2010 Etape

The summer break is now coming to an end and the minds of all good members of the Guildford Peloton are beginning to turn to next years Etape and the training (pain or pleasure?) this is going to require.

I have been searching the web to find out any rumours for the 2010 course. There are none that I can see but it does look like the course will be announced in the third week of October.

The AGM of the Guildford Peloton was an impromptu affair held at short notice a few weekends ago. Peter, the Captain, announced outside the Mucky Duck in Shere at 09:30 one Sunday morning the fact that the meeting was to take place at lunchtime that same day on the top of Box Hill (lets not get bogged down with the formality of 21 days notice in writing to all members at their last known registered address).

The urgent matter requiring the meeting was the matter of registering the club. There had been some dissidents to the name Guildford Peloton with an alternative name of The Picon Peloton being proposed, and so a discussion was held as to whether there really was any objection to the name. The Guildford Peloton was proposed and agreed.

In order to achieve registration with British Cycling a design for the club kit is required and the design was discussed and agreed. The Captain was asked to get in contact with his Graphic Designer friend to update the previous proposed design. Rob agreed to negotiate with the suppliers and arrange the order. We are all looking forward to receiving the new Guildford Peloton kit which I think should have been ordered by now (those of you who missed the email trail in this respect contact Rob who has taken on the role of Club Quartermaster).

In addition Mike agreed to get in touch with his friend to look at a club website.

I am supposed to get on with registering the Club which I will do once I get the final kit design in electronic form.

This was only my third ride (and in fact is my last ride) since the 2009 Etape, the other two only being 25 milers around Richmond Park and I must admit that by the time we got to the top of Box Hill I had done 42 miles and was shattered with my head in my hands as we held the meeting and therefore I may have missed a few things. In fact I left Box Hill after the meeting with Rob and was promptly dropped from his back wheel. He waited for me and I was dropped again before I waived him on and cycled home alone in a very leisurely manner. At least when I got home The wife was out shopping whereas poor Mike arrived home after curfew and was in trouble with his significant other who was waiting to go off to work.

Mike and I met at lunchtime today at Gourmet Burger in Spitalfields to chew the cud (or burger) and talk bikes. He has proposed that we need to resurrect the Box Hill Time Trials (an eight mile circuit around Box Hill raced on a handicap basis) to prompt the start of training and engender a bit of early winter enthusiasm. We need to propose a date in late October or early November for the first challenge. What do you think?

I recently bought a tandem and am looking for a stoker for the 2010 Etape . I saw a number of tandems in the 2009 Etape (they overtook me going up the Ventoux). I am assured by my brother (who has yet to release my tandem to me that he kindly picked up for me from Sheffield back in August) that my new (second-hand) Orbit Routtier II aluminium tandem is very comfortable. All applications to me.

Chapeau everybody