate Alex’s hotel tastes , mind you eggs benedict and smoked salmon as opposed to black pudding and beans should have been a clue . 
 

Me

5 of us to start with this time . With most of the guys having heavy legs from yesterday's ride meant that 5 became 4 quickly, then 4 of us worked to largs and then for the final stretch it was me and Marc to finish off a solid ride.
Good fun thanks for the company guys.

Hmmm, that is a generous description Galeb ! I thought it was more like me and Richie hitched a ride on the Galeb/Mark TGV. We managed a couple of token spells before crawling into the Bagel basket where another contingent of JWCC arrived so we had 2 coffee stops
I have numerous PR's and top ten segments on my ride which confirms what I already knew , youse were flying.
Thanks for a thoroughly excellent kicking
 
 
  

Another cracking night with a big bunch....all i can say is tonight is the last time i ride the Clune with any sort of panache....i am not the fat Pantani.
 
Bound to have missed someone out but here are the final standings  for May - well done to Galeb who wins the Giro d'Georgetown

Name Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 overall Galeb 12 8   4 4 28 Iain mct 8 9 3 4 1 25 Marc   3 9   8 20 Paul Mcd   1 7 7 3 18 Stevie   4 4 3   11 Billy 3   3 2 3 11 Jesse   1 3 5 1 10 Ian A   2   3 3 8 James 2 1 1 1 1 6 Charlie 1 1 1 1 1 5 Gary K         5 5 Eric 1 1 1 1   4 Andy P 1 1   1 1 4 Colin   1 1 1 1 4 Anthony   1 1 1 1 4 Darryl   1 1 1 1 4 Paul L 1 1 1     3 John Cr   1 1 1   3 Alan mcb   1   1 1 3 Glen     1 1 1 3 Gregg O     1 1 1 3 Gary D     1 1 1 3 Scott N   1 1     2 Andy G 1   1     2 Alan T   1 1     2 Alan mcl   1   1   2 David W     1 1   2 Alistair       1 1 2 Matthew       1 1 2 Greg B         2 2 Robbie   1       1 Ryan   1       1 Michael J     1     1 Ian mcg     1     1 Richie     1     1 David Y       1   1 John C         1 1

Can’t believe Jesse chased down Alan Mcb and me on the GT. We used to be mates. And word is Galeb was soft pedalling on the Westferry saving himself for the Clune. I need a faster pace to stop all this subterfuge.  Too much fun in this group. Not enough pain.

Yes in mind if not body

Fantastic day on the bike! Longest I've done in a long time. Thanks for the company! 

Fantastic day on the bike! Longest I've done in a long time. Thanks for the company! 

The damage is done.
I’m off to order a Paisley Velo pair.

Well what can one say , don’t like the new end to the course, but otherwise not that much different
Today the easterly wind made for a fast ride out, I still can’t get round the dead turn we’ll need to practice the way back was hard but not that bad , thought I was going well cam round Newark RB and was jus about to catch my minute man , when I heard something fall from my bike thought it was my water bottle so carried on glanced down at my Garmin only to notice it wasn’t there , so stopped and waddled back to the roundabout and managed to save the Garmin don’t think the guy in the blue BMW expected to see me standing in the middle of the rb got back on and finished 1 minute and 18 seconds over the hour, recon I lost about 2 minutes with stopping and then going again but I never do well early in the season 

Hope to make this. 

Will try and join only to BoW though. Worked out that I might just make it in time before wife goes to Yoga. Can't have any punctures though otherwise I'm sacked! 

Cool and windy night for our 6 riders .. some great times none the less,  and well done to Richard for being the first person to win the Frank Lauder Trophy 4 years on the trot .. 
Richard  21.30
Gerrard 23.29
James 23.37
Scott M 23.56
AlanT  25.57
Mike  29.33
All riders paid..
Thanks to George for hawdin up, was blooming freezing 

Firstly I would like to congratulate Iain McTavish for making the chain gang such a popular event. The introduction of points has made it even more fun. 
We just need to remind ourselves that fast bunch riding can be dangerous. We now have quite a few new members who bring fantastic fitness & enthusiasm to the bunch but have not had a lot of experience of racing or big bunch riding. We also have members who perhaps need a wee refresher. I suggest that the likes of Paul McDonald jann Darryl remind us all at the start of what is expected. A bit like the chat u get from a Commissaire before a race.
I like the present format as i am riding my bike with friends. I like it when Paul Leavy shouts at me to get over Bishie hill. Ilike the fact the bunch waits for us at top of Clune. I like it that Paul McDonald went back to check we were all there( sorry Alan T u were just a bit late last thurs) I like the buzz of hanging on to end. I like it when new members tell me how much they enjoyed The Chain Gang and I like to hear Stevie say he has gone from being dropped last season to being a racer this season. We actually may have something that provides fun and is a stepping stone for those who aspire to race.
I did not see the manoeuvre that put Stevie in danger but whoever it was needs to be told. When I was out with Renfrew bunch it was common to hear experienced riders give an earful to any one who rode erratically.
 
