Looks like Aidan Harding, the organiser of the excellent SSUK 2011, has been a little silly. If you can’t be bothered to read he offered a full refund to those who cancelled, the contingency fund has run out, and people are still crawling out of the woodwork asking for their money back.
No-one had a sticker saying “Silly”
Now, whenever I’ve pre-entered a race and then either not been able to turn up, I’ve never bothered the organiser for a refund. I’ve either found someone willing to stump up something, anything, and have my place, or written it off.
While Aidan made a very generous offer I think that the gentlemanly thing for anyone who cancelled and hasn’t yet received or asked for a refund would be to write it off.
In September 1991 I walked into Warlands Cycles in Blackburn with most of my September pay packet and walked out with a discounted 1991 GT Karakoram. A bike that weighed 30lbs in stock form, six of which were frame alone.
Rather frighteningly this shopping experience dates the bar ends currently on Kirsty’s Spot as they were the first upgrade. Closely followed by SPDs. Shamefully copying Jason Shackleton I painted them to match the frame. Next came Onza Racing Porcupines, and then three months without beer to save up for the big upgrade…
Early adopter
Look at the SPDs. Actually, don’t
Yep, those are Hope mechanical disc brakes. Batch two. Freshly fitted at the factory, which was still at Hope Mill on Skelton Street in Colne, and full of odd parts like custom mini gearboxes.
It didn’t stop there and I ended up with Pro Circuit front forks, Flite saddle and a Royce titanium bottom bracket (which still runs smoothly today in my Dave Yates) to try and make up for all the weight I was adding. Rapidfire pods gave way to thumbshifters running cack-handed under the bars, that one was Brants fault, before finally settling on Gripshift. To whom I have stayed loyal since; at least where gears are concerned.
Potteries Classic, Trentham, 1993*
By 1994 I fooled myself that I was good enough to go custom and I bought a Dave Yates and the GT languished before eventually being donated to a student to take to college.
Warlands cycles closed down in 2009. It was no longer my LBS, and many of the forumtards these days are only after the cheapest deal they can get from an online retailer. Thank you Mr Warland for starting me on a cycling journey that I am still travelling.
* Even not so young readers may remember this as the original venue of SITS. Damn those monkeys.
Bike: Hunter
Distance: An hour of leafy sussex hills, train, across london, train. About three hours in total.
Foggy morning, but I have places to be. I was decamped before everyone else was up and on the road. No chainless race for me.
Morning campers
Sussex was a new experience. Death by a thousand cuts. No long or particularly steep climbs, but definitely lacking in flat bits. Up or down all the way to Haywards Heath and the station. From there it’s train all the way with a brief sojourn across London – preparing for the Tour of Britain, plenty of team cars to overtake in the early morning traffic – and at the end.
I really enjoyed my first multi-night stop out with all the lightweight kit. It helped that there was food on-site at the race – top notch food too, from the Drop Off cafe’s mobile catering Leyland Bus. More adventures are due.
Bike: Hunter
Distance: The full three laps
Result: I finished. That’s all that matters at an SSUK
Off to Pippingford Park for SSUK 2011After the promise of dry, dusty and fast trails it absolutely hammered down most of the morning. Which turned the course into a wet, rooty, muddy slip-fest. Which basically meant it rocked.
I found my bike relatively quickly, hidden in plain view at the side of the track, which meant I was out before too many mincers. By the beer stop I’d worked my way up to people managing a similar speed. I heard later that behind me the queues were quite something as people got off and minced at every muddy leaf and blade of grass. There were many riders on the bermed section of the course frankly “wasting the hill”.
Stragglers were asking those of us who could ride the course whether mud tyres would make a difference. Well, they do, but the biggest recommendation would be to just get out and ride more.
Muddy
But no matter, everyone looked like they were having fun – even if it was the sort of relief that it would soon be over, and those that weren’t drank the beer stop dry and just put in a single lap.
In true SSUK fashion, someone won, and the rest of us were all losers. In my case this keeps up a twenty year tradition.
It was good to see “Bleeder” Burman win the egg and spoon race. Especially as the trip was partly inspired by Tym, seeing him turn up at races by bike in the past.
Bike: Hunter
Distance: 1 Thameslink train then an hours ride
Off to Pippingford Park for SSUK 2011. TMBMITW was having a birthday this weekend which fortunately kept the more annoying Cheeky Trails cocks well away. *
I am a number not a name
Turns out that the johnny come lately Nick Wallis had also entered, and the organisers had assumed this was a mistake when it came to printing the name boards. That meant I got a chance to make my own customised number board. “I am a number not a name”.
