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I'm hoping to make this for the first time this week. Have ridden in pacelines before though.

climberruss11:55 Mon 23 Jan

another mild evening forecast

markn12:07 Mon 23 Jan

As I have been off the bike since the 29th Dec due to a chest infection. I know I will be well off the pace even for this Dev Chain Gang and don't want to spoil it for you lot.

Therefore I am going to head off solo 15/20 minutes ahead of you lot and you can then reel me in. I reckon you will catch up with me on the second lap around.

This will be good for me and will make it interesting for you.

However as Julian says cap the speed and be disciplined on technique and see where you catch me.
Yours the slow hare :-)

john15:21 Mon 23 Jan

Breaston lane from Risley to Breaston is closed, it was passable last week if you were careful.

richardb18:54 Mon 23 Jan

Can't wait! Save some gas in the tank for the catch John.

I'll be recruiting for the Thurs CG. Anyone up for the double?

mat22:27 Mon 23 Jan

Can't do Thursdays TT, the wife does aerobics, I have to let her out sometimes.

julianbramley00:20 Tue 24 Jan

Bring a rope :-)

john10:45 Tue 24 Jan

if only :-)
There might be two hares, I may have a lead out out man, if he remembers to show up :-)
I am not telling who!

john13:58 Tue 24 Jan

game on

markn14:24 Tue 24 Jan

Just so you all know I will keep a constant speed about 15/16 mph. So timings should mean we link up on the second loop on the rise to Risley if I have my maths worked out correctly.

john17:24 Tue 24 Jan

My guess for Hare number 2 would be our illustrious chairman.

mat20:29 Tue 24 Jan

My work buddy Adi will be giving it a try tonight. I've given him a briefing as he's new to group riding (although he is a good rider in terms of fitness so will be able to keep the pace).

steveb13:09 Wed 25 Jan

2 groups plus hares?

steveb14:04 Wed 25 Jan

Solo Hare only.
Remember this is a development chain gang where pace is steady and technique is key to build on.

It will be interesting to see if we both keep steady paces when you will catch me. I promise to keep to 15/ 16mph which will mean I should be aprox 5 miles ahead of you when you start.

Next week I will join from the start.

john16:31 Wed 25 Jan

I'll meet you on the way out at Attenborough lane.

richardb16:56 Wed 25 Jan

Yup, lets not get complacent, with over a dozen riders of mixed abilities we need to 'keep it smooth and watch those wheels' as the old boys say on the BRC chaingang.
Me and Dan should be at Toton Corner.

julianbramley17:27 Wed 25 Jan

A thing of rare beauty tonight. Thanks to everyone, I really enjoyed that.

roberth21:45 Wed 25 Jan

14 out tonight, only just caught John on the approach to Risley. The commissaire need to dock points for any breaks that go before Risley Park.
Nice and smooth, just got to watch out for the odd surges in speed because as we get faster that will open gaps.
Bring on summertime!
Here's my Strava, overall about 18.7mph so not bad, there is a segment for the sprint now as well
app.strava.com/rides/3603716

julianbramley21:51 Wed 25 Jan

Yes, really good turnout, fairly smooth and a steadily increasing pace.
Great to see some new riders joining in over the weeks.
That sprint is good fun, but with a group of 14 it's pretty hairy.

richardb21:58 Wed 25 Jan

Can't wait til we're clipping along doing that at 25 mph! That sprint was great fun
P.S. Apologies for my early move but being on a 67" gear it was my only chance!
P.S. I don't know where you lot were for the sprint up to bramcote, I took it easily ;-)

markn22:17 Wed 25 Jan

First time for me. I enjoyed it. Great sprint at the end, managed 33mph but ran out of steam.

climberruss23:36 Wed 25 Jan

Mark
We were being walloped by JonM on his cross bike, he bagged the M1 bridge and then sneaked past Julian to take ASDA bridge as well.

richardb07:18 Thu 26 Jan

I'm going to have to learn where the sprints are and ignore shouts as I thought someone shouted to slow down, so I did and was promptly overtaken by everyone!

