B Group - 12th July

It was sweltering when I reccied this ride so thought that less mileage could be a good idea!  Going up Green Dene in the shade was most welcome but, as we all know, yesterday's weather was somewhat cool to start with!  Also, the workmen in Calvert Road told me they would be finished before Wednesday this week - but that was not the case.  Apparently due to a mishap earlier the road had to be dug up again!   The workmen were extremely kind and made way for our nineteen strong group to get through, saving us from retracing our steps/wheels!

From Green Dene it was down Combe Bottom, through Albury and Chilworth where we turned right, over the level crossing to East Shalford. We used the cycle path along side of the A281 taking us into Guildford for lunch at The Kings Head, adjacent to the grounds of Guildford Castle. The food and service was very good, hence we were able to get away in good time - not that we were in any hurry!

Irene had shown me around the castle gardens on our reccie and she very kindly lead us through and up to a higher level which I had not been aware of before.  These gardens are truly beautiful and well worth a visit.  Our group photo was taken at the exit we used to go into the High Street to continue with our return journey, through Stoke Park, along the River Wey to the unpopular A3 cycle path towards Ripley.  Another well worn route, Grove Heath, Guileshill and Ockham Lane to Cobham where we enjoyed tea and cakes in the café at Painshill Park.  A convenient stop for all the group to make their way home.

My thanks to all for their company and a big welcome to Theresa whom we look forward to seeing again.  Welcome too to Rob (Robin) Turner who was out with us for his second ride.

A big thank you to corner and back markers...and ..of course, our photographer, Tim :)

Pam :) :)

B Group with a banner advertising the average age of our riders

Vineries - Guildford (13.1 miles) - Painshill Park (12.3 miles)

If the map images appear to be too fuzzy to see the route detail when you click on them it is possible with most web browsers to view images in a separate window with an option to magnify to 100%, (i.e 1:1). So if this ever matters to you, whether you are using Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Internet Explorer, or any other browser, it is worth understanding how to do it. The maps are in a digital photo format so the same process will work for all the photos.

~ Tim

12 July – A Group Ride from Effingham Vineries

Unfortunately Mike is not available to lead Wednesday’s A ride. 

I will lead an un-recced ride to the Mucky Duck (www.muckyduckinn.co.uk) at Tisman’s Common. About 19 Leith-hilly miles. This route has been kindly provided by Geoff Gregory, for which many thanks.

Return will be similarly hilly, probably White Down focused. Depending on the mood of the peloton we may do some more hills.

Please note, I have not had time to recce this route, so cannot warn you of the present state of potholes, gravel or other hazards. Ride accordingly.

Wednesday B ride from Effingham Vineries

Pam will be leading this ride at Peters request.

Lunch will be at the Kings Head, Guildford Castle and afternoon tea will be at Painshill Park.

Pam.

The science of efficient cycling

The A group

Well - some of the science.  I went to the Royal Institution's Summer Science Fair last week, and Bristol University had a stand explaining how they had brought a 1.5% efficiency gain to the GB cycling team at the Rio Olympics.  There are some possible ideas for us all.  But first: the science bit:

How hard you have to pedal for a given speed, v

There are three main parts to this equation:

