Tom asked that I put some info up about his upcoming SUY:

'Character building, with fabulous views, the steepest climb in Cambridgeshire, and some stinging nettles'.

53 km (that's 32 miles to the rest of us) from Brookside to Stapleford. The exact destination pub is still under debate as it'll probably have to be one that stays open late.

I'm gutted to say that I'm going to miss it unless I can get dispensation to miss the holiday with the in laws...

Paul

Dear All

The ride leader has spoken:

The ride will start at 7 p.m. from Brookside (yes, 30 minutes earlier than usual) and will swing by the Rose in Stapleford at 7.30 p.m. to pick up anyone who wishes to join the ride there.

It will end back at the Rose, several hours later :-)

And I can recommend the Tribute Ale there - I had a very nice pint of it last night.

Paul

How late is this one likely to finish? (Just a rough idea would be good, "several hours" might get me into trouble if I'm late back)

I know this probably isn't an ideal ride to come out with you guys for the first time, but I can't do Thursday and I need my biking fix godammit! I'm no racing snake but ride pretty regularly (mostly at Tunstall/Thetford) and have a decentish Dealextreme light, so hopefully I'll survive if you're gentle with me

The one timing element you can be sure of on a CamMTB epic is last orders...


Barring disasters, Uncle Tom will get you back to Shelford by 11 pm at the latest!

Paul

Cool, looking forward to it. I'll be the bloke on the Cotic - see you there.

Dear All inc Mr Greedy.

Tonights ride is 50 km of good riding and scenery(not a test of machismo). It should take 3 hours from the centre of town. A stack of single track, one really good climb up to Haydon the majority is gentle undulating, and of course some downhill unless the world tips off its axis. Barring mechanicals we should be back at the Rose by 10 p.m.

There are 2 starts to make sure we are finished in good time the normal start point departure is 7.00 pm, and those who wish to start at 7.25 can do so from the Rose. The centre of town starters will pass by the front of the Rose c. 7.25, then we carry on down to Dernford farm.

Fingers crossed that the MTB weather gods are in good humour. There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes.

and Mr Greedy Have no fear, nobody gets left behind

See you this evening

Tom R

looking forward to it, see you at the Rose at 7.25

I'm planning on being out...should I take my "wet weather bike" (mud tyres and guards all fitted) or my "dry weather bike" (Racing Ralphs, front mudguard snapped and lying in Tony's boot)????

PT

I should be there. PTs front mudguard may or may not be.

Have mac , c u at the Rose.

Hmmmm....it'll be the wet weather bike then.

It's been raining stair-rods here in Peterborough for the last 2 hours and the road outside work is now flooded and closed. Just in time for the rush-hour.

Apparently no rain in Cambridge?? I say it's raining here, it's probably all that illegal vodka from Boston finally falling back to earth.

PT

Well Tom, last night's ride certainly achieved epic status as far as I'm concerned. It had all the essential ingredients...

- A great new route.
- Multiple punctures, including a blown tyre wall - fixed with late-night brain power, old inner tube, insulation tape and cable ties. I hope it got you back on the final leg out of town Mr.Greedy? Also, hope it hasn't put you off riding with us again soon.
- A Rohloff hub which kept spitting off it's chain - did the extra tension sort it out Roy?
- A good dose of nettle stings for everyone, somewhere SW of Great Chesterford.
- A very late arrival at a 'new' pub, which I was disappointed not to be able to experience.

Oh yes, and I set a new personal record of 48.5 miles

Thanks again Tom,

Richard

Yes, what an epic. I've tried to trace the route on the map today.

You forgot to mention the mud, Richard, although I'm sure they're fully aware of it in the pub this morning!

48.5 miles is a terrific effort - I did 26, but I drove to the pub.

But my shins are a buzzing mess of nettle stings this morning. Where's the Calomine lotion?

PT

A good ride ta Tom, my legs are still all tingly from the nettles!
A pity we got to the pub a bit late - think the barmaid wanted to get off as she wouldn't serve any more drinks just after 11. When Pete, Paul & I left, the door was locked behind us, lights out & she was in her car before we got the bikes unlocked-just about managed to beat her out of the car park though!
Good job the ladies kept the pub open until we arrived or we may not have got a drink at all.

A very enjoyable epic indeed Tom, hopefully my legs will stop throbbing some point soon!
We should go south of the 505 more often...

Thanks for the kind words
I am glad you enjoyed it apart from the nettle rash and scratched limbs. 48.5 miles (and a stack) is outrageous. I was a mere 64 km (a girly 40 miles). Thank you all for the support. I wasn't sure who if anyone would come on the ride, given the start times and locations.

The dual start times and locations seemed to work well. Incidentally the riding time from the Rose and back to the Rose was 2hrs 25 minutes.

Mending Mr Greedy's split tyre was as Richard said a team effort of brain power, tools and zip ties and electrical tape. I am going to keep some Gaffa tape rolled round my pump from now on + some zip ties.

It seems a nice ride to me, and perhaps could be included in next summers runs list as the Haydon ride, start and finish at the Rose.

see you next Thursday.

Tom R.

ps one for the Grumpy Web Meister. Suggest recommending Latex tubes, slime tubes or tubeless tyres as No.7 in the safety briefing

enjoyed the ride tom thank you pitty about all the mechanicals i was worried about getting to the pub in time i had a vision i was in a room with a group, my name is bowsey and i am an alcoholic so i went straight home from whittlesford and had a beer to check i felt a lot better very pleasant in the heydon alps i thought

Well, I don't think I'll forget my first Cambridge ride in a hurry! Thanks all for being good company, and especially to Tom, Richard and Roy for helping out with the ingenious tyre repairs. I'm not sure when I'll next be able to get out on a ride, but hopefully once I get settled I'll be able to join you more often.

Mark