Report by Ride Captain, Rebecca Charlton
Over 80 riders braved the cold on Sunday morning for the first L2P training ride of 2010. What the weather lacked in warmth it made up for with perfectly clear and sunny skies, making for high-spirits and a superb atmosphere.
Three groups rode out from Esher and headed for Windsor, with many familiar faces as well as plenty of new-comers to L2P. All were welcomed by the team of ride captains, ensuring everyone had a great time getting the miles in. The captains were easy to spot on their fleet of 2010 Carbon Specialized bikes with each member of the team riding either a fantastic looking Tarmac or an equally impressive women's specific Ruby.
Ride captain David Bryant had the pleasure of leading group three on Sunday;
"We had a great pace to kick off the first of the spring rides, averaging a very steady and consistent 25kph.
Up front at the "sharp" end of group 3 the etiquette was great with everyone being very vocal about holes and especially the ice.... ice... baby!
Even with the craters, the ice, the grit and the traffic the first timers to group riding performed exceptionally well under the motherly guidance and top notch instruction from our very own cycling superstar Emma Davies.
A very big thanks to the boys at specialized for convincing me to go with the Roubaix Expert as despite the poor condition of the roads after a tough winter of snow and ice the bike package far exceeded my expectation on comfort and handling..... and hot damn how good do I look on it!"
It was fantastic to see so many friendly faces out and there was a great air of excitement about the challenge ahead. The morning was rounded-off, after around 80 kilometers, in Carluccio's with plenty of coffee and cake to help the thawing-out process.
We look forward to the second of the rides at the end of February for more miles, banter and, of course, coffee!
About Rebecca Charlton
Rebecca is a road racer and a L2P Ride Captain for 2010, she's a cycling journalist and currently presents for leading cycling TV channel, Cycling.tv. She says: "Covering events like the Tour de France has given me a window into how the riders feel when they race across the line in Paris. The atmosphere is electric and now the L2P event offers a fantastic opportunity for us all to experience that pro-feeling!"
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