1. Air resistance (at the top left), which goes up extremely fast as your speed increases, and quickly becomes the most important thing trying to slow you down above about 10mph.  At 20mph, air resistance makes up about 80% of the work you have to do.  To reduce air resistance, you need to have a small surface area (skinny bike, skinny rider, no panniers, tucked low on the bars), and wear skin-tight, aerodynamic clothes.   Or cycle slower.    And of course, cycling into the wind makes makes your effective speed higher, so it's even more important - this is why cycling behind someone else makes it easier, since it reduces the effective headwind.
2. Rolling resistance (top right) is resistance between your tyres and the road.  The GB team use high pressure kevlar tyres - and a very smooth track surface - but recent articles in Cycle magazine, and Mark's investigations, seem to suggest that wider, lower pressure tyres may be just as good on real road surfaces.  So - take your pick.  And - rolling resistance varies in proportion to your weight and speed.
3. Transmission efficiency (bottom of the equation) is how much effort gets from your legs through the chain and gears to drive the back wheel.  This is where the Bristol University research found 1.5% efficiency gains.  Chains are quite efficient - only about  5% of your effort is lost in the drive chain) - but this can be improved by using a bigger cog, front and back, as it reduces chain friction, and careful lubrication.  Team GB had a secret lubricant fomula that even the Bristol researchers don't know.   Cross-chaining is also said to be bad for transmission efficiency (see here).   I doubt this is a major factor for most of us.
4. Something is missing: hill-climbing effort.  The Bristol researchers had not heard of the Surrey Hills when they did their research, and so only took account of flat cycling.   They live a sheltered life.   So a fourth term has to be added: mgvSin(s) - your mass, times gravity, times your speed, times the sine of the steepness of the hill you're climbing.   This is by far the biggest factor (as we all know!).  If you're climbing even a 1% hill at 10 mph, more than half your hard work is going into climbing, rather than air resistance etc.   So - best to avoid hills!

So what did we learn?   Probably not much of use - but in summary: going uphill, most of your work is going into climbing;  on the flat, most is going against wind resistance;  and downhill - enjoy!

There is an online model here, if you want to put your own numbers in and see where your hard work is going on Box Hill or similar.

Don Clarke

Terry rang Don yesterday to learn that Don himself suffered no significant injury when he came off near Headley on Wednesday and that his accident was caused by a mechanical mishap, as illustrated in Tony's photo.

Don has passed on his thanks to everyone for their concern and for helping him on Wednesday.

~ Tim

Update from Colin Garrod

You may recall that Colin ruptured his Achilles tendon while cycling in France a couple of weeks ago.   He sent this update:

Hi All
Hope you are all enjoying the lovely cycling weather.
Just thought I should update you on my progress.  I saw my consultant on Monday and am now in a “walking” brace at least until my next appointment in 6 weeks.   It doesn’t really allow me to do much walking but has at least got me off my hands and knees.  He says they prefer not to sew the 2 ends of the Achilles back nowadays, due to complications and that they should hopefully join together eventually, somehow.  So no more cycling for months.  But it does at least give me lots of time to improve my watercolour painting and perhaps also my French.  I also can at least hobble up the garden and now have no excuse to do the washing up.

~ Colin

We wish you a speedy recovery Colin and look forward to seeing you as soon as you are able to re-join us.

5 July - A Ride to Walliswood

What a keen bunch of riders. Everyone ready to go at eleven o'clock and four people volunteering to backmark. Simon even came dressed for the task in his bright orange top but the honour went to Mike Barrett who had got his offer in on Tuesday!

So fourteen of us set off in sunshine, and barely a breeze, to seek out the descents of the Surrey Hills.  Through Ockham and West Horsley before the descent of Combe Lane into Shere. Little London, Farley Green and Winterfold Lane prepared us for the descent to Smithwood Common. Cranleigh and Ewhurst Green brought us to The Scarlett Arms in Walliswoood.

Here we found shade in the garden while we waited for the food to arrive. Before we left Geoff took a photo of us still hiding in the shade.

For the afternoon Simon was finally allowed to backmark as we headed for Weare Street, Capel and Rusper before turning north and rushing to Newdigate. Here Mark generously brought us all an ice cream and we spent more time sitting in the shade cooling off.

Now just Roothill and Punchbowl Lane to negotiate before tea at Pilgrim Cycles in Westhumble.

Thanks to each and every one for a great day out.

B Group - 5th July

21 riders left Cobham for the ride to Chipstead. The route took us through Headley, Walton on the Hill and Kingswood. Unfortunately Don came off his bike due to a mechanical fault. A big thanks to David Ward who stayed with him until the cab arrived. Lunch at the Midday Sun was ok. Down to 16 riders we made for tea at Squires Long Ditton and were joined by 2 late starters Liz & Gill.Thanks to Steph for back marking and to the corner markers.

