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Forty
Plus Cycling ClubJune 2008
Film Extra by Clive Collins
A Sticky End
It is not a well-known fact that I have a masters degree in Stupidity, with honours. I have done many daft things over the years, but this last escapade takes a lot of beating. I never take any notice of road closures, as normally I can get through on the bike, at the worst shouldering the bike around the trenches etc. The latest adventure occured a couple of weeks ago when I found the road from Blackmore to Fryerning closed due to overhead work by BT. No problem, any danger of being strangled by stray wires alleviated by the workmen, who shepherded me through to safety. Emboldened by my bravery, the following week the road was still barred, but on I went where no man has gone before. I was soon to find out why. A lovely new surface had been laid down, and as it was a stifling hot day the tar was taking it's time to cool. The heat was becoming unbearable. I was just thinking about abandoning ship when the decision was made for me. As I rounded the next bend I was confronted by a huge tar spreading machine. If I had stayed where I was I would have looked like a grotesque character out of Dr Who. (Come to think of it, perhaps I do).To beat a swift retreat was out of the question as, like a ship on a sand dune, I was stuck fast. The wheels had locked fast, and I came to a galloping standstill. Swiftly dismounting, my predicamentwas compounded because I couldn't move my feet.
Desperate, I had to get to the comparative sanctuary of the grass verge, as being tarred would be uncomfortable enough, but when the workers saw the state of road, I felt the tarring would be followed by a couple of bags of feathers. Fortunately none of the workmen were near enough to 'put one on me'. I managed to shoulder my bike far enough to feel safe,.found a large stick and proceeded to knock seven bells out of the offending tyres, managing to get enough clearance to try cycling. This was quite difficult for two reasons. Firstly, my tyres had no true shape (it's a wonder they didn't melt). Secondly, the build-up of tar on my shoes meant I couldn't get them in the clips, and I was glad I wasn't using quick release. With the pub only a couple of miles away and the thought of a pint boosting my morale, I carefully progressed to the venue, the trauma pushed to the back of my mind for a couple of hours. Most of the tar peeled off when cold, which made the journey home uneventful, but it wasn't quite the end of the saga. When I took my shoes off the soles parted company with the uppers, not the first time I've nearly lost my soul. All's well that ends well, and it jogged my memory to renew my subscription to the Raving Loony Party.
Extract from Signpost December 2005
GASBAGS on the web
The link to the website of the Great Ayton and Stokesley Biking and Guzzling Society is Gasbags The site dealing with the tour of the Capital cities of the European Union is here.
Water Tower Earls Colne
Extracts from Signpost September 2005
Return to the HighlandsPhotographs
taken on the trip in Scotland described by Chris Mills
Click
on the thumbnail or caption for the
larger view
Dave,
Ken, John and Chris at Ardnamurchan Point
Berneray
Youth Hostel
The
blackhouses at Garenin
Ben
Liathac
The
Pass of the Cattle
The
road to Rhenigidale YH
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
Extracts from Signpost June 2005
Across Australia on a Penny-Farthing
Jim Helps, who rides with the Southeast Wednesday section, collected sponsorship money for the ride last November of Lloyd Scott from Perth to Sydney on an old ordinary (penny-farthing) bicycle, a distance of 2,700 miles.
The ride raised £1,500,00 for the `Children with Leukaemia' charity. By way of thanks for their contribution, the charity sent this signed photo to the Forty Plus CC.
The inscription reads:
To the Members of the 40 Plus Cycle Club, Kent and SE. Very best wishes, Lloyd Scott
The original is in colour and measures 20 cm by 25 cm. If you send 50p with a suitable envelope, stamped and addressed, the editor will make a copy and send it to you .
Lands End to John O’Groats
Charity cycle ride June 2005
Hi, to any one who doesn’t know me I am Steve Keens and have ridden with the Forty Plus cycling club Essex ‘A’ section for the past year and enjoyed every trip out, (except when Mick, Colin and Geoff wind it up at the front). I intended to do the End to End last September, but due to ongoing health problems, i.e. dodgy back & knees I had to abandon the trip and have now rescheduled to late June. I will be staying with friends on the way and this will dictate the route I will use, although this is still fairly direct with reasonable distances between stops. The route will be:
Lands End to
Plymouth, 85m (friends)
Plymouth to Lyme Regis, 85m (friends)
Lyme Regis to Cheltenham, 105m (friends)
Cheltenham to Wrexham, 100m. (B&B)
Wrexham to Southport, 55m. (friends)
Southport to Lake District, 80m. (B&B)
Lake District to Glasgow, 105m. (friends)
Glasgow to Glencoe, 100m. (B&B)
Glencoe to Inverness, 100m. (B&B)
Inverness to Wick, 100m. (B&B)
Wick to John o‘Groats, 17m. /p
The mileages are approximate and the route may differ slightly north of Glasgow, depending on weather conditions and how I feel. If anyone knows of good B&Bs on the days indicated it would be much appreciated if you could let me know.
I am riding for two
causes, the first is the PROGERIA
charity, for a young girl
from Bexhill in Sussex called Hayley Okines. If you have never heard of
it, PROGERIA is a condition where the body ages at 8 times the normal
rate, so by the time Hayley reaches the age of 10 she will have the
body of an 80 year old with all the associated problems. There are only
4 people in the UK & 40 in the world with the condition
& the money raised will be used to help send Hayley to Disney
Land in Florida where she meets up every year with her friends from
around the world with the same condition. By the time you read this you
may have seen the programme on Channel 5 in May entitled “
The girl who is older than her Grandmother” At present there
is no cure & very little money used on research because so few
people have the condition.
The second cause I
am riding for is the Convent of Poor
Clares, Myanga Kenya. My
sister (Marion) is a nun and has been running the mission in Myanga for
the past five years or so. Her home in the UK is the Convent of Poor
Clares in Arundel Sussex. The mission provides help for the local
people who have Aids, children with disabilities and the school. The
locals live in thatched mud huts, with no electricity or running water
and very little work. Money raised will help buy wheelchairs, drugs to
help locals with Aids, school books, etc and finance to help them start
up a small business so they can provide for themselves and not have to
totally rely on the Mission for help.
As you may be aware, money from charities for third world countries has been known to be siphoned off by third parties and mmay not end up where it should do. I can assure you that 100% of the money raised is used for the above causes as this is allocated by the nuns and no one else. More information can be found at the Poor Clares web site: www.poorclaresarundel.org , click on shoots. Because I feel so strongly about these charities I want to raise as much money for them as I can. If you feel the same way, please contact me on 01708 473408 or at: steve_keens@yahoo.co.uk to pledge sponsorship. Alternatively, drop by for a cup of tea and a cake at my “Garden Bazaar” day on 9th July for a chat about it (see below for details). Many thanks,
Steve Keens