The Caterham Mile-Eater

The plan had been to celebrate the end of a good season with a stylish Autumn ride - you know the sort of thing - soft sunshine, colours in the trees and a bit of warmth left in the sun.  Well, we did get some of that, but we also got a glimpse of what Winter holds.  Ho hum.

Anyway, eight of us were away promptly from Caterham.  Fast down White Hill, across the A25 at Bletchingley and on down Outwood Lane.  Here we had a shot at something the A Group hasn't tried before - riding 'Through and Off'.  It's a technique widely used in the professional peloton to raise pace and save effort.  The first man rides as fast as he can for a minute or so, then pulls to one side and freewheels to the back of the peloton while the second man takes up the pace-making for a minute or so, and so on.  You'll have seen it.  The benefits of slipstreaming mean that you spend a minute or so at maximum effort followed by five or six minutes going just as fast but not working very hard.

For a bit we did pretty well, and the pace was certainly high.  But then we lost our rhythm and the slipstream was gone.  With a bit more practice I'm sure we could do it well.

On though Smallfield, Copthorne and then another interlude.  Brian had punctured, which was the ideal opportunity to test the Vittoria Pit Stop tyre sealant that I've been carrying round for a couple of months.  It's a pressurised can of sticky stuff that seals the puncture and inflates the tyre without taking the wheel out.  

Can is about 5" high, fits a jersey pocket

It worked OK-ish.  The tyre was inflated, but not as hard as needed, and sealed, but not completely.  With a couple of extra pump-ups the tyre lasted for the next forty miles, which is not too bad.  Indeed, it seemed to be sealing better as the miles went by.  Intended as a 'get you home', it does that.

On South over Turner's Hill, past the reservoirs to Balcombe and down to the pub at Staplefield.  Dave left us here, as his exeat lasted only until lunchtime.  The rest of us received a warm welcome and prompt service of our meals, so we were back on the road just after two.

The Mile-Eaters (John just coming)

A loop South to Warninglid, our furthest point, then North again heading for Faygate, Rusper and tea - Denbies, again.  But the normal tea-room was closed, as they were setting up an event for this evening, so we were blessed with waitress service in the very pleasant third floor restaurant.  A table fit for heroes.

The Miles Eaten

51.19 miles, 3,287 feet of ascent, moving average 14mph - very much what we had planned, and a good show.  But the afternoon weather was a glimpse of Winter - damp, drizzly and even lights on in some of the lanes.  

A good close to the Summer season, and a very creditable opener for Winter.

Mark