So…we got there

A delayed post from us here at BBBR.

We got to Hastings in the end. Wet. But Happy.

Plenty of boys in Golfs riding around Beckenham that evening as predicted, but thankfully no injuries to the idiotic cyclists. The suburbs soon gave way to a long winding pitch black country lane known as Jackass lane. We giggled and continued on. Something happens on a long bike ride whereby by the majority of my brain shuts off and I simply stop thinking, questioning and worrying. All thats going on is an

acknowledgement of what I am seeing, apart from that the little ball bearing carries on rolling around the perimeter of my skull and I continue to pedal. Bliss.

The lanes were dark and by 1am, they were also wet. But they were shaded by trees, occasionally lit by the moon and heavily populated by creatures of the night. We spotted 5 foxes, 3 badgers, 4 owls, a collection of bats, moths that gathered around our lights and by the time dawn came; quite a few cockerels near a cornfield in Kent…oh, and a bloke we spotted stumbling down a lane at 3 am (having not passed any houses for about 5 miles and not to see any for another five ?! Where the hell was HE going?).

The long road into Hastings (the A21 for you drivers out there ) was nothing short of hell. An incline that went on for about 8 miles, in the rain, with heavy traffic. Not the worst end to a ride, but certainly not the best.

All in all a lot of fun though and sure to happen again towards the end of August should any of you lot feel they want in on the action. Possible destinations include Chichester, Oxford and Lewes.

As always we are open to suggestions.

David and Andy

We made it!

So, we’re here and we’re very very wet. It rained pretty much non-stop. It was a great ride though. We need to get dry. More to come…

after a brief absence ….

Hello…sorry, we disappeared for a while there. After a few months of being in other countries, drinking other beers and being locked in the work stockroom we return blinking into the bright summer sunlight.

With that in mind we thought we’d do a night ride to get our eyes accustomed to the change , so in about an hour we at BBBR will be setting off through the night to the coast, and Hastings.

We’ve plotted the route, stared baffled at various satellite pictures, and marveled at how much time we will be riding in the pitch dark. And as long as we dont get run over by some friday night funboys in a souped up golf somewhere near Beckenham we should be ok!

Photos to come.

p.s- More rides over summer will be arranged, notably a pretty ride out into the Surrey countryside. So join us…it might just be fun!

Love

David and Andy

LONDON CLASSIC 2011

Well…it happened again.The London Classic 2011, timed to co-incide with legendary Paris- Roubaix.

Ride enough cobbles and then tackle the hills of South London and one ends up with very wobbly legs the next day!

All good fun and something I would recommend to anyone who wanted to be involved in a big day of cycling without the competitive nature of a ‘race’ and since it raises money for the Evelina Childrens hospital then theres even more reason to get involved.

There were city bikes and bromptons, fixeds and not so fixeds, techy fancy race bikes made by unpronounceable Italian bike builders and some bikes that looked as though they has been cobbled together in someones back yard the night before. One couple even did it on a tandem ( I have to admit, the look of joint triumph as they got to the finish line was a great sight). I think the biggest change from last year was the amount of bikes owned by people who (I would hazard a guess and I may be very wrong) would not call themselves ‘cyclists’ per se. Bikes used to cycle to work were used to climb steep hills and do 38 miles on a glorious sunny Sunday in April. Made me smile from ear to ear.

Thanks to Dave and the gang at Brixton Cycles for making it another very special day (and cooking up some fantastic organic pasta for when everyone had finished!)

May there be many more!

The London Classic 2011

So, we did it again. Sunday 10th April was this years London Classic. A 38 mile ride over as many cobbled streets in London as it can take in, and ending with some pretty steep climbs in the South London alps. The cobbles are in honour of the Paris-Roubaix one day classic which takes place on the same day.

The back of the Alma pub post ride.

The ride raises awareness, and funds, for the Evelina children’s Hospital at Guys and St Thomas’.

