Ride London - Essex 100,

So the iconic London ride passed through our lovely villages this year and with great excitement and enthusiasm a lot of our members were part of this event in one way or another,

We had many riders from the club both new and old doing various personal challenges, be that first 100 miles in the saddle or trying to beat a previous time or simply joining in as part of a larger group, we really do have a mixed bunch of riders and every single one of them did theirselves and fellow members proud, not only did they have to ride the miles but they also had to navigate the parking issues in London and then getting to the start of the ride so it was a very long day for most

As well as our riders we also had a call out from the ride itself for volunteers, I asked Carl about this as he took the lead in that particular area and here's what he had to say...

"Despite the best efforts of the organisers to make the process of volunteering as a Ride Marshal as difficult as possible, we ended up with seven NEV members representing the club as Ride Marshals. Riding around the course in grossly oversized "Ride Marshal" tabards, the majority of the marshals found themselves on the loop between Felsted and Ongar, assisting with anything from disc brake rotors tangled in spokes through to directing riders around crashes. Carl and Duncan rode the whole route (with a little extra thrown in), with beautiful ride down to the start at Embankment on closed and empty roads at 5:30am - that alone was a great experience and one to be repeated next year.

The club are set to receive a financial donation from the ride organisers as a thank you for providing marshals, along with the promise of free places on next years ride for ten club members. Given Essex County Council's agreement to host the ride for the next few years, no doubt we'll be asking for volunteers once again. "

So if ride london isn't for you maybe a volunteer role would suit next year?

And now for some photos, if I miss anyone off I apologise so message and I'll get your photo on,.. A special shout out to 2 of my NEV girlie freinds for supporting each other and smashing their first 100 miles together, Ann and Helen you were amazing, both still relatively new to cycling and I know for a fact neither one of them thought they would ever ride that far that comfortably!, and kudos to the groups that kept each other going we have a fabulous supportive club