Review of the Year 2017

Well let us get the basic statistics out of the way first.

Total distance cycled = 6295 km
Total Ascent   = 47712 m

all encompassed in 173 rides

These are massively down on last years efforts but I still managed to achieve my Annuity Target

I could claim excuses for these figures such as bad weather and a prolonged period of family illness but the real baseline reason I fear is that age is catching up.

Never the less this has been a really enjoyable cycling year and illuminated by two main adventure streams.

The first of these was my Great Railway Journeys and the second was my participation in the Derby Mercury All Inclusive Social Rides.

My wife tells me that like most men I never really grew up and that I am basically a little boy at heart. And when I was a little boy I loved nothing better than Train Spotting and riding on steam powered trains. Latterly there has been a resurgence in Preserved Railway Lines and this last year I decided to make day trips on my Mercian and visit a few of the ones local to us, with my sandwiches and chocolate bars packed in my saddle bag as I used to do so many years ago;  Great Railway Journeys Revisited.

The first trip was to Shackerstone on a wet and dreary morning but it brightened up and I arrived ready for cup of tea and a bit of train spotting.

Even though it was mid week the trains were operating and a steady stream of walkers and tourists meant that the Station Buffet was doing a roaring trade

I have to confess that have not been very adventurous in plotting the routes to these stations and in some cases the return journey was just a replica of the outward bound. But at ~100km per trip it was enough for an Old Age Pensioner

The second trip was to the Foxfield Railway

This was another thriving establishment and I must say that these Preservation Railways do remarkably good value for money in the food department

My third trip was to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. This involved much more climbing than is good for me as though the railway line is relatively flat , the terrain around Wirksworth is certainly not..

This was the only non-operating on the day railway I visited but my trusted packed lunch came to the rescue

My final one for this year was The Great Central Railway at Loughborough

and this had an excellent buffet bar

In terms of cycling enjoyment this was the most disappointing journey as I just relied upon RideWithGPS, loaded the route and went. I ended up pushing, then carrying, my bike across muddy fields and water filled ditches before it asked me to ride around Castle Donnington Motor Race Track..at this point I opted for Plan B and stopped at a local house and asked for help:-(


My second stream was my participation in the Mercury All Inclusive Social Rides. These were instigated to widen the participation of the membership by promoting rides at a much more modest pace and incorporating a coffee and cake stop.

I have reported on all these rides throughout the year and they were extremely successful regularly attracting over 35 riders drawn from those who do not normally ' compete ' in the weekend SpeedFest '.
It was not a very auspicious start with only 8 out of the original 36 riders making it around the designated route, and I was one of those who took a diversion to a local coffee shop and rode at a more leisurely pace. I was not alone...

and had the opportunity to come to the aid of a damsel in distress when Sasha discovered that puncture repair in arctic conditions was not her forte.

A selection of photos from some of the other Social Rides follows

Perhaps for me, the highlight of these trips was my 70th Birthday Celebration

I have really enjoyed my cycling year with Mercury and made to feel very welcome and the club has expanded and involved a wide range of ages and abilities

It became increasingly obvious though that as the year passed by, my ability to stay in touch ebbed away and whilst people waited for me I know that I am acting as a brake on proceedings. So, next year I must alter my approach to perhaps ride with a different group of Mercury Riders or just do a section of the Social Ride.

The Derby Mercury RC All Inclusive Social Picnic Ride

I was told that ' The Picnic Ride ' used to be an institution within Derby Mercury but had not been held for a while..so I thought I would see if I could revive it.

The aim was to make it truly ' All Inclusive '  from youngsters up to Old Age Pensioners like myself, and, as an addition hold the picnic at a place where mothers with babes in arms could also easily reach. And so I chose as the Picnic Destination, the Tara Centre at Etwall, a place with spacious grounds and, if some weight weenies decided not to carry their own food,  a good cafe serving all the essential nutrition that a cyclist could want.

