Club run to Yalding report - 07-06-2010
Club run to Yalding of Sunday 6th June.
We had a good turn out, some 15 riders I think.
Jim, Roy and Gordon had their own plans and no doubt went to the stables or Westerham- a 70 plus ride.
It was nice to see Alan out after all the grief he has had with his knee this year- a 70 plus who didn‘t go on the 70 plus ride.
Alex and myself had an idea of how we wanted to get there and I bowed to him as he looks fiercer than I.
The idea was to set off together with those wanting to do the Laddingford loop being at the front-this was also likely to contain those who wanted a highish paced ride.
So off we went out through the back of Swanley and into Eynsford, Kemsing, |Heverham-it was at this point that we passed a group of ladies in pink but one wasn’t going to let us go easily and came sprinting past as we rode up the climb out of Heverham to the A25 junction, she sat up at the left turn towards Pillarbox Lane and waited for her club mates.
Through Ivy Hatch and on the approach to Plaxtol riders wizzed past as they fancied their chances against Alex in the sprint. From where I was he just seemed to keep them under control with Alan coming 2nd.
On the exit from Plaxtol it was a case of getting onto a wheel quickly or that was it but the real killer proved to be the sharp kick up between Plaxtol and Hadlow. Here Austin showed his sprinting prowess and we had to go like hell to close him down. As we rode into Hadlow the group had been whittled down to about six rider- Alex, Austin, Mark Morrison, Laurie, Mack I think and myself.
Alex was doing a great job of talking to us ensuring the pace was high and not all over the shop.
After turning right at the Laddingford sign the pace picked up to 26/28 mph. Alex was rubbing it in a bit though as he did this sitting on the tops. By now it was just 5 of us.
Thank goodness nobody attacked on the rise over the railway bridge shortly before the turn at Claygate onto the return leg to Yalding otherwise I would have been shot off.
The speed was now down to 24mph as we made our way towards Benover and the pace climbed as those who fancied winning the Prime wound it up.
Soon after we came across our other club mates who Alan had taken into Yalding and then towards us but they had stopped for a puncture and as we put on a show with Alex driving we got a few cheers.
As the Tea Pot was open we shot in there and the others joined as some ten minutes later. We had got there at an average of some 18.5 mph and whilst we thought how well we had done on getting home I though ‘well Terry and co riding the Roubaix Sportive today would be aiming for that average over the 165 miles of their event‘-ouch!
Just as the first of us were lining up to place our orders Peter Thomas turned in. He was making his way from Sittingbourne via Yalding to see his parent at Joydens Wood when he spied us flash past as he approached the bridge from the Yalding Hill direction.
Peter hasn’t raced this year as he has been concentrating on his finals for his Garden Design MA which he has now doneand await’s the results which should be out by the end of the month. So the Thomas household has a wall full of certificates as Peter has a BSC in Pharmacy and his wife Trudy a BSC and a PHD in Pharmacy.
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