Until this blasted rain stops our weekly Tuesday rides are off people.
It hurts me to know that our ‘Summer’ is passing us by while we are busy staring out of our windows into puddles on the floor outside, watching the rain drops fall like bombs onto our spirits, but fear not my friends! Our time will come.
So last nights ride was cancelled due to bad weather, and by the looks of it the rain that we are currently experiencing will persist well into next week so unfortunately the WWFGSC will be on hold until the Lord sees fit for us to have this Heatwave we are so deserved of.
To keep me and hopefully you guys sane and eager to get out riding here is a pic of my Raleigh basking beside me in the sun at Cannon Hill park a couple weeks back, oh the memories!
As always, keep em peeled on Spinwell and on your mobile communication device for updates on rides.
By the way, Luke and Callum it was nice to meet you last night and I am sorry you had a wasted journey but keep your fingers crossed and next week we should be rolling!
The Weekend Workers Fixed Gear Social Club is on, Tonight!
On thing though, I am baffled by the BBC’s weather indicator as one of them says ‘Showers’ and the other one, on the same website I might add says ‘Dry’. Hmmmm. So keep your mobile communications devices near your person for a mass tx message update coming out to you some time this afternoon.
Here are the details again for anyone who missed them!
7.10pm – Pigeon Park, Birmingham.
7.30pm – Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath.
7.45pm – Maypole Island, Alcester Rd.
Then we proceed out towards Earlswood lakes and a nearby local boozer for banter, heckling, and bicycle rubbishing ie: “mines better than yours” that type of thing.
Hopefully see you all later.
ps. If you are interested in joining and have not yet emailed me your number please do so using the ‘Get intouch’ tab located on the top right of this page.
Last nights ride was awesome, I counted ten people in the peloton which for the first social is amazing.
Hopefully the folks that couldn’t make it last night will be able to get involved in next week’s ‘Weekend Workers Fixed Gear Social Club’ because as they say… ‘The more the merrier’ and there is ‘safety in numbers’.
Big thanks to Dan, Josh, Hardy, Fin, Teddy, Brett and an even bigger thanks to Tom, Nick and Chris for catching the train in from Wolvo and Stourbridge… Now that is what I call dedication!
WEEKEND WORKERS FIXED GEAR SOCIAL CLUB RIDE – TONIGHT.
7.00pm – Pigeon Park
Then
7.10pm – On Your Bike, Digbeth
Then
7.30pm – Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath
Then
8.00pm – Maypole for the Solihull joiners
Hope to see you all later!
Weekend Workers Fixed Gear Social Club… Soon Come!
After chatting with Josh it became quite obvious that the weekend workers need something, something to get them ( and me ) involved in the action.
I hear and see the words ‘Alleycat’, ‘Race’, ‘Ride’ and my eyes light up… then I see the words ‘Saturday’ or ‘Sunday’. Rubbish, I work most Saturdays and some Sundays.
That is where this comes in…
Josh coined it the “Weekend Workers Fixed Gear Social Club” and it is basically this:
In the month of July our evenings are hella long and as you all know we don’t see a proper sunset until around 10pm so weekend workers this one is for you.
Throughout the month of July, every Tuesday night at 7pm we will depart from the city centre and head out to the countryside for a 2 – 3 hour ride, nothing too hardcore just a nice merry cycle to get the heart and lungs working and more importantly for the socializing! Don’t worry newbies either as we will incorporate a few stops en route for the folks with burning legs and wheezy chests and no doubt a pub stop later on for those who like a sip of the amber nectar.
If anyone has any questions about this or has a problem with the time or day please get in-touch as it would be nice to accommodate all of you and by the way, these rides are for anyone not just the WW.
I will post more details about the destination and meeting place tomorrow.
I promised myself I would not drink too much and I would leave at a reasonable hour. No. My work xmas party got a bit messy… Wine ( I later found out ) does not agree with me when I drink too much of it, Brandy is best not swigged out of the bottle, and cigarettes are not great if you plan to race the next day. I did reluctantly manage to leave the party at 3am only to walk home to try and sober up for what was coming in a few hours.
