Blog posts

• When a grown up man, abandoning himself to a mid-afternoon moment of childhood exuberance and donning faint traces of leftover chocolate ice cream around the edges of his mouth, looks at you and says “that was a cracking ride!”;

• When a somewhat novice lady rider rolls up to you and sensing a junction coming up eagerly and without any kind of prompting asks “do you want me to sign post this one?”;
• When you hear the laughter and the animated discussions of 14 riders six metres behind you on a quiet country lane;
• When a very experienced lady rider who has recently re-joined our riding group looks at you and says “I am so glad I joined your ride today”;

…. then you know that ride leading can be a most exuberant and gratifying experience; one of sharing your love of cycling and your leadership with a view of putting a smile on club members faces and making sure they get home to their loved ones safe and sound at end of ride.

Then you can push the door open as you get home and say to yourself “Job Done”.

Here a few pics of a beautiful summer solstice day out with the Wednesday Midweek Wayfarers.

Happy riders after lunch at the Chichester Marina

“Don’t ever order fried squid for lunch; sits heavily, you know” (Keith Stainer).

Phil Gasson giving a thumbs up to a new rider (Susi Thrower).

“So boring up here in space: wish we could be out there riding with the G3s… sigh”.

” Easy ride, isn’t it?” (Pat Daffarn). “Don’t know: my bum still hurts after the Lands End to John O’Groats” (John Child”).

The trouble with blogging is that once you have started people seem to expect you to continue; at least I think that is what is wanted as the remark came, “I am looking forward to read what you write about today’s ride.” And, “How do you and Peter coordinate the blog.” We don’t. But this was tempered with, “You only write when it rains.”

The ride really starts on Saturday as I study the weather forecast, check the bikes, ensure I have some cash and try and make those difficult decisions as to how many layers to wear and which bike to take. The bike was easy – the luxo-cruiser given the distance and the hills. The layers were not. And the local cash machine had died.

At Merrow I spotted two cyclists heading towards Guildford and decided they must be Heidi and Martin – which meant that I was a minute or two later than I would like and I had to stop at a suitable cash machine. I finally caught up with them just before Godalming but I knew that this was not going to my day. The pollen count seemed off the scale and legs are not supposed to be made of jelly but that’s how mine felt. It was going to be a tough and long ride.

Eight of us left Godalming, once Clive made his 9:10 appearance, heading for Petworth via Kirdford where we met up with Don. The lady who runs the teashop is wonderful, no wonder it is always busy and she advised us that the fruitcake was made with Sussex cider – which you could definitely taste. As a West Country boy I prefer West Country cider (and Cornish clotted cream) but their fruitcake is one that I heartily recommend.

Heading south we made our way past Bignor, Houghton and Slindon. Passing the Forge seemed very perverse with the food smells wafting across the road making stopping seem like an attractive option. Captain said otherwise, so southwards we continued.

I shan’t comment about the complete idiot with trailer behind who saw us all indicating right and moving out to the centre of the road to make our turning, going up a hill towards a blind bend; he just had to hope that nothing was coming the other way as he overtook us. Thankfully nothing did and we all survived. Sounds like Don had something to say to another driver on another hill but I didn’t hear the whole story.

Bognor arrived in very good time but much to our dismay there were signs up on parts of the promenade saying £100 fine if caught cycling. What’s a promenade for, for heaven’s sake; walking? We climbed off and walked. The café at Bognor leaves me feeling completely exasperated. The wait time in the queue would leave McDonald’s mangers screaming. The whole process needs fixing. However the new cakes were very good, though my server needs a lesson in cutting. And then to our delight, as we sat eating, we were treated to a solo acrobatic display. Those in the know declared that it was a Mustang but I don’t think they were able to agree on the engine type.  The other entertainment was man trying to kickstart a wonderful, old, but clearly temperamental motor bike. Poor chap was bobbing up and down on the kickstarter like there was no tomorrow. Perseverance paid off and with a wry grin he departed.

As did we, via Chichester to the West Dean cycle path. Déjà vu as we came back from Bosham that way the week before. What is immensely heartening is the number of young children on their bikes on the path who are clearly enjoying themselves – long may they continue to enjoy it. This week we were somewhat restrained on the “time trial road” to Midhurst unlike last week – but thank goodness, my calves were killing me.

Café Verdi’s portion control is something else. You could feed an army on one slice of any of their fantastic offerings. I could not face a whole piece – a decision I almost regretted later on, but Bexley Hill loomed and both Peter and Martin had a week’s training in the mountains to prepare for it. Take a hill at your own pace, but I just could not drive my legs to their normal climbing cadence. Even on the downhill I was subdued. My cycle computer keeps recording that we now regularly do over 5,000 feet of climb, yet looking back over past years’ trips and I see climbs of 3,500 ft. Heidi, this is all for your benefit!

