Weekly Round-up: 11 May 2025
All the latest news, events, and results from NFCC Members from this week’s two-wheeled adventures…
Bonus Gravel n Grog rideWith no TT last Tuesday the gravel bikes were dusted off for a 38K ride out from Brockenhurst to Burley. My hopes of a sunny, sedate and chatty pootle around the back-tracks of the New Forest were soon put to bed as one or two of those present put the hammer down from the off. The riding was good however and the route worked out well. There was one particularly ‘technical’ section however, more suited to mountain bikes than gravel in my opinion and lead to me having to take the walk of shame. We eventually found the pub, where the midges found us and after a swift pint made our respective ways home. |
Thursday Evening Chain GangA bumper turn out this Thursday with 10 riding the chaingang and Four riding a slower paced 4-up. Chaingang was fast and furious from the start. The midddle section as usual was very testing but aided by a tailwind many of us got p.b’s on that section and we all stayed together up to Burley. Being near the back is sub-optimal at the turn up ‘Witches revenge’ and can prove fatal if those at the front happen to be the fastest guys out and fancy stretching their legs at that point. So it was that a few of us got gapped here. The leading group of 6 stayed together until Wilverley rise with another 4 all TT’ing desperately to stay in touch. |
 The top of Wilverley is usually when the pace really heats up but on this occasion we were all faced with an unforgiving headwind. The front group now started to split up as the group at the back re-formed. Ben G, Jay T and James N all beasted into Brock’ pretty much together at the front end with Phil H, Eliott T and Hamish L bringing up the rear. Average paces ranged from about 36-37.5 kph. On the 4-up ride, fluency was somewhat marred by Adrian’s absence of gears. Turning up for chaingang on what turned out to be a single speed bike is Lanterne rouge level folly. Despite this, he and the group made it around the course at a respectable rate, Hopefully we can get a couple more out next week so that they can do a ‘proper’ chaingang. Well done to all that made it this week. Another great, if testing ride.– Phil H. |
NFCC Women’s RideAfter the success of the first women’s ride in March, Lucy Greehy and Emma Shepherd hosted a further Women’s Ride open to NFCC members and to non-members alike. The 50km route left Brockenhurst at 9am and took on the sights and sounds for Rhinefield, Bolderwood, and Lyndhurst before calling in to Steff’s Kitchen in Beaulieu for refreshments at around 30km. Another great turnout for the ride with Emma reporting “Beautiful day for it, nice group, good cake, what more could you ask for?” Keep an eye on the NFCC Socials and website for updates on any further NFCC Women’s rides. |
Sunday Club RideAnother lovely Sunday morning tempted 15 to the start line for this weeks club ride. Nice to welcome back John J, Stewart H and James M. Splitting into two groups, we headed out with a nice tailwind up ten bends and on to Burley. Group two got around the route at a record pace despite one or two directional blunders by yours truly. Andrew B made his bid for this years Lanterne rouge award by missing the start to wait for the group to pass by. We passed by and he waited for the second group. Unfortunately for Andrew, we were the second group so he was left with the tricky decision of trying catch us up or taking a short cut. We met up again in Burley second time around, 40K into the ride! |
 Group one made its usual lively progress. Possibly too lively as one rider got dropped and they then suffered a pile-up entering the main road near the cafe. Dan, Luke and their bikes all got away with minor scratches but it could have been much worse for Luke who ended up lying in the main road, in traffic. The cafe was remarkably busy this week so there was no alternative but to have a leisurely wait in the glorious sunshine.– Phil H. |
PedalHounds eMTB Enduro – MatterlyNFCC’s resident mud-hunter stole his wife’s bike and went for a race on it this weekend… Channelling his inner Top Pidcock, Jay ‘Fenton’ Tee joined the PedalHounds eMTB Enduro on the Matterly Estate for what might be a first for an NFCC jersey, an eMTB race! Despite complaining about the hills – like they matter when you’re on an ebike – Jay had an excellent day out finishing in 2nd place in the eMTB Restricted | Male 40-49 category, just 16 seconds behind the winner. |
Cinglés du Mont Ventoux – 3 Ways up to the summitMyself, Bill Mayes and Alan Wooller undertook a 6-day car trip down to the south of France and the Provence region to take on the imposing Mont Ventoux. Not only that, there was the additional challenge we set ourself to join the Club Des Cinglés, which involves riding up the 3 ways from Bédoin, Malaucène and Sault within 24 hours. Bill even entertained thoughts on becoming the oldest to complete Bicinglés which is to complete the Cinglés twice within 24 hours! |
 After reaching our base on Monday and completing some warm up rides, we set out to tackle the 1910m Ventoux on the Tuesday. Bill (who’d already completed Cinglés in 2024) and Alan concluded a single ascent would be sufficient, so I set out early from Malaucène – solo. I soon thought the whole thing was off as there was a road closed barrier, but thankfully this only applied to cars. After a couple of hours spinning, I reached the top and got my Brevit card stamped at the summit shop. |
 I then descended to Bédoin to start the 2nd climb from there and try to rendezvous with Bill and Alan somewhere on the road. We did all eventually meet up at Café Reynard which is close to the summit and got in some refreshment. After completing the 2nd summit all that was left was to get back down to Sault for the 3rd ‘easiest’ climb. Each summit was getting colder and cloudier so it was a relief to complete and head back down to the warmer lower slopes.Total stats for the day were 137km, 4,428m elevation and 8:03 hrs riding. The following days were spent group riding and exploring the countryside with a couple of relaxed 100km rides. And a whole new adventure begun on our trip home when the car broke down and we had to train hop with our bikes back to Paris and then Calais to catch the ferry. But that’s a whole other story! – Rod Harnett |
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. |
