A typical British Summer event: most days it hardly rained at all :-)
We drove up on Thursday, managing to be right in the thick of the
"occasional showers" (i.e. torrential downpours with ankle-deep
standing water) almost all the way, but luckily it was not raining or
windy as we pitched, greatly assisted by the light from the adjacent
floodlit football pitch.
Friday was about getting bitten by insects on a canal-side ride to
Hest Bank, with lunch at a top cafe on the seafront behind the signal
box. From there we went to Morecambe, rode along the seafront past
the Grand Hotel which is an absolute wreck, barely recognisable from
the pictures of the earlier Cyclefest based there. Friday evening was
about getting into Lancaster, finding Milletts and buying some Deet...
On Saturday we went on a "social ride" (should we perhaps organise a
URC antisocial ride? "What you riding one of them for? I had one of
them, it was [censored]."😉. It was a bit shambolic at times, due in no
small part to idiots like me running off the front following someone I
thought was the leader, We rescued a waif along the way, her bike was
in need of a bit of emergency fettling. Michael took turns riding her
bike and letting her ride the middle seat of the triplet.
We missed entry for the hillclimbing contest (which was just as well
as I'd have been wiped out, having ridden for a mile with the drag
brake on by accident), but the boys cheered enthusiastically as a
succession of mad people thrashed up a short but steep hill. There
was then a barbecue and conspicuous consumption of Beer. Tony Raven
appeared and then vanished before pints could be exchanged (family
obligations, y'know), but Carol was there with Rob (waves: Hello
Carol).
On Sunday we rode to Morecabe, had tea on the pier with Wobbly John
<url:http://2x4.xntrick.co.uk/> and his trick bikes there as well. I
rode the wobblebike, which was a challenge. We then rode to Salt Ayre
for racing. Once again we were too late to enter the race I should
have been in, although we did manage to arrive before the end so I
could see Carol's much discussed racing technique (Carol, I might be
wrong but I think you're not supposed to wave back to the cheering
crowd except on the victory lap), so I foolishly entered the next
race. Mr Burrows advised me that racing is "horrible." Only when we
lined up at the start did I realise that I was the only one riding my
commuting bike - everybody else had at least a tailbox! And most of
them were, as far as I could see, not fitted with racks, dynamos or
lights...
At least I gave Mike Burrows the satisfaction of lapping someone and
telling me as he passed: "see? I told you it was horrible!" My lap
times were averaging about 2:20, I think; I found out that the Stinger
will corner much harder than I have been trusting it to, which was
good.
After that were the fun races. Michael rode the children's race and
won, we (Michael, Peter and I on the triplet) entered the tandem race
and were narrowly beaten by a back-to-back recumbent ridden by two
adults, and in the all-comers race we also gave a good account of
ourselves. A splendid time was had by all. Then came cream teas,
clowning from Bo the Clown, who some of you might know from York
Rally, who later did an absolutely superb talk about his act, starting
in his secret identity of actor Derek Carpenter and making up on
stage, which as far as I know he hasn't done before. It was as much
stand-up comedy as clowning, really, and very funnny indeed.
Today we drove back also in torrential rain almost all the way,
stopping at Warwick and not visiting the castle because even an hour
and a half before closing time they wanted to charge us FORTY QUID for
entry. So we went and had a nice Italian supper instead.
And now we're back, with one wet tent to dry out somehow, several wet
bikes dryign out in the bike shed, and two very tired boys.
No Cyclefest next year, so see you at Cycle Feast in Northumbria.
And next year we'll try to remember the cameras.
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University