Tour de Suffolk

Ever since we witnessed last year’s inaugural Crafted Classique sportive, part of the SkyRide weekend, this year’s event has been in the calendar as a team event for us. The weather plays such a massive role in events like this. Regular forecast checks informed decisions on clothing and bikes. With two different distance choices on offer – 100 kilometres or 100 miles – the sportive had something for everyone. One major factor was the wind, known by some as the friend of the fit cyclist. It’s great when it's working with you but riding into it is always a challenge. As we all know, once you are out on a bike you are committed to the choices you've made before you set off. Although you don't need to be as OCD as Eddy Merckx, it's the small things that sometimes matter the most. Riding any distance in the summer months will demand an isotonic drink. This is a basic fact but if overlooked can have dire consequences. Without a restock of salt and essential minerals our muscles will begin to seize up. We've all witnessed cramp at some stage in our lives. What starts out as a tinge can escalate quickly to a cramp so severe that it could mean you losing control or even crashing your bike. Without the correct hydration you could lose valuable minutes off your target time. Calculations about which food stops to refuel at become important decisions. Several of our team fell victim to cramping; it meant any attempts at PBs went out of the window. Although the weather gods smiled on us, a simple lack of proper hydration foiled the day. But it would be churlish to grumble. The sheer joy of any ride in blue skies, warm sun on familiar roads on your best bike sporting just bibs and a jersey is hard to beat. The icing on the cake was the hog roast or burger (a veggie option was also available) and a glass of Adnams, the local beer. Bliss!

In the pedal strokes of the greats

The ease of travel these days means you don't have to confine your riding to just the UK over a bank holiday, especially when it's the last of the year. Having recently reported in issue 5 on the Tour of Flanders and how accessible the Belgium cycling scene is as a whole. A few days ago we found ourselves once more back in the flemish flatlands. Although we were there primarily on a fact finding mission for an article to be featured in our next issue we spent the night in one of Belgium's oldest cities, Geraardsbergen. Steeped in history the city has an array of cobbled streets and beautiful architecture. For many the sight of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Oudenberg sums up the importance of the area for cycling fans. The road that leads up to the Chapel carries with it more folklore than the building itself. The Muur or 'the Wall' as it is also known has figured in either the Tour of Flanders or the Eneco Tour since the 1950's. A fearsome climb that fills even the most accomplished of riders with fear, at 110m in length with a maximum gradient of 19% - it is truly a 'wall'. On a day in late summer it's hard to imagine the savageness and severity of such an ascent. Only when you see others riding it do you fully realise its magnitude. While we were there several mountain bikers spun by in 'ultra granny ringed gears', it wasn't until two road bikes attacked the climb that the true impact was realised. It's like compressing Box Hill into into a tenth of its original length but on cobbles. Even our hotel room had a faded image of the Chapel adorning its walls with local brew Muurken - a 7.0% blond beast of a beer further confirming the status of the Muur's heritage. With information signs retelling its great races of the past, it's hard not to be moved by its presence. The cobbled road opposite the church of Saint-Bartholomeuskerk still carried the remnants of Stage 5 of this years Eneco Tour's timed section with the finish line markings opposite the Chapel also visible. The initial reason for our visit had lead us to a chance meeting with Giant-Shimano UCI ProTeam rider Tom Dumoulin, who became the Eneco's fourth leader after this stage, finishing the Tour third overall. We strongly recommend you make full use of the Euro Tunnel, visit Flanders and find out for yourself why this nation is so steeped in cycling history.

