After a couple of weeks off the bike due to other stuff and the typical October cold, It was back to business as usual, even though I still have the remnants of the cold, sniff sniff!
Tuesday nights route was devised by Graham, who also led the ride, which was nice as I could sit back and let someone else take the front. The only issue is that I think I may have created a Strava monster! It was a pretty quick first section out to New Brighton and then a steady pace back through Claughton over the hill and back up Beryl* and down again before a loop round Irby and back to the 12th Man.
(*Beryl road climb)
Thursdays ride was the first really wet one of the season. It rained from start to finish of the 23 mile loop. I was surprised to see 6 people waiting for me and Tim at the 12th Man and even more surprised to see a new rider wanting to join us in our foolhardy session in the rain! Although the pace was slightly slower than usual, we still managed a good average and a few climbs. The only casualty of the rain was Laz who took a corner a bit too fast and lost traction with his tyres but gained it with his thigh! I am happy to report that he got straight up and carried on. I also have to mention that I am very impressed with my Sportful hot pack no rain jacket, which kept me bone dry from the downpour. I would highly recommend this jacket, well worth the money.
The big event of the week, and one of the proudest of my life, after kids, wife etc etc, was getting the message from Ken at Onimpex that our new Bio-Racer Club kit was in the country!
To say that I was excited is an understatement, I was like a kid at Christmas. Friday morning I arranged to meet Ken and collect the kit, I couldn't wait for the great British postal system! As always it was great to see Ken and we had a great chat about all things cycling and how Palefish CC was growing fast.
It was really strange to actually see the kit in the flesh.
The Palefish brand has been in my head for years, and to finally have it in physical form, in this blog, the club and now the kit, it feels fantastic.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again say thanks to everyone who has helped get Palefish to where it is now, Mrs Palefish, Ken who got me started road cycling, Paul and Tim and all the riders in the club, Laura from Lime 26, Shaun and Ade the Wirral Mamils, Ken at Onimpex and all the cycle shops that support us, and I now look forward to the next chapter.
Anyway, back to the kit! Palefish HQ was a busy place on Friday night and Saturday as the lads came to collect their kit. To be honest, I got a real buzz from seeing their faces as they opened the packaging and smiled as they liked what they saw.
Sunday was a busy day for the club, Three of the lads headed off to Hebden Bridge for the Mills and Hills Sportive, a great opportunity to show off the new kit.
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| Mark, Mal and Rich |
For those not partaking in Hilly Yorkshire rides or pounding the Streets of Wirral and Liverpool, there was the Sunday club ride. It was the coldest start of the year so far, and I was a little worried that the new kit wasn't going to provide the best protection against the temperature, as most of us had chosen the lightweight Cool Max sub 100g jersey. I am pleased to say that with a good base layer, and the excellent Gillet I ordered, along with some arm and leg warmers, I was toasty! It was great to see 6 other lads all kitted out in the kit, something we have all been looking forward to.
It was great to see Phil from Cheshire Oaks Cycles, one of the shops that supports the club, for his first Palefish CC ride. We also picked up a new member along the way to Birkenhead. Giles had spotted us on Facebook, after a Strava interaction with another club rider. We met up with Ken and Neil in Birkenhead and then Dave on the way to Eastham where we were joined by Tim. Phil was impressed to see so many riders out early on a cold Sunday morning. It has been a while, but we managed to get lost on the way out of Eastham, I blame local knowledge overriding my Garmin instructions!! As I mentioned before it was quite chilly, Phil's Garmin showing 1degree, and unfortunately Dave L was feeling the cold quite badly. Luckily Steve had some mechanics latex gloves in his saddle pack, which were green, so not only did they keep Dave's hands warm, they matched his new Palefish CC jersey!
To add to the getting lost, and Dave's mild hypothermia, we also had our first puncture in a while. It always comes in threes!
We progressed event free for the rest of the ride to the Eureka Cafe, where we all rolled into the car park resplendent in our new kit. It was great to have an Identity at last at the Country's best Cycle Cafe.
We had a good reception to the kit and it was great to catch up with the aforementioned Wirral Mamils.
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| Dave L and his Latex glove, Owen Andy and Dave F With Graham Neil Chi and Paul in the Background |
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| Phil and Tim |
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| Palefish CC at The Eureka Cafe |
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| Spot the Mamil? |
I wasn't surprised to find a certain Wirral Mamil posturing in the background as I got the lads lined up for the photo!
We headed straight up the Chester High road, as time was now against us for some of the group, and as we reached Heswall we started to split off in our different directions. Before the majority left I managed to convince the lads in new kit to pose for one more Photo.
I hate to say it but it was a bit too sunny to get a great photo, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities in the future for Club kit photo's!
It was also a fateful decision to stop as things seem to happen in four's now! As we were preparing to set off, Chi missed his footing on his pedal and fell off onto Steve's back wheel, which didn't stay too round! It amazes me how easy it is to buckle a wheel, especially as we tend to put them through some tough conditions on British roads. After a bit of cogitating about what to do, Chi called for a lift and took Steve and his bike home. the rest of us headed home ourselves, via Birkenhead to drop Ken off at the Station. And that was the First Club Kit ride done!
I am away again next weekend, but Zel is doing a ride on Sunday and some of the lads are going on that, and I'm sure the rest will get together at some point too.
The most exciting thing is that as I was dishing out the kit to the guys on Friday and Saturday, they were giving me new orders for more kit, and on Sunday those who missed the first order run were telling me they wanted to put an order in. I think that by Christmas we will have a lot more riders in Palefish colours in the lanes of Wirral, Cheshire and Wales!