Regards

Tony

B's to Chipstead

On a climb a short distance from lunch Don Clarke had a mishap while changing gear causing a fall, Don was shaken and had a slight cut to the head but was okay. The rear dérailleur mangled itself  around the cassette. Don had to get a cab home.

Tony..

A Group 5th July

As promised, Neil's ride today consisted largely of swooping descents.  Better yet, it was Summer - properly, indisputably Summer.  Hard to think of a better day to be out on the bike.

An excellent ride in good company.

Mark

Doug Reynolds MBE

We have been notified by Ian Reynolds that his Uncle, Doug Reynolds, died peacefully in Kingston Hospital on 25th June.

We don't know who in the club today might have cycled with Doug but these badges show that he was a member of CTC and possibly Kingston Phoenix when World War II broke out. Does anyone remember riding with Doug?

Ian sent us this photo:

~ Tim

P.S. I have just discovered a link to an entry posted in this blog by Jeff in 2013:

https://midweekwayfarers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/douglas-g-reynolds-mbe.html

And there is more to read about Doug in the Surrey Comet where, on the occasion of the award of his MBE, he is described as a former Kingston councillor (Labour) and Chairman of the Kingston Pensioners' Forum.

Tomorrow's A Ride

After the recent rides to far-flung places we will be staying closer to home this week and swooping down all those local descents you know and love (and maybe one more).

Twenty-one miles to The Scarlett Arms in Walliswood for lunch, and another 21 back to Pilgrim Cycles in Westhumble for tea.

Please be ready to leave at 11.00 - or you will have Tracey to answer to!

B Group ride from Cobham

Lunch will be at The Midday Sun in Chipstead (no ties required!) and afternoon Tea at Squires in Long Ditton.

Regards

Tony

Seven Stay in a Gite

Seven of us (Liz, Pam, Jane and Dave, Tony Hopkins and Colin) met at Newhaven Premier Inn on Friday June 16 for an early departure to Dieppe on Saturday.

Once in Dieppe we made a brief visit to La Plage Hotel to see manager Isabelle then rode off to the gite we stayed in last year at Torcy le Grand. Whilst checking the map in Dieppe a French cyclist appeared and volunteered to lead us to Torcy He said he knew Caroline Street (the English organiser of the Dieppe Raid) and he was involved in the Raid. After arriving in Torcy we checked on a restaurant we’d used last year, but it was closed. Another one, opened since last year, was full that night with a party. The answer was a quick visit to the local supermarket. Whilst enjoying our diy meal outdoors (we had the same hot weather as England) the people in the gite next door invited us round for a drink, including a home-made concoction.

Tony woke early and each morning cycled to the local shop to get fresh croissants – much appreciated.The hot weather was the deciding factor for the week’s rides, most days we rode about forty miles or so on some routes we had used last year and also a few from a book of routes we have. The routes are also pretty well marked by roadside signs. On Tuesday it was decided we should visit the seaside so we had a trip to Dieppe, very pleasant. Fortunately we hadn’t ridden very far on Wednesday when Colin’s Achilles problem recurred so it was back to the gite to make early return arrangements. Get better soon, Colin. Thursday was slightly cooler and in the evening we were able to test the new restaurant down the road – the three course dinner was very nice. On Friday lunchtime we checked out the nearby bison restaurant (Rêve de Bisons); they also serve lamb and fish and very acceptable cold, draught Leffe Blonde in large glasses. As usual, cycling in rural France was wonderful, very little traffic and it gives you ample clearance. We returned to La Plage on Saturday morning and had a relaxing day, shopping, etc. We booked a restaurant for dinner and were joined by the A group – a very pleasant evening. 

An 0830 start was necessary to give us (100k route) ample time to arrive in time for the awards ceremony at the finish. The weather wasn’t as hot as during the week so cycling the new route was very enjoyable. We had an incident-free ride and finished in good time for a celebratory Leffe before attending the awards ceremony where we won the largest club attendance. Pam also won an award. The traditional post Raid dinner was well up to standard.

