Our annual club ride to Brighton is on Sunday May 6th. Here are the details:
Meet at Hayes Village Hall for a briefing at 8am. Please note there is a car boot sale at Hayes Farm which will mean traffic congestion in the area.
Please use the poll on the left-hand side of the home page so we have an idea of numbers. If you want to add more than one person, please vote for each one.
The route to Brighton is 87km (just over 54 miles). You can download it here along with a cue sheet: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1053214.
Here's the return: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1053357
There will be two feed stations and toilets on the way down: Outwood (32km/20 miles) and at the Victory Inn at Staplefield (56km/35 miles) which may have a BBQ if the weather is fine. For those riding back, there will be the feed station at Staplefield until 3pm and the option of a stop at Tulley's Farm near Turners Hill.
The cost is £10 (please pay on the day) to cover food, fuel for support cars and expenses.
If you are taking the train back, Southern has an offer of a group ticket if there are 3 or 4 people, they pay for just 2 so it's worth teaming up with friends.
Meet back at the George pub in Hayes from 5pm.
Prepare for the annual Brighton ride, then you can enjoy your day at the seaside.
Bigfoot shop is laying on a day of preparation from 8.15am on the morning of Saturday 5th May.
Firstly, Bigfoot shop will be fitting new tyres from a choice of 3 setups explained below. Book yours with the shop on 020 8462 5004 by April 29th.
After fitting the new tyres, ride with an experienced member over this short 4 mile route to check all is well.
Bike test route http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1113404
Thirdly, throughout the week, Bigfoot shop will be offering 3 levels of maintenance checks. For maintenance checks, book with the shop by April 29th on 020 8462 5004.
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Bigfoot to Brighton Preparation by Bigfoot shop
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Puncture Protection by Bontrager
includes new tyres, inner tubes and rim tape
Enthusiast Package 470gm per wheel
Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase Tyre 23mm,
Triple Puncture Protection in Black / Grey....................£20
Schwalbe SV15 Thick Walled Tube,
High Butyl Rubber Content..........................................£6
Schwalbe Extra Thick Rim Tape 16mm..........................£3
Total Package £58.00
Sports Package 343gm per wheel
Bontrager R2 Road Tyre 23mm, in Black,
Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, or White treads, 225gm…….......£25
Continental R28 Race Tube,
Seamless Construction, 100gm........................................£6
Bike Ribbon Lightweight Rim Tape 16mm, 18gm...............£2
Total Package £66.00
Race Package 273gm per wheel
Bontrager R3 Road Tyre 23mm in Black,
Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, or White sidewalls,190gm.............£30
Schwalbe SV20 X-Light Tube, High Butyl Rubber, 65gm.......£9
Bike Ribbon Lightweight Rim Tape 16mm, 18gm..................£2
Total Package.....82.00
Mechanical Safety by Bigfoot Shop Technicians
tune-up.service..........................................£20.00
Drivetrain wiped down and lubed, gears and
brakes adjusted, full safety check, bolts checked
and tightened, bearings adjusted where applicable
Prime 01 pre-exercise fuel, 118ml, in Orange.....................£1.50
Perform Stix 02 during exercise fuel, 36g, in Lemon...........£1.10
Recover 03 post-exercise recovery, 500ml, in Mixed Berry..£2.00
Total Package..............£4.60
Bigfoot launch offer.....£3.00
I rode last year along with the vintage car rally to Brighton, which was great fun. Unfortunately our route on Sunday does not follow any parts of the same route, however if you are only riding one way, then I guess there would be time to go and have a look at the vehicles in Maderia Drive in Brighton. Steve
They go through Staplefield where there is usually a large vintage car rally on the green whenever we pass. So it could be crowded around our stop there, in the pub car park.
After a second ride in a row when I have has to either limp home or be rescued and bought home I have realised that I am still ill and need to recover fully before going on any rides longer than about 20 miles until I build up some endurance.
I will not be riding to Brighton and back next Sunday but instead will be driving down and back. I will be an additional support vehicle and do this just to support everyone who helped me over the last few weeks.
I will have all the tools you may need for most repairs and spare wheels, tyres, tubes etc (Shimano wheels and not tubs).
