London Fixed-gear and Single-speed SJS Cycles

going to be redoing this ride to the catford hill climb and the bec hill climb. it was a good ride last year and again the forum is well represented.

the ride down there is nice but it is hilly but also doable on a fixed (i'll be on gears). you do need to be reasonable fit, bring water, food and appropriate clothing. the pace will be 'rolling'.

the route, can be found here (same as previous years):this is a rough route as we will be probably taking more back roads.
[COLOR=#0000ff]http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...-to-Yorks-Hill[/COLOR][COLOR=#062971][/COLOR]

so we leave at 815 SHARP from smithfield market and 845 from crystal palace (st Germain cafe)

it starts at 1030 so the 18miles from crystal palace will need to in an hour and thirty minutes to make the start. easy.

and is the words of claus last year ' Come and cheer on the brave forumengers racing.'

1. texas

Nice work tex, will be there will roll from west.

cool see you down there. i'm probably out of the ride tonight so i'll bring the cash for the goods on sunday..!

Pending permission and being able to wake up I'm keen for this, bit if a long way round for me though so I might be tempted to ride there on my own and roll back with forumgers

Might be up for this again. I finally got around to switching brakes on the Rubble so both roadies are go go go for shitty winter mileage. Friend's birthday the night before though.. uh oh..

sorry to be missing this year. have thoroughly enjoyed both the ride down and the competition itself over the last two years.

good luck to BMMF, Claus, Texas and Illy in the climb itself - any other forumengers doing it?

fixed. i missed the deadline (bit of a fail on my behalf) so not riding up that hill on sunday...

Might well be up for this - will check with Mrs Sasmon that this does not clash with anything.

What sort of time is the ride back expected to be?

depends if you want to watch the bec hc as well (just down the road). if i remember correctly we got back at around 4 or 5 last year. but if you left after catford hc you'd be back by 2. (it's about a 2hr ride down there).

1. texas
2. andyp (will join at CP)

Nice one Will. Was discussing this with the TNRC top brass on Sunday, you beat me to starting the thread.

Gutted to be missing out on this after attending for the past 3 years.

If you get there early enough, give the hill a go. If you're not early enough, have a go at the end of the comp. Then you'll realise just how good the riders actually are.

Andy, you really should be entering this sort of thing.

No I fucking shouldn't. I leave that to the true nutters.

As I told you last night (I think - I told someone anyhow), years ago I read an article by Chris Boardman on how to ride a hill climb. He stated that you should be losing consciousness as you cross the line, collapsing into the arms of your helper. My thoughts then, which were along the lines of "Fuck. That. Shit.", remain.

Shame, can't do this this year. Busy at the Cycle Show.

That was my first forum ride last year.

Wish I could do this...
Got a birthday lunch to attend.

@ Andy... surely it depends on whom you have as your helper ?
Shall I see if I can sign S.C. up for ya ?

;-

It wasn't me.

And that's what I do at Rollapaluza. It doesn't help though...

I almost died on this ride last year. Riding up Ide Hill in 76 gi. It was a great day out. My first forum ride.

Sadly I will be in foreign on Sunday.

Are you sure you're not just trying to hide ill?

Oliver.

I shall be far from idle and Ide Hill.

You're still our idol, Clive.

Btw Will, I'd propose some adjustments to your route, mainly taking the Pilgrims Way before crossing the M25 and following that to Sundridge. It's more scenic and has a lot less traffic than the A25.

yes i'm happy with that and actually think that was the way i was going to take (i didn't look at the map as i know the route pretty well).

Twice in one day :/

As I said above, it's for true nutters only. ;p

I'd but up for this, although i'll probably have to bring my own copy of the route since a "rolling" pace might be a bit quick for me at 8.45 on a Sunday morning. Does it count as being part of a forum ride if you turn up at the end 30mins after everyone else?

