8th August 2009 (Saturday)

Got up early'ish and set of for the Chippenham Wheelers chain gang..

The chain gang is quoted as...."A competitive training ride for those who wish to develop their fitness and higher speed group riding skills. Aimed primarily at those who are confident in their own ability and not only able to keep up and but take part in and lead. A 40 mile ride around Chippenham with ample opportunity to peel off if dropped by the main group."

I set of from home at 9am.....and got to the start point at 9:10...unfortunately the ride doesn't start until 9:30!

After a bit of a wait everybody eventually turned up and we set of, I let everybody know I didn't have a clue where we were going and had never done a chain gang before!

We set off at just after 9:30 and I tagged on at the back... I must admit it did seem a little slow! and I was following somebody that was not very smooth and I felt myself braking almost constantly.

The Idea of the chain gang is to ride as a group in pairs, the left hand side move forward and the guy at the front sets the pace, after a few minutes in front he will move over to the right and slow down slightly, so essentially the row on the left moves forward and the row on the right move back, when at the back the guy will tag onto the left column, the idea is to constantly draught the person in front and the people at the head should be doing 20 mph ish...

The route was NOT the route that I found on the interweb a couple of weeks ago, but it was very flat!... I found the pace very slow!!!! When we got out onto the A4 it was SH1T....literally, either cows had been doing their thing en-mass on the road or a tractor had dumped it all over the road....following in close procession through cow dung is not recommended or nice....(The beautifully clean bike was instantly NOT again!)

After we left the A4 I found myself at the front unfortunately I encountered horses and slow cyclists - If I was on my own that is NOT a problem, but when you have 20 or so people behind you and somebody on your left it becomes a problem! I also sped up to my pace!!!! this was bad :-( I left everybody behind! so I moved over to the left and slowed down....

The next time I was in the front it was going up hill, and yes I sped up again! when we got to Biddeston it was down to 6 people and it turned into a sprint.....I was still there!

The chain gang ride ended in Corsham (about 40 miles) I must admit I didn't find the ride hard work at all. I do think it was a worth while experience riding in a pack and it will definitely teach me to ride smoother and in a group, I think I may try and do the chain gang ride alternate weekends with the Leisure ride.

After Corsham I suggested to Dylan that we ride back to Chippenham via Naish Hill :-) ...he agreed....
I appeared to leave him somewhere up the slope and waited for him at the top.....He did do the Exmoor beast last year and didn't walk at all...and I powered up Naish hill ahead of him so that must be a good omen?

He suggested a quick ride back to Chippenham.....again I left him........... and waited at the foot of Derry Hill.

I think I am definitely ready for Exmoor... let's see how I get on with all the other challenges first...

I did spend most of the afternoon cleaning the bike again......

The Chain gang ride.. including Naish Hill return was 45.7 miles with an average speed of 18.7 mph (At Corsham it was well over 19)

The GPS track can be found here...