The Lurgashall rollers, which everyone seems to hate, the climb up from Hydestyle, Guildford and peeling off for home – thank goodness for energy bars as the A246 still awaited and if there was anything even floppier than jelly then that’s what my legs had become. The blessing is that wind had not changed direction so the final stretch was wind-assisted. 108 miles and my daughters gave me a Father’s day card. A lovely end to a lovely ride but can someone tell me how to get rid of calf pain and jelly legs please?

Ride Fuel – Enjoy your ride, Don’t Just Endure it!

by Louise Gagnon

Tips to Stay Strong on Your Next All Day Club Ride

Summer has finally arrived (well, sort of) and many of us are hitting the roads for longer rides. So here are a few reminders that will help you not only to ride with a smile on your face and not feel lethargic the next day, but also enable you to ride more safely. If your blood is too low on sugar or salts you can become disoriented, lethargic, and/or incapable of reacting quickly; all things that are very bad not just for your safety but also for that of the rest of your cycling group.

Breakfast
Eat foods that have a low to medium sugar index, such as porridge, Shredded Wheat cereals, baked beans, whole wheat bread, bananas, etc. Don’t forget proteins: either poached or hard boiled eggs, a few pieces of cheese, baked beans, milk, lean meat, low fat yoghurt, fruit smoothies. Proteins are key; they will give you lasting power, nourishing your muscles for longer. Baked beans are super food as they contain the carbs, proteins and salts you need.
Stay away from sugary cereals, fatty bacon/sausages, and too much butter on your toasts.
Drink lots of low sugar stuff and limit your caffeine intake to 1-2 cups. Be careful of juices as they are often loaded with sugar!

Morning Coffee Stop
Start putting in sugar and salts: your best choices are white bread tea cakes or a bagel with copious amounts of jam/jelly. Your body is still fresh so it can absorb solids and protein-enriched fuels so don’t be shy to give it the ultimate portable boost of salty nuts you will have brought with you, or alternatively order a milkshake. If baked beans are on the menu, that ís excellent. The caffeine in your coffee/tea will be your ally so make sure it is a strong one as it will fire up your metabolism. Sugar in there is fine too.

Sadly flapjacks, and cakes of all sorts are not your best allies given the high fat content (often the worst kind of cheap trans fat). But granted, they may be good to the taste; they are just poor for a cyclist’s body.

Especially on hot days, insert half a teaspoon of salt into your water bottle or drop an electrolyte/magnesium tablet (“Zero” is an excellent product. By the way, massive sports nutrition sales on now at big chains such as Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles). Keep the other water bottle for your “on the go energy”, most often in the form of a few tablespoons of a soluble carbo drink containing sucrose/fructose (I use 2 tablespoons of “High 5” Energy Source Summer Fruit Flavour, and keep a spare sachet for the afternoon).

On The Way to Lunch
Hydrate (drink!). You should have empty water bottles by lunch time.

The body is now a bit more fatigued and less able to digest solid foods. Time to turn to sports gels and electrolytes products. Don’t keep sipping on your high energy drink or it will rot your teeth. Drink it 1/3 a bottle at a time and rinse your mouth well with water from your other bottle. For variety and really cheap solid rocket fuel solutions, I ingest either a handful of Jelly Babies or mixed fruits with cranberries and apricots (£3 for 500g at Sainsburys – yummy). I am also a fan of white bread jelly/Nutella butties; folded in half, they are easily portable and will make your mates envious.

Lunch
Feel you’ve pushed the machine a bit and want to stay strong? Start with a sugary drink (J2O, Coke, etc.) and drink it within 30 minutes. Add a pinch of salt (no worries it won’t change the taste).

Sandwiches which combine bread, which has salt in it – and some kind of protein (eggs, meat, smoked salmon, tuna) are excellent light foods. So are baked potatoes, omelettes and pasta dishes; don’t be afraid to load them with proteins. Hearty soups and bread are good but they often miss key proteins to rebuild muscles so make sure you ask for a piece of cheese or dip into your ziplock bag that contains nuts.

Post Ride (30 minutes to 1.5 hours max)

Nutrition does not stop when you are finished. The secret to a strong recovery after a hard ride is maximum sugars within 30 minute post-ride. This is your brief window of accelerated glycogen storage to ensure your muscles are loaded with power for tomorrow’s ride, so don’t miss it! Good news: you may now flood your system with sugars, including cakes and sweets, in short anything with a high sugar index. A top choice is milk chocolate as it is full of sugar and also contains proteins (from the milk). If you have nothing else, a large Coke or similar will be fine. Have two if you wish.

Subsequently, and within 1.5 hours it is muscle repair time so go for some proteins (see above breakfast proteins). A main meal several hours later might consist of bread, pasta, potatoes and rice as well as a bit of simple sugars like cakes and sweets.

***

On your bike your only engine is your body.
Feed it what it needs at the right time and it will work wonders for you!

Louise Gagnon, Ride Leader
West Surrey CTC