Celebrating Belgium Day - L Ride Style!
July the 21st marks the national day of Belgium and we thought that we should celebrate the birthplace of such Belgian cycling luminaries as Eddie Merckx, Tom Boonen and the latest Belgian born star, Bradley Wiggins!
Thirteen souls braved cool and cloudy conditions and arrived to take part in the L ride,many for the first time. So to that end, we welcomed Jolie, Michelle, Michelle (yes, there were two), Renata, Trevor and Brett. We also welcomed Mark (Spartacus) back to an L ride all the way from Campbelltown.
The ride started slightly ominously with Jolie confirming a flat front tyre prior to the start. This was quickly changed and after a ride briefing we rolled out along the Shiraz trail. Thanks to Steve Ellison for maintaining a pace that kept the large majority of riders in a group. It was such an evenly paced group that there were occasions where the group almost looked ready to start cycling in a pace-line (needless to say we didn't)!
Overall, there was little drama and an abundance of beautiful vistas ranging from the hills and the vineyards to the sea. Jolie's front wheel let go again with around 3km to go. Steve had a go at changing the wheel this time (it was yours truly previously) and to his credit, found the piece of glass causing the issue in the tyre that was no bigger than a few grains of sand! Kudos to you Steve!
In the struggle to find something even remotely Belgian to eat, we just happened to find ourselves at Bracegirdles at 190 (see pics below)! Belgian chocolate counts, right?
The L Ride crew catching up at Bayliss Road (outbound)
The "Michelles" reach the half way point at Silver Sands and discuss their plan of attack for the return trip with David and Spartacus.
There is something in the sea air!
What are you guilty about Jolie? That QOM on your first group ride deserves a (small) celebration!
Spartacus demonstrating to Michelle and Michelle just how authentically Belgian he is by eating Belgian chocolate!
David proved how Belgian he was by eating the glass as well! His technique critically assessed by Brett and Spartacus. No chocolate was wasted!
Celebrate (Belgian) good times! Come On!
Thanks also to Lynn for catching up with the crew for a post ride pot of tea! I don't think it'll be too much longer then you'll be on this ride too!
It was a real pleasure riding was so many new faces on a superb day and I sincerely hope that you all continue to ride with the SSRC!
Cheers
Wattsy
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Matt Koukourou on -
Looks like a great ride. Well done to all and a nice ride report write up Wattsy!
P.S. what was David doing to that glass?
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on -
Bracegirdles add some chocolate on the outside of the glass for their Iced Chocolates, which can make things really messy! It's best removed by whatever method!
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Permalink Reply by Matt Koukourou on
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Ahhhh
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Permalink Reply by michelle on -
Thanks for having us along, really enjoyed the ride & the company. Thanks to everyone for making us feel so welcome. I'll be back and next time I'm having one of those waffles at the end!
One of the Michelles
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Permalink Reply by Paul Mc on
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Well done everyone, it looked like lovely weather down at the beach, rewarded with a huge spread of food at the end.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Crick on -
hmmm Bracegirdles can we go there next time since I missed out lol
Fantastic ride report and thanks to Andrew and Steve for looking after the newbies for us...
Well done everyone keep it up :-)
Next Sunday is a P ride not sure where yet keep your eyes posted on the group page.
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Permalink Reply by Phil Crick on -
Well done everyone, next weeks ride is a P ride on Sunday. We're still decided the route.
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Permalink Reply by Steven Ellison on -
I might add, David was lead on the return and kept a nice steady pace! The ride, weather and company were all fantastic, I think a great day was had by all including the puncture fairy ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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Sorry David. Indeed, the whole day was very well paced and thoughtfully ridden by it's lead riders.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Crush on -
Any Strava data for this ride please as I would be interested for reference for SWMBO in the future? Thanks
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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Hi Nick. I was Tail End Charlie for this ride and would have had the slowest time and average speed. We did a group catch-up in a few places so I imagine the rest of the group would have been no more than 1 or 2 kph quicker.
My stats:http://app.strava.com/rides/13997895
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Permalink Reply by Steven Ellison on
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I was lead for the first half, just look at the ride from McLaren Vale onwards as I rode down to the ride first! This is a segment created of the L ride however the average speed includes the regroup times so is not a riding speed average http://app.strava.com/activities/13982520#261593983 I hope this helps ;-)
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