I chose three routes:

a) a 12km ride along traffic free greenways which Nick offered to lead.
b) a 45 km tortoise ride at around 20kph which I would lead
c) an indeterminate fast route for the road warriors

In addition there was a further option

d) a car ride with a free car park at the  Tara Centre.

In the event there were a lot of good things that came out of this ride and it is difficult to choose the best one.

We did manage to attract around 40+ people to the picnic and the main peleton certainly managed to span the entire age range with the youngsters especially impressive on the racing hill climbs. Mums and OAPs took a more ' measured ' approach to these mountains but one of the seasoned cyclists always went with them to ensure safety.

No one got dropped and Neville very kindly acted as Lanterne Rouge and mechanic though his only maintenance task was to fix a couple of dropped chains and rescue a flying water bottle.
The good thing about being ride leader was that I could set the pace; the bad thing was that I was always head into the wind.

 Being at least 20 years older than any other rider I always worry that my tortoise pace for them ( race speed for me!! ) is spoiling the ride for others but no-one complained.
Another great thing about the ride was that we attracted some new people to group rides who were tempted by the short distance ( 45km to the picnic and 20km back to the start point ) and so felt confident to bring their children along too.

It also turned out to be a family event as mothers and toddlers did join us and the Divas were out in force

as well as some of  the seasoned cyclists

It was good to see a mixture of current and future cyclists

All in all a good day out...and as I had ordered a good sunny day that made it even better.

Thanks to everyone who came and kept me company

The Inaugural All Inclusive Social Derby Mercury Audax

2 July 2017
 Remember this day.
This was the day of the Inaugural All Inclusive Social Derby Mercury Audax.
A 100km cycle ride in the sun around the lanes of Derbyshire and Leicestershire

And it WAS inclusive and it WAS very social.

Around 40 cyclists with ages ranging from 9 years to 70 years gathered at Derby Rowing Club for the Grande Depart

and soon we were off..on a typical Nigel start which involved off road rocky paths up a very steep incline with bike barriers every 50 metres..we were told this was ' necessary' as otherwise the course would be 200m short of the required 100km target..hmmm

As the peleton sped through the centre streets of Derby all were resplendent in the club colours with a wide range of styles on display reflecting the long tradition of the club.

Initially the course was flat and it was easy for the group to stay intact but eventually the road began to climb and the peleton began to string out..imagine the TdF but at a 'slightly ' slower pace

Of course with the hills came the pain to an old body like mine could soon be easily dropped. But this was a social ride and any stragglers were shephered back into the throng by the experienced and stronger cyclists. In my case Martin, fresh from his hard work towing the pro cyclist from Raleigh, Adam, up Hedge Climb in Mickleover

now had the task of bringing me back into the bunch

But one of the great things about this ride was no-one would be dropped and as the peleton waited at the top of the climbs to regroup, there was no rushing off once the last man ( usually me! ) joined so that I too could rest and recover

Though my natural domain on all rides is Lanterne Rouge, there can be exceptions and after a coffee stop at the bottom of Breedon Mountain, I shot ahead to capture a picture of the group as they resumed the chase ( A bit, well a lot really ! of poetic licence here :-) )

We were on the homeward stretch now, heading back to the Derby Rowing Club for tea and cakes and a little liquid refreshment

But a brief stop for a group photo at the Weeping Poppies

For me, it was the best Social Ride I have been on. I only started cycling when I retired at 60 years which was 10 years ago but here I was made to feel welcome, looked after on the climbs and generally people made sure that I was included.

Truly an All Inclusive Social Ride and thank you to them all

A great day in the saddle.

Derby Mercury All Inclusive Social- Part 3

Obviously the first two Social Rides were not only a social success but also a great training exercise for many cyclists.   The previous rides had attracted between 35-40 riders but today's event was reduced in number to around 24 cyclists.. The onset of the Racing Season meant that we had youngsters out racing at Darley Moor ( where Sam T took his first ever win in the U-12 event ) and at Swynnerton where Ben got on the podium ( as did Eve R in the funny women event :-??? )) and the place was swamped  amongst a sea of blue and white. With seniors competing in the BDCA 25 at Etwall and at  Churnett Valley , then many of our regulars were away.  Though why Rob W decided to go and ride the Challenge at Paris-Roubaix is a mystery to me when the Social Ride could have offered him equally challenging  conditions PLUS Cake!!