stewartdiver08:02 Thu 26 Jan

Another good night and no mechanicals this week. I accept disqualification for chasing down MarkN too early. So just where is risley park in the darkness?
Where is Mat?

steveb09:06 Thu 26 Jan

@Stwart - that would have been me shouting, I should probably also learn where the sprints are too.

roberth11:56 Thu 26 Jan

I think we said the finish line is the 30 signs just before the lights at Risley?
No sprinting allowed before Risley Park which is the pub where we turn right on first lap, otherwise we'll have long breaks going from Borrowash! (I know this because being unable to sprint thats what I'd do)
Who 'won' this one anyway?
Thought I had you all at the motorway bridge til Jonm came bouncing by on his bloody cross bike, and the Asda bridge was the final nail in the coffin of my sprinting career.
I'll be Jonm's lead out man from now on!

julianbramley12:06 Thu 26 Jan

i think that richardb got the 30's followed by steveb in a close second.

markn12:37 Thu 26 Jan

Really exciting sprint to the finish line.

I must say my maths was spot on, you caught sight of me after the Risley Pub and duly swept me up in the peloton and then spat me out :-).

This week I set off 17 minutes before you and maintained an average of 15 mph.

Next week I am going to set off 10 minutes before you and get caught earlier and then hang on. I will repeat this for a few more weeks, so that I can get fit enough to start again.

As I have been off for 5 weeks and it showed but good to get back out again :-)

john14:50 Thu 26 Jan

I'm not sure if this has been discussed and rejected already but if we went round the circuit in the other direction all the junctions would be left turns rather than turning right across the traffic which would make things smoother still.

roberth16:12 Thu 26 Jan

It was my turn for this weeks 30 sign jersey followed closely by Rich B, the exact reverse of last week when Rich B claimed the glory. The bridges jersey however remains firmly tattooed onto JonM and cannot be removed without drastic surgery..

steveb17:18 Thu 26 Jan

Don't get cross? Get even.
:-)

jonm17:56 Thu 26 Jan

My apologies steveb I was too far back to see the correct order. I am intrigued by the bridges jersey though...

markn18:02 Thu 26 Jan

My plan for next week is to try and encourage the chain to stay together for as long as possible and just pile on the speed from the Risley hotel.

richardb18:41 Thu 26 Jan

I am already thinking of a 30 sprint jersey design.
Unofficially of course

john18:45 Thu 26 Jan

For 2 weeks running I've had my name down for 2 CGs and done zero. Work and family commitments are combining to thwart me.

mat20:48 Thu 26 Jan

Robert- I've suggested that before and the 'concern' was that the high-speed downhill from Risley towards Borrowash would be a bit dangerous in the dark. I don't think it would be much worse than the current twisty downhill from Risley to Breaston though.

jimw20:52 Thu 26 Jan

Hoping to come along to this at some point, but picking daughter up from Brownies currently getting in the way. Keep trying to talk her into packing it in :-)

simonh20:57 Thu 26 Jan

Agree the routes not great, but maybe rather than tinker with it how's about we leave it for now and have a think about a whole new summer route when the clocks go forward?

julianbramley21:02 Thu 26 Jan

I thought the route was great just that it would work better the other way. However, I don't know those roads as well as everyone else. I would always do a circuit counter clockwise where possible.

roberth21:13 Thu 26 Jan

I think the chain gang has great potential in the forthcoming months, sure it might not be as slick as some others, but to get this number of people out in the dark in January working together with a number of relatively new people is something the club should be proud of. I bet in a month or so the average will creep towards 20mph.

stewartdiver21:44 Thu 26 Jan

Agree with Stewart, definitely something for the club to be proud of. In fact the January rides in general have had a particularly good turn out.
A couple of parts of the route I really enjoy are the fast straight section out to borrowash and the climb up towards Risley.. and an issue about the reverse route would probably be overshooting/missing the left turn in breaston. Happy to leave as is for me.

andyb23:18 Thu 26 Jan

@Roberth has a point but tbh the right turns have not been a problem whilst i've been on the rides and we're creatures of habit us cyclists. Maybe a new longer route for the summer as @Julian suggests.

mat21:42 Fri 27 Jan