Most competitors returned home on Monday but we had another relaxing day and returned on the 1230 ferry on Tuesday, choosing not to ride home from Newhaven.

Thanks to all for good company and making it such an enjoyable holiday

Terry

Stage 2

Ooops

Ghost Rider

As some of you may recall, I've done a couple of Audaxes on Dartmoor, with weather varying from pretty good to pretty bad.  Earlier this year, despite this learning experience, I found myself entering the Dartmoor Ghost, another of the Dartmoor audax series.  The thing about the Ghost is that it's run overnight, on a summer night, admittedly, but it's still pretty dark for a long time.

Anyway, entry done and accepted, all that was left was to ride it ...

I prepared my bike carefully, as my eyesight isn't what it was, and darkness wasn't going to help.  I chose my old Dawes, which already has 44mm tyres to smooth things out,  and added a bit to the lighting department.  I replaced the B&M bottle dynamo with a SoN hub dynamo and used that to power an Edelux II LED light.  That worked very well.  In addition, I put on two Supernova rechargeable lights, one approved for road use, with a cut-off beam to avoid dazzling traffic, the other being a 'racing' version that just puts out all the light it can.  My plan was to keep the dynamo light and the road light on all the time, and to use the racing light as an extra.  In the event, I had plenty of light and never used the 'racing' light at all.

At the back, I used the B&M tail light already fitted, which gives a broad, steady red light, and added an LED flasher.

All the lights were fine.

The start was at Bovey Tracey, as usual, with slices of pizza to fuel the riders, and about thirty of us set off, in the dark, heading South at first.  Route finding turned out to be surprisingly easy.  I had set my Garmin for 'turn by turn', and it worked perfectly.  About 200m before the turn it would light up, show the turn and go off, then, just at the turn it would illuminate again until you had completed the turn and were on the right road.  It's a well worked out feature.

The route was a good one, taking in the whole of Dartmoor, and riding at night is quite an experience.  On the positive side, there are no cars.  None at all.  There are animals - amongst others I saw a badger, a stoat and, as dawn approached, plenty of rabbits, and heard some things that I've no idea what they were.  On the negative side, the views are very limited, and even with a good light set-up it's hard to pick the smoother parts of the country lanes, so it's a bit of a rough ride, and slower than you would be in day-light.

Controls and catering were good; an all-night garage and cafe just after midnight and a village hall with hot food at about four in the morning, topped off with a fine breakfast at the finish.  No-one goes hungry on the Ghost.

The 'Ghost' theme is that the ride visits a number of reputedly haunted places, but the one to watch out for is the 'Hairy Hands'.  They reach out from behind and steer you off the road - there are a number of well documented instances of this.  Apparently.  Anyway, riding on Brevet No 13, what did I have to worry about?

I did enjoy it, but maybe once is enough, for this type of thing.  Harder than it looks.

Mark

An update from Tim Gibbons

I received this from Tim yesterday:

Hi Tim !

Thanks for your message - very much appreciated.

Yes - the saga continues.
I had the first wrist operation (broken scaphoid) a month ago and am currently in a plaster cast. It was a tricky procedure as the bone had fractured in a difficult place. As a result they had to insert metal pins to keep the joint together in the hope that it will eventually fuse back together. I am due for further surgery in three weeks time to remove them and assess the situation. I can only hope that it will all prove worthwhile in the end and that the bone will eventually heal.

It has been so frustrating as the the diagnosis was so late in being reached. As a result I have been unable to do any cycling for the last three months and what bit I did manage beforehand was quite painful.

Needless to say I am so looking forward to getting back to normal as soon as circumstances allow. I have missed the Wednesday cycling tremendously and the bike has hardly been out of the garage.

Glad to hear you had a successful trip to Dieppe - I'm sure you all had a great time.

Please pass on my best wishes to the rest of the Wayfarers and I do hope I will be able to join you all once again in the near future.