Once again a Hare and Tortoise Group were formed with the intention of meeting up at the coffee stop at Rosliston and then again at the Great Northern to  discuss war stories.
Great thanks are due to Sarah and Duncan G for plotting and leading the route and keeping everyone together...NO-ONE EVER gets dropped on a Social Ride..not even doddery OAPs like me :-)

It was a glorious sunny day and there were originally about 17 on the Tortoise Group though a few  peeled off on route as they needed to get some serious interval training done in readiness for the Club TT season starting next week.

I am expecting great things from Sasha, Jen, Mark and Nick as they made their excuses and left.

The Social Rides are noted ( at least they are now after the first epic mountain adventure where nearly everyone collapsed ! )  of being fairly flat and on those inclines that did occur Phoebe G was there to give encouragement as she waited for us oldies at the summit.

Sarah was acting as Pathfinder and ignoring the cries of the GPX Garmin Gang, resolutely stood by her principles and kept consulting some paper thing covered in squiggly lines, which led to a great mystery tour and an off road section which made Paris -Roubaix look like a ride for wimps.


It did however have the added benefit of creating extra distance allowing Carrick to achieve his first ever metric hundred ride.

We did however all manage to return safely with no mechanicals and as we reentered the City Boundaries riders peeled off for home with the remnants enjoying a well earned drink at Ride HQ where we were soon joined by the Hare Squad

A great day out in the saddle at a pace and distance comfortable to all..truly an All Inclusive Social Ride.

Thanks Sarah and Duncan.

Derby Mercury All Inclusive Social - Part 2

Following the great turnout for the January Social, I offered to lead a Spring Social to celebrate my 70th Birthday.  The initial ride in January had left a number of cyclists gasping for breath and in need of urgent succor, so I emphasized that this outing really would be suitable for all and that the pace would be Tortoise Like and the climbing moderate, Hares would of course be welcome and could take a detour to give them a chance to stretch their legs.
And so, at 09-00 on March 12 around 38 cyclists turned up at the Broadway ( and a few more joined en route ) . It was great to see so many juniors out, as well as a large contingent from the Derby Divas.  The numbers were such that we set off in two groups heading towards Kedleston and then Mercaston where the advanced guard stopped to allow everyone to regroup.

The lanes around here are notoriously pot holed and scattered with debris from hedge cutting and so Andy T had already had practice in repairing his own  puncture before his skills were called upon once again.

Once all mechanically sound we set off in groups once again heading through Brailsford and on tp Alkmonton where, as it started to climb, Jen kindly took over lead rider duties to give an OAP some protection from the wind.

The Alkmonton Climb, whilst not vicious, is long and you might see from this next image that Duncan G was beginning to feel the pace as he pulled his tag along up the hill.

From Alkmonton the run was on to the coffee stop and one young lady, having been equipped by a whip from the esteemed Touring Secretary, urged her driver to much greater efforts

I had arranged for the coffee stop to be at The Salt Box in Hatton and in celebration of the day, my wife had kindly arranged for a Birthday Cake to be ready

Herbie had kindly offered to forgo the hillier part of the ride so as to reserve half the cafe in advance of our arrival, ably assisted by Mark H.

Cyclists can of course not live by Cake Alone and bacon sandwiches are a neccesity for growing people

It was a true party atmosphere and to a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday we all enjoyed the rest

Eve could not be with us, but she had not forgotten and sent one of her emissaries with a special present

Refueling over we went on the flat route to Willington and Repton before turning towards Milton Ingleby Swarkstone and home. For me around 77km with 575 m of climbing

For me it was a wonderful day out. No-one got dropped, the average pace was around 22kph and the the climbing modest with no lung busters.

Thank you to everyone who came to help me celebrate...you all gave me a day to remember.