By 2pm in the afternoon I was running on 50%… enough to get my ass into a jacket and gloves and get the hell out of the house and into town. So off I went to meet folks up at the Bullring where I was met by Simon on his crazy Shorter low pro and Toby on his red 531 conversion, both Simon and Toby reside in Shrewsbury so fair play! we sat, chatted for a while and waited for the others… then waited some more, then Shamim turned up at 2.30. So by this time it was obvious it was only going to be us 4 until more folks joined at 4.30 ( we hoped ) so off we went for cycle round town then down to the Custard Factory to snap some shots of the bikes ( these will trickle onto Spinwell in the coming weeks ). After an hour or so of chatting and larking about it was almost time to meet the others but before that we had a job to do… We needed Xmas crackers! Shamim wanted us to play a game ‘foot down’ which involved beating each other with said crackers until your opponent puts their foot down. GREAT! “Latifs!” purveyors of everything, this is the place to go for cheap stuff like crackers. so we pulled in and parked up while Shamim went inside… They had a cafe attached to the side so I rummaged in my pockets for a couple of golden nuggets and so me and Toby went for snacks. Damn! the place looked like it was covered in 5mm of grease, everything in the cabinet had cling film on it… not a good look. Anyway I got a Tea and a Mars bar complete with a wrapper that was hard to grip due to its slippery nature, Toby got Simon a Mars milkshake and he got a coffee.
4.30, Bullring, Hardy joined us as did Tom… while we waited Shamim received a tx from an unknown who later turned out to be Blowie Ben saying he had almost lost his finger in his drivetrain and could not make it, Josh had crashed and flipped his Koga that morning riding to work so could not make it, Arjun didn’t finish work until 8 and Fin had his bike in bits on his floor… the rest, well, it was Christmas and most folks had gone home to the sticks or even Canada for one lucky fellow!
4.45 Bullring car park roof some skidding, picture taking and trackstanding then enough talking lets race! River st, Digbeth was the place. A flat road no traffic, and no wind! We went with a straight up drag style race… first one over the line goes through. I was in bad shape from the night before lest we forget but I raced nonetheless and might I add that it was touch and go whether I would vomit all over the finishing line or not.
Round one.
1st – Hardy
2nd – Tom
3rd – Me ( quite rightly so )
Round two
1st – Simon
2nd – Toby
3rd – Shamim
Finals
Winner – Hardy
Runner up – Simon
A great day had by all, real nice folks and some real nice bikes… here is to a 2009 full of more of the good stuff.
Christmas is upon us and what better way to celebrate than to meet up with your fellow cyclists and have a little mess about.
This coming Sunday ( 21st ) at 2pm we will meet outside St Martins Church ( the bottom of the stairs at the Bullring )for a quick natter and a catch up. Then it is off for a cycle around town to get some air in the lungs and upset one or two motorized vehicle operators, then back to st Martins at 4.30 to meet the second bunch of joiners. Once fully assembled we head to the previously scouted race track where we duel for the title of the fastest person on two wheels… a drag race people! At some point during the day there will be a Trackstand off, a Joust off, and maybe a skid off… so get training!
As this event has been organized at such short notice there will be no prizes other than brotherly love and praise for your speed and elegance on a cycle, Unless I can blag something between now and then!
We will see.
After the race for those who want to talk spinning techniques or perhaps bask in the glory of winning we will head to a public house for alcohol or to a cafe for tea and biscuits.
So friends there we have it. the Birmingham X-Mass.
Please, tell all your friends, young or old, brakes or none to get down to St Martins church at the Bullring at 2pm ( or 4.30 ) on Sunday and lets have a raz…
Be nice to know who is coming too so please…
feel free to drop a comment down there.
Birmingham CM takes place on the First Friday of the month.
Begins outside St Philips Cathedral ( aka Pigeon Park for Bham heads ) at 5.30pm….
now for some info for folks who dont know!
WHAT’S IS ALL ABOUT?
Critical Mass is often described as an ‘unorganised coincidence’. It happens when a lot of cyclists happen to be in the same place at the same time and decide to cycle the same way together for a while
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE?
“Everyday, all over the world, people are resisting the problem culture of the car by getting on their bikes and riding, instead of driving.
Critical Mass is a celebration of the alternatives to cars, pollution, accidents and the loss of public spaces and freedoms.
Not an organisation or group, but an idea or tactic, Critical Mass allows people to reclaim cities with their bikes, just by getting together and out-numbering the cars on the road”
WHAT HAPPENS ON A CRITICAL MASS?
Each one is different and they follow no set route, with the direction being spontaneously chosen as people cycle along. Anyone is free to join or leave the ride as it pedals along.
The ride lasts no more than a couple of hours (depending on the weather!) and usually ends in a conveniently placed pub for more drinks.
Most all, they are peaceful, safe and fun!