Very best wishes,

Tim G

A Group 28 June - Oxford ride

A good turnout at Walton, including Ray Dare on his 91st birthday - congratulations Ray!    It was excellent to see Mick Furnival-Adams out riding again, making steady progress on his long recovery from his heart surgery.   But only eight riders were coming to Oxford - perhaps it was the timing, just after Dieppe with several still away, or the gloom-laden weather forecast, which mellowed to mere cloud and occasional drizzle at the last minute.

We set off promptly and headed swiftly north - Staines, Colnbrook and Iver Heath passed swiftly until we reached Fulmer, where we turned our eyes (and our bikes) to the Wild West, with some potholes to match.   Farnham Common and Burnham Beeches led us to Cookham, and then it was a push up the hill to the Jolly Farmer at Cookham Dean.  27 miles gone already and we were refuelled quickly: down, up, down as they say in the song, and we were in Marlow, all except Neil who gained a puncture on the final downhill, but it was soon fixed with Geoff's help.   We took the Oxford Road out of Marlow - well it seemed a good choice - for what I thought was the best bit of the ride - through Frieth, Fingest and Turville on a heavily wooded steady climb up to Christmas Common, which is about the same height as Leith Hill.   We had earned our tea and we were rewarded by the long downhill into Watlington, where we spotted ginger treacle cake and I think most of us had a piece with our tea.

Steve left us at Watlington to ride back home.  From there it was flat geographically, but downhill scenically, on a B road which was much busier than on the recce.   We avoided about half of it by detouring into nearby villages, but the rest was hard work until Cowley, where things didn't really improve with slow rush hour traffic and, well, Cowley doesn't have the visual attraction of Oxford city centre.   Suddenly we were in the centre with less traffic, more bikes and university buildings all around.  Despite it being about 6pm, Neil was intent on riding straight home - well it's only a short day for someone who does back to back audax rides on a weekend.   The remaining six found ourselves in a 12th century pub, the Turf Tavern (reputed to be the hardest to find in Oxford, but my GPS knew exactly where it was).  My extensive research also uncovered the fact that former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a Guinness world record there for drinking a yard of ale in 11 seconds.  Mark was staying overnight for more 'sightseeing', and the rest of us caught the train back.  

Thank you to all for your most enjoyable company, and especially to Geoff for back marking.

A Group 28th June

Our leader promised flatness and beauty for our ride to Oxford, and, indeed, both were delivered in considerable measure.  But not entirely...

An excellent ride.

Mark

B Group - 28th June

What a grey day but at least it didn't rain and it wasn't as hot as last week!  A group of 19 set off from Walton Day Centre, including Birthday Boy Ray and new rider Howard whom we hope to see again but he is still one of the world's workers, so appearances may be sporadic.  This was my Two Rivers Ride (Thames & Jubilee) but in reverse!  There was a short taste of the Thames as we took the towpath to Walton Bridge, otherwise the bulk of riding by the rivers was after lunch.  Our route was out through Chertsey, skirting Thorpe and into Egham where we took Hummer Road down to the A30.  Traffic was extremely fast here, so crossing over to the Meads took a while and enabled Tim & Ray Wren to catch up.  We now followed the Runnymede Road and went through Old Windsor before taking the Datchet road into Windsor itself.  There was a Dog Show going on in Windsor and the open grassy area on our right was covered in tents and caravans!  Crossing the river into Eton, we followed Route 4 and then Route 61 to Eton Wick & The Greyhound Pub.

Having pre-ordered our lunches, everything worked well and we set off again at approximately 2.15 p.m. heading for the Jubilee River path which took us to the Eton-Datchet road.  It was now a very familiar route - Datchet, Wraysbury, Staines and the towpath to Laleham, Shepperton (where some left the group) and on to Squires in Halliford Road for tea - 12 of us.

A low-key, flattish ride (the only hills were bridges!) we covered approximately 33 miles from elevenses to tea.  Thanks to everyone for your company, to the corner markers and to back-marker, Tim.

~ Gill Finlay