I can do almost any repairs as I have built several bikes etc and can also carry additional clothing for people or lights etc.
See you all on Sunday
Stewart
Hi Stewart, Sorry to here you didn't feel so good yesterday. Let's hope you feel better soon. L4's will miss you on the ride but will be good to see you on route. If you fancy any company on some shorter rides give me a shout.
Hope you will be back on that bike again very soon and as reported to you by text from Chelsea this afternoon Fernando finally produced the goods (x3) which hopefully gave you something to cheer about. Hope to see you next Sunday.
On 29th March I led a group consisting mostly of L5s but with some L6 to Brighton on Hugh's Hot-Cross-Bun ride. We averaged 13.7mph. The course on Sunday is 54.4 miles and if L5 does that speed again, it will take them approximately 4 hours. Assuming there are 30 minutes stopped for punctures, mechanicals and at food stops, and they leave at 08:30 (briefing starts at 08:00), then you can expect them to arrive at 1:00pm. I'd bet they would be in a bit ahead of that though.
Hi Stewart - sorry you still not still 100 pct - but you're probably doing the right thing by taking it easy for a while.... I could have used your support car last Saturday!!
A few details about Sunday. Please bring your £10, appropriate clothing for the weather conditions, spare inner tubes, mobile phone, water bottles and rations. Janice and Emily will take your name, contact number and an emergency contact as well as your £10. There will be cue sheets available for both legs of the trip. The plan is to try to set the fastest group off first, then the next ones at 2 minute intervals. Remember to ride in compact groups, not in a loooooooong line along the road. If yours has more than 12, split into two packs with a sensible gap between the two so cars can pull in if necessary as they pass. Warn horse riders and pass slowly and with caution. At the second feed stop at Staplefield, there will be a few energy gels for those who need a boost on the way to Brighton, and there should be some left for those returning by bike.
Costs: food, drinks, petrol for support cars, donations at the food stops and photocopying, not to mention time spent orgainsing the event and time volunteers are giving up. Sounds like a bargain to me.
I won't be riding on Sunday, under Dr's orders, so will be baking cakes and helping Lisa K at Staplehurst. So I will have my car which has 2 bike carriers on as additional support as well.
Will see you Sunday morning at Hayes Village Hall.
Rachael
Hills will always be a challenge, but don't let them get in the way of a good ride. In fact, no good ride is complete without them!
Posts: 898
From: Mottingham Mottingham, so good they named it twice
Re: Brighton - May 6th Details
Posted on: 03/05/2012 07:13 PM
No no no, Andy's post was inferring that we were only getting a few gels for our money..... Kind of Johnny' s reverse psychology..... Who knows what goes on in that mind of mine? Answers on a postcard :D
Thanks for the suggestion but we'd end up with 100 pieces of paper and no way of finding them in a hurry. There's a simple form where we'll fill in details.
Is there any form of organised leading for Sundays ride, i.e. Groups ? as there doesn't seem to be any mention of the ride leaders for groups ? or do we all meander down at our own pace riding with the usual group riders. I suppose it will all become more clear at the 8am briefing but I'm so impatient !! :)
Den,
I don't have designated leaders but it makes sense that we form up in the ride levels we're used to. There are cue sheets available with directions. Depending on who's there the 2s and 3s may be combined. If someone finds the group they're riding with a bit too quick they can drop back and wait for the next one.
We'll start checking people in from just after 7.30 and get groups away as quickly as possible after the briefing. At the start there's a toilet at the cafe (though they can serve food/drink until 9am on a Sunday) and Bigfoot Bikes staff will be around.
Dom will be at the first feed stop at Outwood with hot tea, cakes and biscuits as well as the Gatorade drinks tub. Jim and Kerry will have bananas, flapjacks jelly babies and gels - and Rachel has promised cake too. Jim will bring a track pump to Staplefield. Stewart will be able to help with emergency repairs. Janice and Emily will be helping out as well. All we need now is the sunshine.
Great ride today with the Level 6s, errant Level 5s and the De Ver guys.
Our group had only one puncture fortunately and managed to stay on track without getting lost.
Thanks to the organisers, pitstop crews and the mobile technical support. Whist I write this I guess some of you are still riding the return leg so good luck to you.