RideLondon 2014

For most cyclists wind and rain are not their favourite riding conditions but being cyclists they get on with it all the same. With the threat of a Pythonesque termed 'ex hurricane' Bertha in the mix with the threat of heavy rain the 2014 edition of RideLondon had it all before the event even began. As spectators not participants, the weather made it difficult to find motivation to get out and support the event. At times the conditions reminded us of recent images witnessed at the Tour of Poland, at least RideLondon organisers had the sense to shorten this event. However good your kit and clothing are - you're the one who has to get out and ride the bike. Many of the riders we saw some eight or so hours into the ride looked like hollow souls returning from hell, glad to be back but at what cost. All physical and mental ambition had been drained from them. From Chelsea Bridge embankment we witnessed the 'survivors' making their way along the last 4/5kms. The Grosvenor public house had been taken over for the day by official Prudential cheerers making high volume motivational chapping, waving and general vocal encouragement (even to amazed Boris Bike tourists who were making the most of the empty roads). An hour after the final riders crossed the finish line, the pros came through courting the familiar cavalcade of support vehicles, police bikes and helicopters but even these riders were strung out in distant batches. Although now bright and sunny, any close-up view from the main peloton showed how hard the conditions had been. Blackened faces reminiscent of Paris Roubaix's of yesteryear further underlined what an epic RideLondon had been. We're sure that for many the phrase 'never again' had been uttered countless times throughout the day but like the great races of the pro cycling calendar the extreme conditions had highlighted the determination, courage and spirit of those taking part. This said we see next year's event being termed a 'classic'. Well done to the event organisers for shortening not cancelling this event.

Come rain or shine

Whether it's a change in the gulf stream, global warming or whatever you care to blame it on, the current changeableness of our climate is, to say the least, extreme. Like every cyclist we take note of the weather forecast before any ride and prepare accordingly but even this can't prepare you for the severity and ferociousness of the conditions we seem to be experiencing of late. With rain predicted by late afternoon we seized the day and headed out for a coastal ride towards Bawdsey, Suffolk. Initially billed as a recovery ride after a very swift 50 miler the previous day, it turned into another 'swift' ride. Blame it on the sun or the heat or just the sheer joy of riding out in great weather. After a leisurely drink and dare we say it, a cheeky Peters (Suffolk's finest) ice cream and having watched the ferry come in and take the day trippers across to Felixstowe - we headed back. The pace was very much club run not peloton by this stage. The colour of the sky at this time of year is always rich and deep in tone but the edges, where sky meets land were very faded. It looked like we were heading straight into a massive downpour. Good job it wasn't forecast for 2-3 hours. About 5 miles from home the sky turned dark mauve and the heavens opened on us. It's fair to say that enough rain fell in the course of 20 or so minutes to flood a main road and in places be deep enough to submerge a bottom bracket. Working on the philosophy that once you're wet, you're wet you just keep going but in the back of your mind you still wonder where that beautiful day went.

Dunwich Dynamo 2014

Nearly a week has now gone by since our first Dunwich Dynamo, the legendary night ride between Hackney and the Suffolk coast that takes place on the Saturday closest to the full moon in July. The ‘Dun Run’ has grown from a handful of bike messengers who rode the first Dynamo in 1993 to around 2000 riders of all types these days. We saw hardcore racers, tall bikes, Bromptons, knackered old MTBs and pretty much everything in between. There’s a growing number of night rides these days but there’s nothing quite like the Dynamo, with its lack of waymarks or on-ride support, its minimal organisation and the utter chaos involved in getting anywhere from an obscure little village on the Suffolk coast on a Sunday morning. We absolutely loved it. From the cyclist rat-runs that get you out of the big city to the potholed lanes of Essex to the confusing final miles in rural Suffolk, the 120-mile route is pretty flat and, thanks to the prevailing south-westerly winds, reasonably quick – we averaged 15mph without really trying. The spirit of the ride was summed up when we pulled into a feed stop somewhere on the borders of Essex and Suffolk. Like every other feed stop, this one was unofficial and manned by volunteers. Wandering around a darkened garden, we asked a passing stranger if there were any toilets. The stranger turned out to be the owner of the house, who told us as he led us to the bathroom in his home that he’d laid on the refreshments because he used to ride the Dynamo each year and knew that riders might be flagging as they passed his house. Given the low prices he was charging, he was clearly doing it simply for the love of the ride. After 120 gloriously warm, slightly damp miles, we rolled into Dunwich, where the done thing is to jump into the sea for a refreshing dip before contemplating the tortuous journey home. That journey was pretty grim, far too expensive and seemingly endless. Long overnight rides wreak havoc with your sleep patterns. And exhaustion made the start of this working week feel like a monstrous ordeal. But we’ll definitely be back for another Dun Run – just for the love of the ride.