Weekly Round-up: 16 Mar 2025
All the latest news, events, and results from NFCC Members from this week’s two-wheeled adventures…
Saturday Club RideDespite temperatures that were just above the threshold for icy conditions and a strong north-easterly wind sixteen riders showed up for a hilly 111Km ride around the forest. We welcomed Jack for his first club ride, and he jumped straight into Group 1 and was at home there taking turns on the front. Two pelotons headed out east and soon passed a stricken Phil H who was frantically pumping his tyre after an earlier puncture. He looked like he was nearly finished so we said we would ride easily so he could catch up Group 2. |
 This was a mistake as we overestimated the mechanical acumen and history of Phil and his desire to ensure that he extended his lead at the bottom of the leaderboard for the Mechanic of the Year award. It turned out that he was thwarted by the lack of a valve-tightening tool. He is well known as a weight weenie but I weighed two of these tools at home and the metal one is 8g and a plastic one less than 1g. He managed to get to Boost in Brockenhurst and get sorted and managed to rendezvous with Group 1 at Bolderwood. |
 One of Phil’s perennial rivals for the Mechanic of the Year award, Graham, picked up a puncture around East End. Repair was soon effected and we were lucky to miss a Road Traffic Accident in Beaulieu when we re-started. Hope everyone was OK there. The puncture delay meant that the groups did not meet up at the coffee stop at The Potting Shed. Here we left Smithy who had decided that he had done enough hills for the day and the circuit of hell that Barry had planned post-coffee was not on his wish list. Everyone thought that Barry must have been in a bad mood when he planned the route on Wednesday as post-coffee it was a hill repeat session. This had the effect of Group 2 being more like Loose Cycling Collective 2 as we struggled to keep our usual tight formation with the constant up and downs. |
 Birthday boy Matt K left Group 1 at Landford after experiencing cleat issues. Hopefully, someone bought him some new ones for his birthday. He did put a comment on Strava about forgetting to lube before the ride, but I decided that that was touch much information and we don’t want to know any more. All this was on a ride that was pleasant, relatively incident free and still nobody in the barrel. Step forward Rich W. Not for the most heinous offence but the order of the barrel is always looking to reward new and innovative fails. For his constantly falling leg warmers creating a Nora Batty image (ask your grandparent’s kids) and a glimpse of naked thighs that ensured that everyone else was trying to get to the front to spare their eyes Rich joins the barrel alumni. |
 The ride finished with a nice reward as we sped across the airfield at Ocknells Plain with the rare benefit of a tailwind.No reports of anyone rounding up to 100 miles this week, the biting north-easterly was enough for everybody at ride end. – Barry |
2024 Season Awards EveningThe annual NFCC awards evening was held on Saturday evening at the New Forest Inn. Thank you to Lucy Greehy and Joe Shepherd for organising a great social evening. A list of prize winners can be found by CLICKING HERE, well done to all. For those who couldn’t make the evening who have won awards, please contact Joe Shepherd to arrange collection of your prizes. |
NFCC Women’s RideIn addition to the normal Sunday club ride, Lucy and Emma organised the first NFCC women’s ride! Despite a chilly start, we had 13 women join the ride for a 40km loop out and around Beaulieu. The aim of the morning was for a social no-drop ride to try and encourage more women into road riding without the worry of not being able to keep up. Just after halfway round, we enjoyed a lovely cafe stop basking in the sun at Steff’s kitchen in Beaulieu. It was nice to do a group ride where I could enjoy a good chat rather than gasping for breath and hanging onto the wheel in front! |
 Everyone rode really well and seemed to enjoy themselves in the crisp spring sunshine. Hopefully this is the start of having more women in the club in the future. We are planning to do another ride like this, provisionally planned for the 10th May – fingers crossed for a few degrees warmer!Thank you to everyone who joined the ride! – Lucy. |
Sunday Club RideThe MetService did themselves proud this weekend, predicting that at 9.00 a.m we would get sunshine with a moderate north easterly wind that would make a 0 degree start feel like -3… That’s exactly what we got. Most of us were wearing about 4 layers and wishing we’d doubled up on the socks. All apart from Bill M who had taken the motto ‘Be bold, start cold’ to heart and turned up dans shorts. A bold move. |
 As is customary these days we split into two roughly even groups with group one promising to play nice and not go too hard and group two welcoming new riders and returnees alike. The pace of group two was somewhat sedate this week but I’m blaming the bracing chill-winds which I for one found turned my legs into a state of torpor. With no real incidents of note we reached the cafe in beautiful and moderately warming sunshine to find group one already ordering their second round of coffees and John B joining us after being on TT marshalling duties elsewhere.A chilly but pleasant club ride. – Phil H |
RTTC Classics Series Rd.1: P183b – Pipers PainNew Forest CC riders were out at the first of the RTTC Classics Series. P183b known as “Pipers Pain” is a double of the already lumpy P182, with an extra run up the climb to Pipers Wait from Nomansland to finish at the highest point in the New Forest. Sam Dorkings rode a strong 1:22:37 to finish 22nd/38 in the open category, while Sien vdP placed second female with 1:21:28. |
 Local time trials next week include the hilly 22 miles Misery on the Milly on the Isle of Wight, with subsidised/free ferry tickets available for those riding. Sign-ups close 17th March. See more and sign up at https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/events/32095-misery-on-the-milly |
Get Involved:If you find yourself out and about representing NFCC, don’t forget to jot down a few words, snap a few photos and send them over to press@newforestcc.co.uk. |