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav

very close to call it a habit

rolling is meant to mean a little bit faster than 'amble'. so the pace is more likely to be leisurely-rolling. it is a decent ride (hills...etc) and we want to get there but i don't want to deter people from coming along. so maybe bring a map and if you feel like pace is to high tell us and we'll either slow down or see you down there.

Let's be honest I just need to HTFU! Count me in, i'll be at Crystal Palace for 8.45 since i'm starting from south london

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker

could be losing consciousness way before the top. oh yeah...just a gripe with serious cyclists...why the crack of dawn?

crack of dawn is proposed becuase we want to get there before the start to warm up vocal cords.

Remember, the best place to stand is about 60 yards down the hill on the right. Plenty of room up the bank to store bikes, and the perfect spot where people could possibly start to wobble.

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello

Yeah i reckon i'm up for this. Not as quick as you boys but i'll see how i go.

Cheers.

Glad someone started this thread, as it has been a good day out in the past and should be this year too.

I'm just doing my final bits of training, getting my bike sorted and myself motivated. The whole thing is quite an undertaking really; so I'm looking forward to it being over, sitting back with a cold glass of beer and hanging up my gloves for the final time this year.

Oh no, what a shame! How did the Brompton champs go on Sunday?

Yeah, it was me you told. Reminds me a bit of Desgrange's ideal that the Tour de France should be so hard that only one rider would finish.

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello
6. TT Tom

hopefully.... if i can pick up my new geared bike in time and its not tooooo wet. be good to cheer them on.

I'll be there, the regular guys who do the photography are both away this year so Dave has asked me to do it.
I'm no expert but gonna do my best see you all down there as I'll be 'drivenger'

I'm aiming to be there for one or the other. Whites Hill is a bit closer to where I live than Yorks Hill, so I may just go to the Bec climb.

I'll be meeting the ride there so look out for me, I'll probably be on a geared De Rosa.

I suggest we meet outside the Cafe St Germain, the traditional meeting place for south London cyclists.

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello
6. TT Tom
7. Spins
8. Sasmon (whether he knows it yet or not)

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello
6. TT Tom
7. Spins
8. Sasmon (whether he knows it yet or not)
9. PinkGottiMobbs (Will twisted my arm)

i'm not very good at this racing thing...just found out that my chip wasn't attached in right place therefore no time was recorded. would have come in somewhere near the top 10 but i'll never know exactly! our team would have also taken 3rd but instead we got nothing. oh well seems it is all about next year!

I might be up for this, something to do on a sunday, and want to get some more miles in.
1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello
6. TT Tom
7. Spins
8. Sasmon (whether he knows it yet or not)
9. PinkGottiMobbs (Will twisted my arm)
10. Cornelius Hillfoot (provisionally in, subject to change)

I just logged in to put my name on this list and it was already on!

Here is another contender:

1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello
6. TT Tom
7. Spins
8. Sasmon (whether he knows it yet or not)
9. PinkGottiMobbs (Will twisted my arm)
10. Cornelius Hillfoot (provisionally in, subject to change)
11. Overandout

I might be up for this, something to do on a sunday, and want to get some more miles in.
1. texas
2. andyp
3. Gav
4. clintchoker
5. Lello
6. TT Tom
7. Spins
8. Sasmon (whether he knows it yet or not)
9. PinkGottiMobbs (Will twisted my arm)
10. Cornelius Hillfoot (100% steadfast certainity for turning up as i love doing miles)

good to have you onboard corny see you at 815 or 845

thanks sasmon ya cheeky bugger

we wil see...

^dropout, polkinghorn, claus, pilky, illy, stelle, jonny, who is rlplza ride third from right - bmmf you with us at that point?, rpm, dogsballs. sam taking the photo. good forum turn out last year, and there were others not in that snap

I'd already left for Sevenoaks by that time. Couldn't make it to the Bec Hillclimb, unfortunately.

@jonny - yes. Thoroughly depressed, and wishing I'd stayed in bed.