Andrew Potts gives us an account of the Orwell Winter Spins Reliability Trial.

Mud, Sweat and Tyres

One small account of Sundays Reliability Trial

Another grey morning and three weather forecasts that suggested the best thing to do Sunday was to stay in bed but as so often you put on the best gear for dealing with rain, hop on the bike and head off to Joes. Of course, it's never as bad as you think its going to be and that ever present optimism in your average cyclist is soon scanning the greyness for areas of light that just might be the sun about to break through.

So at Joe Dalys the officials were out with the sign on sheets organising, groups and reminding everybody of the route, then dispatching them off to compete in the Trial. It's just as well Colin Featherstone did remind us all of the route because it seems most were like me and had this casual Corinthian attitude to the competition and were less then focused on minor details such as directions.

Off we set a group of ten, mostly just familiar faces some well seasoned and others in their first year of the club. None of us knew each other particularly well, we were just cyclists who got on with it. We settled in to a reasonable pace up the hill to Lambs Cross and on to Shankill, breaking the ice by chatting about that patch of white in the greyness that might be the sun trying to break through. trying to decide if it was raining, drizzling or was it just spray off the road.

In Shankill we had our first reliability test when one of the bikes gears just failed, we all stopped had a look and could do nothing. The rider just carried on and rode a heroic shift all day on a two gear, big ring, little ring, fixie. We worked well together out of Bray up Windgates with the lads up front keeping a steady pace into the breeze but one that kept us together so no delay in regrouping at the top.

Pushing on to Kilcoole where we had our second reliability issue, a broken chain and it was a new chain on a bike that was two months old, not something that happens too often. The cyclists had every thing including a Sram Power Link and waved on everybody sacrificing himself for the good of our chances. Of course a few just waited because we had a good chance of catching the group in the coffee stop if we worked hard together but leaving one person behind for a long lonely return was just not on.

Andrew leading the way up the Wicklow Gap at the Wicklow200 in June 2015 - preparing for such a feat again this year throughout this winter (photograph thanks to Diarmuid Donnelly who provided support and photography on the day)

That Power Lnk is such a clever bit of design, so the chain was fixed fairly quickly without to much delay and then the chase was on to pull back the time lost and to get back on to the group. We just had to work hard, taking it in turns into the wind but keeping it sustainable as it was likely to be a long chase. Each one drafting as much as we could over that lumpy, horrible, dragging tarmac that is on the road from Newcastle to Rathnew, nobody really saying much but each of us sensing when the front man was tiring and taking our turn to keep the pace steady and even so that no gaps formed. Our work paid off as we rejoined the group at the coffee stop and still had time for a quick cuppa. Colin told us we were doing well so we set off again down the N11 and shortly after Coynes Cross we had our third reliability issue, a punctured tyre, once again the rider waved us on and once again a few stayed so nobody had a long solo trip home. There were no discussions but individuals just made decisions for the benefit of the group and doing well in the trial.

Then we were seven going at a good pace and each of us realising that we were in with a chance of making the 13.00 target at JDs. It became a obligation of the seven, to the three left behind that we had to arrive on time and soon we were taking time checks and calculating what pace we needed to get home on the button. The stronger riders worked longer into the wind, nobody shirked a shift, riders recovered, then went again to keep the pace that was required.

We caught a white group just on the turn into Enniskerry as we singled out for the final little climb to the petrol station, once again we were pretty much together at the top and just carried on. The three lads at the front who took the brunt did a great job into the wind and of setting a pace. All the time we were looking at the clock and trying to find a sign post for Dundrum to see how many Ks were left. It seemed we had a generous margin going into Enniskerry but by Stepaside we were really tight and had to drive it on. It's probably because at Enniskerry we often feel like we are home on a Sunday spin but there is still a drag and a bit of cycling to do. At Lambs Cross we got caught at the lights and lost two mins now we had to get down the hill in eight from a standing start. It was going to be close, we still had the seven together and we drove it fairly hard down the hill using the cycle lane on the bridge to save time and for safety as the cross wind over the M50 was "effing" interesting to say the least! I was leaning side ways, going straight ahead. We drove on into the village and two of us landed at 13.00 exactly, recorded by Stephen and Colin. The other five just got caught by a orange light in the village as we got strung out on the decent and they got the groups official time a few mins later ( first five to finish).

A cracking days cycling, we were shagged, well I was shagged , we were covered in mud, we hit a target, we had good bit of banter, we cycled selflessly , we over came adversity and did it all as a team. A group of cyclists who barely knew each other working and making great team decisions through out the day.

My apologies to my companions on the road as I cannot remember all the names, the omission is my fault but you all know who you are and so thank you gentlemen for your company and for another rewarding days cycling with Orwell. The pleasure that a simple bike ride gives.