Galeb

Beautiful weather for a nice fathers day solo ride round the coast. 

Regarding rotation direction, I don't think we should be changing it during ride. It does help a little with hiding from the wind but not worth it on a training ride...its all a bit of fun and a bit more wind resistance makes for a harder session...no pain no gain.

Or we could just neutralise it until the goergetown sprint? 
Think we just need to slow down at any junction or roundabout. Also size of group doesn't help.

If you would like something punchier and shorter than the fast/long bunch ride then this is it .  
Non-stop 45 miles or so. Route around the coast, depending on who turns up maybe via old largs road.
Departing 9.00am from BoW lights (the ones closer to Kilmacolm).
Post if you would like to join.

We need to take a bit more care before the west ferry. Going through the roundabout and up the on ramp is not the final 300 metres in the Tour de France from Rivoli onto the Champs Elysees. If there is a car on the roundabout then the bunch should be stopping for it not riding through. However only 3 stopped tonight!
The speed is such that if guys at the front had slammed on their brakes then others may go into the back of them so I can understand why it was (arguably) the safe choice to make by then but that to me suggests that on the final part of the downhill we should be easing slightly instead of trying to keep as much speed and momentum as possible for going up the drag. Same thing applies on the downhill before the Crosslee roundabout. You cannot see what is coming until it is too late. I'm as guilty as anyone for going fast through that if im on the front but i'm going to try and be more safety conscious from now on.
 
Anyway what was the scores?
Kom - i think Sam, Marc, Galeb then who?
Sprint - Marc, Sam, Me, Billy, Galeb
 

Could someone else please attend chaingang tonight. I am still suffering from trauma of hanging on to Galebs wheel last Sunday and if mark kelly posts that he is coming I am staying indoors

Cheers Galeb. If I had gone up Bishy hill you would have had a coronary to deal with. Will try and hang on a bit longer next time

Charlie forgot his fast legs and Marc left his in the cabin hot tub. After 10 or so miles I was on my own...head down and make the most of it. Finished with a nice avgerage speed (21 mph)...a good workout.
Charlie you had the right mind set, a few chain gangs and you will be fine for next time 

Nice. Make sure you bring your fast legs and a bike that will stay together 
 

Me and Glen this morning to stewarton and back. Weather was wet but warm so not that bad. There was some rough weather patches at some points with wind and rain in your face but it's all part of character building! 
 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

With no one to be seen, it was me and the rain. Ended up doing the full route, even went for the sprint 

I will be there.
Cycling can be an all-weather thing if you want it to be!

I did the North Side Chain Gang on Monday which had 3 groups of 12 to 15 riders. That worked perfectly. I guess people join in along the way but when you get to 20+ riders we become a hazard to the motorists and it's harder to get a training benefit. What's your objection to splitting the group?

Lots of attacking tonight with a strong wind.
New sprint king in town with Sam being the first to beat Marc in a head to head this year.  Admittedly it looked a bit close to call but i figure cant have Marc winning all the points every week Also Richie is now a member and eligible for points!
 
kom
Marc  - 5
Sam - 4
Richie - 3
Galeb - 2
Ian A - 1
 
Finish
Sam - 6
Marc - 4
Me - 3
Richie - 2
Ian A - 1

Thanks Gerard - that’s the JWCC bunch at the start of the ride - all looking relatively fresh. It was a different story at the end though!
There were 7 JWCC and two friends - Scott (just back from a weeks training in Majorca) and Glynn who was always going to be good on the hills given can’t have weighed more than 55kg - wet through.
The intention was to ride ‘as a group’ at a very conservative pace. This proved to be a very good decision. Group was intact when after 30 miles or so Linda peeled off to follow the 60 mile route - sterling effort Linda!
After that the fun and games began. I’m sure some of the others will want to add their own experience, but suffice to say that this is a very very hard ride indeed. In a word, brutal. It is every bit as hard as the Fred in my opinion.
Anyway, our policy of keeping the group intact and stopping at the feeds served us well. Everyone was in good spirits with no mechanicals or mishaps (we saw a few which served as a salutary reminder that the course can be dangerous, especially the downhills). 
I’d ridden quite a few of these roads before so I had an idea what to expect, but I kept that to myself to preserve morale , as each climb was as hard or harder than the next, with a few 25% sections thrown in for good measure.
We regrouped in Hawes for the last time and had a welcome coffee before tackling the very last climb - Fleet Moss. I hadn’t ridden this before, but Graham had, just the previous day (yes he cycled down!). He told us with a solemn look on his face that it was just as hard as anything we had already done. He wasn't lying.
Overall a great day out, which will no doubt gain epic status in our memories, once we forget about how hard it was.
It was a long day though, with the drive back to Glasgow. With hindsight, staying another night would have been good.
Thanks to all who participated - JWCC and friends. 
Cheers!
 
 
 

First of all, Thank you Darryl for suggesting/organising this Sportive & all the Wheelers & friends for another very memorable day indeed on the bike!
I wouldn't have thought about doing this if it wasn't for Darryl's idea, since all I do these days are flat & cobblily :-) ............. but I'm glad I did this even though as everyone have said - it's brutal  !
It's been a long time since I've done a "local sportive", probably have to go back to 2012 now, so it was a great reminder that there are still some brilliant events to be ridden without crossing the Channel.
It might not have the glitz & glamour of bigger, more internationally recognised foreign events, but what it lacks is made up for by the warm reception (everyone I met, locals/marshalls helpers etc all had a smile on their faces) friendly atmosphere ........ & less riders to elbow out the way at feed stations 
In my opinion, this was an extremely well organised event with some lovely scenery & some of the hardest climbs I've ever done 
I've lost count of the times 20/21% gradient reading shown on my Garmin & these were always at the end of some long constant 10,12, 14, 16% slopes. Every time I ask Darryl, how many more climbs, he just said "........... only 1 more"  ........ I know full well that it was not true ........ but somehow want it to be so!
What also pleasantly surprised me was the conditions of the roads we drove & rode on, it was actually quite good without too much pot holes or broken surfaces, that was very welcome indeed, especially the brilliant & long but fairly technical descents. Which was great because after everyone climbs, the long down hills would munch away the km's, bringing us closer back to the finish!
It goes without saying that I had a great time - thanks also to Gerard for pick-up & drop off & to my travel companions .............
P.S We were lucky with the weather, because I dare to think what it would be like if it was windy & wet 
Cheers

If you would like something punchier and shorter than the fast/long bunch ride then this is it 
Non-stop 45 miles around the coast. Departing 9.00am from BoW lights (the ones closer to Kilmacolm).
Post if you would like to join.

Nice solo at the end with mild dry weather. Steady hard ride with some quite roads today especially through old largs road me the bike road and hills, not a sight of a car!