Christmas Ride

Hello TCC Funsters! 

It’s that time again to pull out your excess Chrimbo ornaments and start decorating your two-wheeled steeds for the TCC Annual Christmas ride on December 16th. The theme this year is Winter Wonderland, which gives you carte blanche to do what you want. Spray your bike in fake snow, add a Santa, reindeer on the front…you name it. 

There will be 1st Place, 2nd Place and 3rd Place prizes on offer. Rob and I will again be the judges as our characters are above reproach and cannot be influenced by any hint of bias or corruption. (Bottles of scotch & brown paper envelopes kindly accepted under the table, as usual)

Brouge Belgian GastroPub will be the watering hole at the end. https://brouge.co.uk/ We’ve arranged for our own area with sit down service and have access to it from 12- 5pm. The space  accommodates 30 guests but there’s also a bar to prop up in case we’re more than that.

Brouge has a great vibe, good mix of continental beers and wine, superb moules and a cracking menu to order from. It’s also family friendly so bring the little ones. We expect riders will start filtering in from noon onwards.

And, sacre bleu, this year, we are going off the reservation with a new idea. You get to choose between a road or gravel route.

The gravel route has been designed by the very capable and fearsome-on-a-gravel-bike, Le Dunc, who we are indebted to for his route advice.

The gravel ride is a mix of road and gravel and great for those thinking of jumping into gravel. It’s not technical, will probably be muddy and generally flat. Figure 10mph average over 3 hrs exertion.

There will be a mid-way coffee stop for both rides at The Queen Stage in Effingham. https://www.thequeenstage.co.uk/ Service is a bit snail’s pace there so be patient with them.

Ride Leaders
The gravel ride will have ride leaders, which we are sorting out at the mo. Please download your preferred route in case you decide to leave the group. Just let someone know you’re going solo, so we don’t send out the broom wagon to look for you, since we don’t have one.

Anyone who wants to be a road ride leader, step up on the day. The road route is on familiar roads so there shouldn’t be too much hassle navigating your way around. Groups will go out in 6-8 riders as usual.

Come suitably suited and booted for the weather and conditions and bring spares and a pump. For gravel, some riders opt for a small backpack or frame back to carry more kit.

Important bits

When: Saturday December 16th
Start time: 9:30am
Where: Twickenham Green
Finish: Brouge, 241 Hampton Road, Twickenham, TW2 5NJ https://brouge.co.uk/

Gravel Ride
Distance: 35miles
Strava https://www.strava.com/routes/3158717303968787354
TCX https://ridewithgps.com/trips/139368090

Road Ride
Distance – 51 miles
Strava https://www.strava.com/routes/3157730724095211654
TCX https://ridewithgps.com/trips/139368987

Please us know by email (not the whole club) if you are coming along, and whether you are road or gravel, so that we have a rough idea of numbers.