The Bugle | Blast 427


Friday 28th February 2020
Rough'n'Ready Edition

(I'm away so it's a bit short & shabby)
 
 
 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

 

"Variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles rather than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft. Give me a fixed gear" - Henri Desgrange, 1903. Cyclist, the first organizer of Tour de France.



BICYCLIST OF THE WEEK

Robert Hazeldean made the news this week for all the wrong reasons. He and the woman on the phone who walked out in front of him were found jointly responsible for tthe crash that put  both in hospital.

But who got punished, nay nearly bankrupted by the law? You got it - he had to settle for paying £30,000 costs and £4,300 damages - phew. Plus his own costs left him £60,000 south. And not a penny back from the woman as he forgot to get in a claim on time.

He wasn't insured.

A good reason why The Anerley has now made it mandatory to have personal insurance. It's cheap from CTC, BC or LCC - it may save your home and, at the same time, compensate anbody who suffers if you are at fault.

Or maybe even if you are not!

https://road.cc/content/news/271489-london-cyclist-found-jointly-liable-crash-pedestrian-gets-ps60k-plus-bill

 

BICYCLE CLUB OF THE WEEK
Described as the world’s oldest off-road cycling club, the Rough-Stuff Fellowship (RSF) was founded in 1955 by a group of hardy cyclists from northern England who shunned smooth tarmac in favour of bumpy tracks, muddy bridleways and rugged hill passes. Their goal: to traverse “the rougher and less-beaten ways”.

This Grauniad report has lots of fun photos, adventures and mud, and more mud: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/13/break-the-cycle-britains-oldest-off-road-club

The really remarkable achievement is they are not doing this on specialised mountain bikes but on ordinary road bikes where a '28' is regarded as a bit fat.

https://www.rsf.org.uk/



FLIGHT SHAMING MED STYLE
Huge crowds expected for Greta Thunberg's visit to Bristol this week. Famously she doesn't fly - preferring trains and boats - but I haven't seen her cycling yet - so way to go Greta!

Neatly stepping up to the challenge is Anna Hughes. Eight days from Dieppe to Nice - that's about 1100km or 85 miles/day. Bit tough fully laden with tents 'n' stuff even if most of the route was following flat river valleys.

And six of us have already done the first section - up the Seine to Paris. So maybe catch the Eurostar to the captal and start from there to make it a bit easier? Riding to the Med is very special - that gradual and imperceptable change from a northern to a mediterranean climate - the fauna and the wildlife changing too - the first sighting of fields of stork nesting on posts, the tiny rustic villages, but most of all the the warmth and the special sand and see.

A destination for this year ? https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/feb/15/i-cycled-from-dieppe-to-nice-saw-a-different-france




RIDE REPORTS

Saturday 22nd February: Eleven took advantage of a short gap in the storms to ride up Boxhill and admire Pete's new iPhone. But whhat he rwally needs is a new selfie stick methinks:  https://anerleybc.org/saturday-ride-22nd-february-2020/

Tuesday 25th February: Asif reports on John D's ride to the Leatherhead Leisure Centre from the heights of Epsom Downs: https://anerleybc.org/tuesday-ride-25th-february-2020/

 

UPCOMING RIDES


Saturday 29th February: No ride - yet another storm

Sunday 1st March: 10:00 Shurguard/501 Brighton Road
Mark & Julia are not A1 so Des may lead a combined ride to a surprise destination weather permitting.

Tuesday 3rd March: Shurguard/501 Brighton Road
Rides to Malibar Coffee Shop, Riverhead
Speedies: 09:30: Leader Tom V
Steadies: 10:00: Leader Peter R
Relaxed: 10:00: Leader Des D

Thursday 5th March Meet Shurguard at 10:00 am. 
Speedy: tba



FINALLY
TomTom recommends this video of the National Cycle Musuem at Llandridod Wells. Coincidentally they have an archive of Anerley Gazettes for those who prefer to see us in print. We had it in mind to have a ride to its base in Llandridod Wells last year but never made it.

Pehaps this year as an alternative to Nice? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVUHJtVqHAo&feature=youtu.be



Happy Cycling