We did it last year, and had a great time. I have to say that this year was, possibly, even better. Even if David C was riding with a broken nose and bandaged face. There were far more people taking part this year and the variety of people on all sorts of steeds was nothing but heart warming.

The two Davids enjoying post ride beers

On our return to the Alma pub in Crystal Palace, where we began, we had the sunny seats next to the beer garden gate. From here we could see people rolling in, and the overall camaraderie and sense of accomplishment was palpable.

Overall then, a good time was had by all. If you would like to see some more professional photographs of the ride and some of it’s 250 riders, you can check out the official photographers pictures here.

and a few more beers...

Saturday April 2nd- Richmond Park- Few laps and a brew

We lied…

We managed to squeeze in a ride before we do the London Classic.

If you would like to join us we will be at the Roehampton Gate entrance to Richmond Park (see link) on Saturday April 2nd at 10am.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=richmond+park-roehampron+gate+entrance,+London&aq=&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=18.094759,62.753906&ie=UTF8&ll=51.454181,-0.257449&spn=0.008959,0.030642&z=16&iwloc=lyrftr:m,4007215720448383806,51.453766,-0.255733

We’ll hang about til 10.15am…

See you there.

David and Andy

The speed of a bicycle

Dont get me wrong, I enjoy going fast on my bike. That feeling of speed, wind in your hair and that warm feeling as the lactic acid builds up in your leg muscles can be a lovely one…but there is something about the pace of travel by bicycle that gives me a whole different picture of the world.
I left home with an hour to get to the other side of London and set off at a good clip, however I was still going slow enough to notice 2 geese silhouetted against the morning sky, over Victoria Park, flying in the same direction as me.
Some 8 or so miles later, waiting to cross the Wandsworth Bridge, I noticed two geese, just as before ;one flying slightly in front of the other and could not help but wonder if they were my earlier travel companions.
I smiled to myself (ok…in a bit of a smug fashion) that if I had been in a train/car/bus I would have without a doubt been traveling too fast to notice these two silhouette, I would also probably never have noticed the beautiful Magnolia tree in full spring bloom, in someones front garden on the trinity road.

The pace of a bicycle is , with the exception of a few gears , reliant on the speed one wishes to go at. A speed dictated by ones own legs: a human speed.
And that was all it took to make me smile on the way to work on a grey Tuesday in March.

Ideas for modern living: life cycles

I pretty much think the below article sums up brokenbiscuitsbikerides pretty well. Thank you, Alice.

On a bicycle, life suddenly seems to make sense “Click… click… The cleats on my shoes sink into the pedals, my fingers wrap round the handlebar and my backside kisses the leather saddle – man and bicycle as one, rolling down the lane. I ride a bike to get to work, for work, for fun, for a moment of grace, to keep fit, to bathe in air and sunshine, to travel and to go shopping. But mostly I ride a bike to escape. I check what I’m carrying – spare tube, pump, tyre lever, a £20 note. There are a few decisions to make – where will I ride? How strong am I feeling? – before the consciousness slowly fades away. Layers of anxiety are dissolved. Quotidian affairs go first. Did I pay the electricity bill? What time is my train tomorrow? Then we move on. Are my daughters happy at school? Can the euro survive? After an hour of exercise, this, too, dissipates… to nothing. There is physical pain, but soon the organs are rocked to sleep, and anyway, suffering is optional. The rhythm of cycling creates a void. Random thoughts do fall into this void, but after a couple of hours in the saddle, I’m mentally far, far away.”

Robert Penn is the author of It’s All About the Bike: the Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels (£16.99, Particular Books)

Welcome…

So, here is the first post. Soon you will be able to get all the latest on where and when we will be going on bike rides. So far we think our next ride will be later in April as we have to do the London Classic first. However, we envisage the regular rides to be shorter morning rides out to Richmond Park for a few laps and a coffee with longer, more sporadic trips to places like Lewes when we can squeeze them in.