Club Run to Pevensey Bay
Sunday 21st April by Paget Cohen
A beautiful day forecast, but a heavy frost meant I opted for gillet, overshoes and leggings, unlike Ian McG and Jan Stegers, making a rare appearance, and joining Ian in shorts - 1 pair each. I'd anticipated a hard ride, but when Nick (out threshold training in preparation for the crits), nice Martin, and the Men in Black - agents Gibbons and Farmer - rolled up I feared trouble from the Magnificent Seven. Indeed the familiar run out towards Dicker felt more like a chain-gang than a club run from my perspective at the back. In a selfish way I was pleased when Martin hit a pothole and his LWCC drinks bottle made a successful bid for freedom, shattering the lid and spraying me with the contents; at least it was only water and Mr C was able to salvage the main body of the bottle complete with legend.
Losing Jan to the temptations of the car boot fair we crossed the A22 and made for Hailsham. This time it was Nick to be delayed as Ian somehow detected a stone attached to his tyre which Nick was able to remove before it achieved penetration. Once out of Hailsham and past The Old Loom Mill we took a right towards the Cop Hall roundabout and the crossing of the A27. Here the Famous Five took the high road (riding over the footbridge) and Martin took the low road and he was in Polegate afore us, and the level-crossing gate for the matter.
Up till now the ride had been flat and fast, but I'd hung on in the slipstream. Climbing to Jevington, however, I couldn't find a comfortable gear and slipped 100m or so off the back. The guys sat up in the valley allowing me to regain contact just in time to drop me once more as the road ramped up to Friston. I failed to hold wheel from Birling Gap to Beachy Head also, but at least I finally found a sustainable rhythm and didn't keep the bunch waiting too long.
Still not fully accustomed to the handling of my Giant and the sensation of being quite so attached to a bike I decided discretion was the better part of valour for the hair-pinned plunge to the seafront and let the others go on ahead, finally latching back on near the pier. I checked the computer when we stopped at the Ocean View Cafe and I'd already covered 44miles at 17.2mph! Graham Jeffs was already sunning himself on the terrace and the Audax crew joined us shortly.
After a long stop we'd barely got going again when Ian suffered a double technical involving a flat and something to do with his computer mount. I took the opportunity to catch up with Gibbo, who claims to have done hardly any LEL training despite leaving me for dead all day. Back across the levels the pace didn't relent, but Nick still managed to take another comfort break and catch us up again. I hope for his sake he doesn't suffer the same problem in the crits - maybe he could adapt his Camelbak to dispose of rather than dispense fluids? On second thoughts maybe that isn't such a good idea.
Someone else short of miles after bronchitis is Captain Carbon, so as the Fantastic Four ducked down Cinderford Lane to Grove Hill we settled into a steady pace for the gentle incline home and a discussion as to why some of us are flogging ourselves on a club run when it's supposed to be just for fun; is nobody brave enough to admit they'd rather be taking it easy enjoying company and countryside? All in all 61 miles at a staggering (well I was when I dismounted) 16.8mph.
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