A big thank you to Lisa, Rachael, Dom and Jim for giving up their Sunday and supporting the ride today, also, well done the organisers, everything went like clockwork. I had a great time too.
Firstly I would like to echo Mike's thanks to Lisa, Dom, Jim and Rachel - and not forgetting Stewart.
Secondly I would like to thank Andy and committee for a thoroughly well organised and enjoyable ride despite the weather.
Thirdly I would like to thank the intrepid L2/3s who made it down there and back by a little after 5pm. So thanks to HughW, SteveP, Adrian, Kev, Lisa, SteveR, JohnG and MikeR for a great paced 111 miles.
Nick
I too would like to add my thanks; to Stewart for the mobile technical support & to Dom and Janice for giving up their Sunday morning to run the feed station at Outwood. The biggest thanks has got to go to Jim, Lisa and Rachael for the best feed station EVER!! Absolutely jam packed with delicious home made cakes, enough to feed an army.
Well done to everyone who made it down there, and a special well done to all those who made it back.
Now all we need to do is sort out the etiquette when one of the group you are with has a puncture........!!!
Happy days
Mike
Congratulations to the 110 people who braved miserable weather conditions, especially the young Go-riders, and made it all the way to the seafront. It was nice to see our friends from de Ver and guest riders. The food stops were fantastic and seeing the Bigfoot sailflags lifted the spirits of this damp cyclist. Thanks to all who helped out and to Mike, Rob, Neil and Martin who dragged me back to Hayes. I hope everyone got home safely. Next time the sun will shine.
Good to hear that all got safely back. Well done and thanks to all those who provided the support. I've never eaten so much cake, and certainly couldn't manage another one at Tully's Farm!
I'd like to echo Anneke's thanks! There's nothing like a familiar face out on the road, or serving refreshments at a feed stop, to bring a smile to the face of a tired cyclist. Thank you also to the organisers of the event who helped it run safely, and smoothly.
I've posted some of the pictures I took today (yes, there was the odd useful thing in all that luggage I was carrying...). Photos are on my SmugMug website.
A great day on the bike made possible by the volunteers...... A HUGE THANK YOU so I echo the comments before for those that manned the feed stations and provided support along the way
Another great day out! Thanks to all who helped along the way and to my companions in our level 4 group for a great day. Cakes came in handy on the way back as the pidgeons had my lunch away in Brighton.
Firstly let me thank all the volenteers for giving up their time to keep us fed & watered on the day and also at the village hall sign in
Although I enjoyed the ride yesterday I was a little bit disappointed by the lack of camaraderie within some groups, there seemed to be a lot of different agendas going on, surely it was a Bigfoot day trip to the seaside, not a sportive !! last year we stuck together as a unit and if someone within our group had a mechanical we helped. Yesterday us 5's were picking up stray riders from various groups including 4's 6's & the guys & girls from De Ver who were basically left to look after themselves even though they didn't have the route
My hat comes off to Adam, Spencer and the rest of the go ride team who seemed to have got it right, what inspiration it was seeing them all smiling and waving as we rode back
Well done to all that rode to Brighton and those who rode back, 5 of us in the 5's started the ride back, Garry, Mike, Michelle, Sinead & I. on a personal note, I arrived back at the George at 7.32 totally exhausted
I would like to add my thanks to all the Big Foot folk who made yesterdays ride a great event !! - route organisers,supporters and feeders...oh and my fellow L4 riders !! - Our group was plagued with 4 punctures on the way down and 1 on the way back and we lost a couple of riders too. We got to Tullys Farm only to find they were closed !!
See you all next Saturday
Just to echo everything said above - with special thanks to all of the support guys and gals. Looking at the bike today looks more like a cyclo cross ride - and the sun is out!!!!
Well it's all well and good for you seasoned cycling athletes who not only rode there AND back, but some of you do that distance several times a year.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Adam Shepherd who organised the training rides over the last few months for those of us who are new to cycling. I had not done any exercise in 38 years. After buying my first road bike in January the Level 7 leaders and Peter who led our Brighton training group have worked miracles in dragging my tired old bod kicking and screaming back to sufficient fitness to get me to Brighton yesterday. And although my bike is a bit worse for wear - broken bottle bracket, brake pad rubbing on the wheel and faulty gears (plus one puncture) I am proud to say I do not have one sore muscle today. So thanks again Adam, Peter, Steve and Geoff for fixing my puncture, Andrew for trying to sort my mechanical faults out halfway up Devil's Dyke, the food stop helpers and of course, the Level 7 leaders over the last few months. What a great day!
