TVC BLACK RIDE REPORT Sunday 18th July:
Riders: Andy Singleton and David Wain
This is a tough ride on the best of days but with the temperature already rising and with only two riders it was going to be even harder!
12 days off the bike for Andy (and too much food and drink
) made it even more fun!
We rode side by side at a steady 20-22mph on the way out enjoying a casual chat and catch-up on all things cycling but the treacle like road surface through Clumber knocked a few km/h off the average and our ‘creative’ route around the closed exit gate proved to be an error with way too many deep muddy puddles and hidden tree roots for a CANYON AEROAD & a CANYON ULTIMATE with racing wheels to cope with!
The enforced stop also gave us a chance to converse with a random lady and her very disobedient (and slightly scary) dog, a random motorist attempting to repair a wing mirror smashed by a rogue pigeon and gave me a chance to try and clear the stinging sun cream from sweaty eyes!
The bad luck continued through Worksop with not only every traffic light on RED but also the level crossing down for longer than we would have liked at Worksop station
Once through the last (RED) light though David showed what a strong rider he is with some stylish and smooth two-up TT’ing all the way back through Carlton and Oldcotes before smoking Andy with a 500w plus effort up the final climb into Tickhill.
A solid 1:39:17 which, despite the red lights and the train crossing, was still the fastest time this year at an average of just under 20mph.
Back at the cricket club in time for David to nip home for new bottles and a little rest before the fun & games on the RED RIDE.
More riders required if we are going to increase the speed and share the work around a bit more. Looking at the speed of the subsequent RED ride we certainly have more TVC members more than capable of joining in the BLACK ride fun 
