Anerley Gazette, May 2021
Club President, Meike Turnbull welcomes you all back to cycling
Hi Everyone,
Welcome back to what we hope will be “Normal, ” ( at least as normal as possible in these weird times. ) and back to meeting some of our members each week. Please remember to keep your distance when off those wonderful machines. Oh how I miss my cycling and chatting with you all on the rides.
Now first of all I would like to say a very big THANK YOU VINCE for all your hard work trying to keep you all on the rides, socially distanced and the correct numbers on each ride. It must have seemed like a nightmare at times and never knowing when things would change yet again.
Also I would like to say thank you to all the runs leaders, your efforts have been appreciated by our members, trying to find routes and somewhere to get food and drink each ride. Well done all of you.
I know you have all been trying to keep busy doing all sorts of things. I wonder if bike maintenance came into it somewhere? I hope so, because there is nothing better then a clean , well maintained and lubricated bike, possibly new tyres for the summer rides ahead. Can’t beat it.
I have been out to meet some of you on the Tuesday rides for 11ses, always outside and some times without any chairs so grassy banks were used which needless to say were hard and slightly damp. Yuk, not ideal but a least we were able to meet again. I will try to come out to meet all of you as time goes by on the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday rides, simply because I have missed you all.
For myself, I have been keeping busy in the garden when it has been a little warmer. My latest effort was putting together a “Meccano” style greenhouse work bench. When I opened the packaging and found different lengths of aluminium angles with lots of holes drilled in them, stays and four bags of nuts and bolts my heart dropped. “Oh no, I thought , never mind just get stuck in and see how it goes. ” on Friday I put the structure together, finger tight , in other words nuts and bolts done up but not tightened completely. Just in case something was not right, and I was tired anyway from all the concentration. Saturday after breakfast I went out again. The foxes had moved it from where I had left it and the vibration from being pushed around made quite a number of the nuts and bolts fall out. Obviously my finger tight was not tight enough. Oh well just put them all back and then start on one corner and work round really tightening them all up. No way were they going to come undone again. Put the shelves in and viola one greenhouse bench put together completely by me. I feel so proud of myself in succeeding with this project. I am so glad John always encouraged me to try to do things on my own, but he was always there just in case his strength was needed. I even had to use the hammer drill the other day with another project. Now I’m going to have a little rest until another project comes up that I know I can do myself.
I wish you all very many happy days cycling now that the better weather seems to have arrived at last and hope to see you on your rides. Could the ride leaders please let me know where they are going and roughly what time they will be arriving.
So once again thank you Vince and all the ride leaders.
I am very proud of you all,
President Meike
Step Up For A Challenge In May
Whilst the shackles might not yet be off, at least they have been loosened. After a year of much reduced cycling, we are probably all a bit fatter and less fit than we would like to be! But let that be an opportunity. Set yourself a cycling challenge and start now to actually do it!
This is Louise, an erstwhile Anerley B.C member who cycled from London to Scotland, to do the 1,000km “Mille Alba” a 4 day Audax ride when she got there.
I am not suggesting that we should all start training to cycle to Scotland, but in this month’s Gazette are some ideas, that if nothing else, will provide a change from just going to Tan House Farm!
Denise has come up with the Cathedral Challenge which will provide a number of opportunities for club rides to different places.
And my suggestion is for some Anerley Audaxes. The last Anerley Audax was in 2011. Although the ride is no longer listed by Audax UK, I have been able to reproduce the route from details on our club website, where it was described thus, ten years ago:
This Audax ride is appropriately named the “AAA Milne” after the famous childrens’ author. However this is not a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, but a challenging ride around Pooh Bear territory in the hilly Ashdown Forest. The AAA in the title indicating lots of Audax Altitude Award points for such infamous climbs as “The Wall” up to one of the highest points in the forest. Are you up for it? Don’t just think about it, let’s DO IT!
And we did! So now this ride will be done again as an Anerley Challenge Ride, with more to follow later in the year.
Now read on for ideas about some interesting rides to new places, that will definitely get you fitter!
STATISTICS of the AAA Milne: A nominal 100k but the original was actually 113k = 70.2 mls. It is rated at 1.75 Audax Altitude Award points = 1,860 metres of climbing = 6,102 feet.
The above stats were for a ride starting and finishing from Edenbridge. However some Anerley riders have started and finished from Purley. This adds another 40 miles to the ride, making a total of over 110 miles and a probably at least another 1,000 ft of climbing!
A Bluebell Audax …
By the end of April our wooded Surrey Hills and the Weald of Kent, should be a panorama of massed bluebells. But the recent cold and dry spell had delayed this year’s expected blooming. Rather than cancel the planned Bluebell Ride, we went ahead and re-named it the Bluebell Audax Ride.
An Audax ride has to be challenging, and this 85 km ride included 4,388 feet of climbing, so it was a bit challenging!
… or a Simple Bluebell Ride
If you don’t want to push yourself too hard, this is a simple route to Staffhurst Woods and the amazing beauty that is there to be enjoyed for the next couple of weeks. The route runs alongside some bluebell woods before you get to the main event at Staffhurst Woods.
One of the best days out, I cannot recommend a better place to ride or maybe just walk around with your family. It is simply spectacular and totally free for us all to enjoy!
Anerley’s Audacious Cyclists
By the 1890s the Dulwich school boys who started Anerley B.C, would have been young and very hardy men in the prime of their life. This is not speculation, because we have the evidence to show it.
You will read in Denise’s Gossip Column about G.H Smith one of the greats of Anerley B.C. Our club has a photo copy of his cycling diary, covering the years from 1891 to 1896. These are the starting entries on the first page.
Cycling Tips – Cadence
I was very interested to see the subject of cadence raised by Vince a couple of weeks back, on Anerley Chat. Vince had just added a cadence set up to his Strava app and was recommending that we should try to maintain a cadence (pedal at a speed) of circa 90 revolutions per minute. This is very good advice for a number of reasons…
Anerley Gossip!
A day to remember as many of us were at last able to meet up and ride together for the first time in ages. I must admit I was very excited to be seeing and riding with old friends again.
Catch up with the news on friends old and new…
A Tribute to Edge
John Eden, ever in search of history has dug up this treasure – the original written in “Cycling” in 1893 and such a gushing tribute to Edge could have been written by close friend and fellow ABC member G.H.Smith who I believe was a sub-editor of “Cycling” now called Cycling Weekly.
“Familiar features these that appear on this page. Few are the genuine cyclists throughout the country that have not been brought in contact with the bright smile, dark, quick, piercing eye, and the vivacious voice and manner of SF Edge.”
A Rummage Through Whatsapp
In years to come I doubt if anybody will remember Whatsapp. However, I have gleaned that there was a bit of gathering at Purley Oaks last week:
Covid Guidance from Captain Mark Hancock
Current club ride rules are as follows:
- All ride leaders need to use the Ride Register.
- If you are leading at the start you need to make note of who you are riding with.
- We need to make it known when we stop that we all wash our hands at a venue before & after eating.
- We all need to have a mask, no mask no ride.Maximum group size including the leader is 8.
- No official Anerley ride is to be ridden unless it is on the register, It is there for a reason use it.
- Most of us have had a least one shot of the vaccine lets all enjoy group riding again but please make sure we stick to the basic guidelines.
This month’s edition was once again produced by Des Donohoe with a bit of technical help from Tom Vaz.
We would welcome any articles for consideration for the April Gazette.