Big thanks for all the organisation and support this year. The cakes and coffee were fantastic. Now, can we do something about the weather next year? Despite talk of getting a train home, I'm glad we stuck it out ans it was fairly dry on the way home. See you all next week!
Just been out and seen how filthy and mud splattered my car is after yesterday, hope your bikes are slightly cleaner. An interesting day for me, after assisting with various punctures on the way down and hopefully fixing some non releasing cleats I ended up with the last of the main riders going over the Devils Dyke as some of the faster riders were already on the return. Getting the last over the hill I went to the cafe in Brighton only to see the train returners leaving and then not knowing how many were on the return ride or where they were.
Quick turn around and found two main groups back on the Devils Dyke going home consisting of a group of 5's and one of 4's. We passed one half of the family group and then a little later the other half and they seemed to be fairly reasonable spirits and I hope they all enjoyed their achievement.
The long ride home (or drive in my case) was interesting as the small group of 4 level 5 riders leap frogged the group of 5 at Tullys Farm even though it was closed and with some great leadership they maintained a fantastic pace all the way back to Hayes.
I eventually came home behind the last group into Hayes about 10 to 8, interesting to note that a Volvo averaging about 15mph is not fuel efficient as I assumed it would be.
Twice during the day I helped out cyclists who had nothing to do with Bigfoot and God knows what they thought as I came to there aid with a track pump and inner tubes out the back of my car with no bike in sight.
I hope you are all looking forward to doing this again next year when hopefully I can ride instead of drive and finally well done to the pit crews for great food and smiling faces but the pub in Speldfood does the worst coffee ever.
Like everyone else who has posted on here, I also wanted to thank everyone who was involved in organising such a great day out. A special thanks has to go Adam & Peter who organised us "slowies" and prepared us for the challenge, and Steve of course for being my companion at the rear nearly all of the time (someone's got to be last & I've now become very comfortable with my place in the pack!) Even though the weather was awful I loved (almost) every single minute of if it. The comraderie of the group was fantastic and I am in awe of the young go-riders who put us all to shame. I can't wait to get out again with the club next week & hopefully keep going and progress so I'm not always the constant companion of the Lantern Rouge. Next year there and back perhaps....?!
I just want to say a big thank you to everyone involved in organising the event and for everyone who stood in the rain and cold to provide us with the most amazing food and drink.
I especially want to thank all of the level 5's who got me there and back especially Den, Garry and Emma who fixed my puncture on the way down, Mike, Michaela and Jane who got me to Brighton and Den and Garry (again!), who, along with Mike and Michelle got me back.
I never thought when I seen the horrible weather yesterday morning I'd be raving about how brilliant a day I had. Can't wait until next time.
I'd like to add my thanks to ervyone for their help and fine food. And an especially big thanks to Stuart for driving my bag around all day then bringing it home. Awesome!
Also adding a big 'Thank You' to everyone who made this ride an enjoyable one! Fantastic organsiation as usual!! Great job on the food and cakes and especially a big thank you to everyone who helped me overcome my stuck cleat issue!!
Belated thanks from me also. Almost didn't leave the house that morning but was convinced that the weather would improve. Which it did 5 hours later!
I really appreciate the efforts of those who organised and supported the ride. The wet wipe from Stewart who just turned up as we were dealing with a puncture was particularly welcome. Thanks also, Stewart, for the track pump and advice. I actually learned something new about replacing an inner.
I am also grateful for the support of those I rode with. You know who you are!
More Huge thank you.s to Adam, Sam and Spencer for a great ride and getting all us slow ones to Brighton. Only took ten hours! Thank you too to all the volunteers for feeding us en route. Jummy! We were a happy group en route despite our five punctures and the cold and rain. Yes a good day despite the weather! Thank you to all those who organised the fun.
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