Once registration was sorted it was time to re-acquaint with friends such as Singular Sam, Mel & Shaggy etc. It has to be said that i know less and less people at these events each year. And introducing yourself by your Singletrack forum name means absolutely nothing to me.
Anyway, enough of that. Beer, food from the Drop Off cafe** and chat till the wee small hours. Yes, that was us with the megaphone. What, you’ve got to race tomorrow? So do we. And don’t you do know you risk the wrath of Sheldon for daring to be competitive?
Man make fire. Ug.
* Specifically anti-racer DaveA who overcompensates for his inferiority complex at being shit at racing by unfunny heckling and generally making an arse of himself.
** The Leyland bus caused proper flashbacks to my first days at secondary school. “Do not stand forward of this sign or distract the driver”.
Bike: Hunter
Distance: 1 hour
Tonight was just a quick local singletrack loop. The onset of the weather rather spurred me on. The first time since I’ve moved down South that it’s rained on me during a ride. Proper heavy rain after a sunny day, smell of dust rain. I must confess that I think my tanned calves looked rather spiffing all glistening and wet. I was so intent on finishing the ride I didn’t even bother with the camera and have had to resort to a picture from Friday.
If it’s not wet, it wasn’t taken today
The front tyre was was making proper tearing noises even as I weighted the front and ragged it to get back home. I don’t normally ride that fast unless I’m on a race course and know that no-ones coming.
Bike: Hunter
Distance: 2 hours
Wasp stings: one
One day I’ll manage to track an entire ride using Endomondo. So far it’s managed logging for just only one ride of just over an hour. I know GPS tracking is heavy on the battery, but, come on. In theory all apps that use the iPhones GPS API should have about the same performance but I’m not so sure. Endomondo takes longer than Google Maps to even get an initial GPS fix, so maybe not all apps that use the GPS are equal.
This way to Barry Sheene
Not having a flat phone battery could have been quite important. I felt an insect hit my helmet then next minute the top of my left thigh felt like I’d been stabbed. I looked down and flicked away an angry wasp that was obviously determined to make someone pay. This was the first time I’ve ever been stung by a wasp, but fortunately it turns out I don’t get an anaphylactic reaction.
Taking the train into and out of London I noticed how many men wearing Levis are advertising (or at least giving away) that they have gone “oversquare”. That is, their waist measurement has surpassed their inside leg measurement. I can, after many years of struggling, now claim to be square. Comfortably so. One of the reasons I have had to wear oversquare jeans for many years has been the difficulty of fitting my cycling thighs into normal cut jeans.
Then, while reading an article on Chinese cyberwarfare in the Washington Time I spotted an article in their sidebar on Steroids in Hollywood. Really?
The article went on to discuss a new phenomenon suffered by teenage and growing lads in the States, called bigorexia. I can see why. Pictures of Zac Effron skateboarding with his top off in magazines like Heat probably don’t help these impressionable youth. But I, fat boy that I am, am immune. I don’t get hung up about these steroid and workout freaks. Because have you seen Zac Effrons legs?. He’s got the physique of a lollipop. He might have a six pack where I have a Watneys Party Seven, but his scrawny stick thin legs look out of all proportion. The man is a spindly legged freak. Bigorexia? Take a look at the malformed proportions of these so-called hunks and get over it boys.
Suck it in fat boy
As it happens it turns out I have the BMI of a hollywood star, just distributed rather differently.
Bike: Hunter
Distance: 3 hours, plus overnight stop
As I alluded to previously i plan to make my way to SSUK 2011 under my own power. That, plus some public transport to get me across London.
I’ve already had a ride out with all my kit, but tonight I got a chance to ride out and stay out.
No spork
Turns out I had almost all my kit, but it’s OK. You can eat pasta with a Leatherman.
I only got an hour and a half away from home because I had to be back early to help my sister-in-law schooling a horse at MK EC. I got a great nights sleep, overslept, and had to ride back full tilt with no breakfast to meet her this morning.
I’ve dug out my spork, and made sure it’s now in the Viscacha.
After a night in the woods on minimal rations, then a missed breakfast, I was pretty hungry this evening. My sister-in-law needed a break from cooking while she recovered from the riding lesson, and my (future) brother-in-law has been hard at work. With so many appetites on the go it seemed right to try dR j0ns Seafood and pork Étoufée for everyone as supper tonight.
It was a palpable hit.