 
 
 

Still being relatively new to the bunch and fast group riding I am still learning and hope that any transgressions on my part are viewed in that light.
The larger more varied group certainly makes a more steady chain difficult but if it wasn't for the open and inclusive nature of the club/group I would not have come back after being spat out the back at every available opportunity last summer and quite possibly would not have joined the club or been in the position fitness wise to take part this year.

For what its worth, canvassing a view from the visitor that I brought last night he reckoned that the group was, in safety terms exceed only by the northside Scratch group and much safer than the southside bunch.





 

Not naming any names,  not pointing the finger at anyone in particular and i dont want anyone else to do it either. Everyone has made mistakes from time to time so this applies to everyone including myself.
There was a moment tonight on the rise between Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir when  Stevie, through no fault of his own, was forced onto the white line as a car approached due to someone switching from the left line to the right without looking.   Not a pleasant couple of seconds seeing this unfold in front and was only a few cms from turning nasty very quickly.
On a couple of other occassions tonight riders were crossing the white line to move up the bunch or maintain their position. If there is good visibility and there are no cars about (and importantly you check there are no cars!) and its clear, then crossing the line briefly then fair enough. No complaints about that and ive done it myself. But doing it going round a bend when you dont know what is coming or even worse doing it when there are  cars coming the other way then forcing your way back into the line so you can avoid them - then not cool at all.
Try and remember it is a training ride not a race  so look out for one another. Actually same applies to races too.

To make matters worse i changed my wheels just before coming out but forgot to change the spare tube in my tool bottle so only had one with a 42 mm valve, not very good for 60mm wheels. I normally have a valve extender too but couldnt find it!
Another source (i have spies everywhere) suggests Jess held on for third, so will call it a tie with her and Stevie. Good to see Billy back winning the intermediate again, won about 75% of them last year!
To make scoring a bit easier i'm going to stop the parallel scoring and just keep kom and sprint points to wheelers, non wheelers get the point for turning up so can keep track of how many are out. Current standings
Name Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 overall Galeb 12 8   20 Iain mct 8 9 3 20 Marc   3 9 12 Stevie   4 4 8 Paul Mcd   1 7 8 Billy 3   3 6 James 2 1 1 4 Jesse   1 3 4 Eric 1 1 1 3 Charlie 1 1 1 3 Paul L 1 1 1 3 Andy P 1 1   2 Scott N   1 1 2 Ian A   2   2 Andy G 1   1 2 Colin   1 1 2 Anthony   1 1 2 Alan T   1 1 2 Darryl   1 1 2 John Cr   1 1 2 Robbie   1   1 Ryan   1   1 Alan mcb   1   1 Alan mcl   1   1 Glen     1 1 Michael J     1 1 Ian mcg     1 1 Gregg O     1 1 David W     1 1 Gary D     1 1 Richie     1 1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

As long as you both haven't been practising GT lead outs...

Spotted earlier today
 

For segment of the week we've left a gap....Ian insists on it such is his sense of honour, fair play  and decency. Either that or he must know i'd just sit on his wheel then sprint past with 100 metres to go 

Houston Road still shut under Gryffe HS, diversion via Old BoW Road, right at the roundabout by St. Fillans PS and back onto Houston Road.  
Shouldn't make that much difference.

thought i'd cheer myself up since it's Monday morning, and I hate Mondays....
the Bealach Na Ba is 9.1km @ average 7%
including only the specified Climbs, Tourmalet 18k @ 7.4%, Ancizan [email protected]%, Aspin 12k@ 6 %, Tourmalet fae the other side 17k@ 7.5% and Ardiden 14.7k@ 7%, we will undertake 78.7km of climbing at average 6.48%... basically give or take half a percent, it'll be like climbing the Bealach Na Ba 8.6 times one after the other ..
anyone got a training plan
 

Could someone local please give us daily updates on road resurfacing on the B790. Will it be possible to avoid this by taking Old BoW through Houston (neutralised) and pop out at the start of Georgetown?
I will hand you back to Chief Comm, Ian....