Soon to be seen in Vogue

6 road riders met on Thursday at the Kings Arms for the 6:30 pm AVP club ride depart; Jolly, Tigger, Handbag, Richard, the Near Naked Man and yours truly. For once, rain was not forecast, so we were looking forward to a dry ride. 

Tigger led us out setting a quick pace along the estuary, someone had their Wheetabix! As we turned into Axminster we suffered our first mechanical when my rear mudguard departed company with its top bracket and locked against the wheel. No amount of coaxing was going to get it reaffixed, so it had to be left by the road for later collection. Our next mechanical befell us as we climbed Leggetts lane and Richard suffered a rear puncture. This is certainly the a sign of us entering the winter months, in that a night of perforated tyres becomes the norm .. how I miss summer already! 

A professional tube change by torchlight

Luckily, I was wearing the AVP winter collection .. long sleeved jersey, Roubaix bibtights and Windex jacket .. and so felt no chills while waiting for the tube to be replaced. Unfortunately, I had somewhat overdressed for the unseasonably warm 14 degrees, the ensemble chosen being more befitting for a sub zero outing! That said, I can confirm that the new line fits well, is very comfy, the bibtights are excellently padded and it was the first time I've longed for a downpour or at least a bit of frost on verges! See picture for further details on the kit (now available from Soanes Cycles) 

Soon to be seen in Vogue

Back to the ride .. Handbag left us at the puncture site to return for the 7:00 pm group ride and then there were 5. We road on to Hawkchurch, returning via Axminster, dropping the Near Naked Man and Richard off at Kilmington and Jolly at Musbury. Tigger and I steamed (getting even hotter under all the layers) back to Seaton into a headwind along the Axe Estuary to meet up with Handbag and Barley, back from their 7:00 pm ride, at the Kings Arms. It was there that our numbers were eventually doubled by the arrival of the MTB riders who themselves had a tale of mechanical woes of their own .. the beer never flowed so well!