Another Record for the Tourers

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2019 is turning out to be a good year for  touring rides. There have been more such rides than at this time in any previous year. Also, there is an upward trend of cyclists participating in them.

Today’s ride to Horam attracted thirteen Cycle Seahaven members, a record number for a touring ride. It’s good to see the numbers gradually increasing on our touring rides, not only on Sundays but also on our Tuesday and Thursday rides.

All our rides include a refreshment stop;  today we stopped at Tpodz Café in Horam which used to be Wessons. It’s become one of our favourite cafés over the past few months.

Today’s ride was a round trip of 33 miles and, as usual, the cycling was mostly along quiet country lanes and even included a short section of the Cuckoo Trail. All in all this was a very pleasant ride.

Our rides this week will be to Muddles Green on Tuesday and to Bexhill on Thursday. Details are on the Rides Calendar.

Happy cycling,

Clive Aberdour

A busy day for Cycle Seahaven

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Saturday, 20 July 2019 was the busiest day for Cycle Seahaven so far this year.

During the morning we hosted the annual ‘Women’s Festival of Cycling’ Ladies Ride. The club trailer was used to transport the bikes to Heathfield after which the ladies cycled back along the Cuckoo Trail to Seaford, via the Arlington Tea Rooms.

At Peacehaven’s Big Park the Dr Bike mechanics were ready and waiting for whatever the locals had to offer. This was followed by the second ‘members-only’ maintenance workshop, this second one focused on puncture repairs.

At the same time we ran two Ride the Downs rides from Big Park, with four return riders and two new riders. Two of whom joined the club making a total of nine new members in the last week.

Meanwhile, in Friston Forest, the CSH family ride got underway with kids of all ages doing their thing and enjoying the single tracks. 

And if all that wasn’t enough we finished the day with the CSH summer BBQ.  It was great to see so many road riders there! Good food, good beer and great company. 

What an amazing day! Thank you to all the people that helped make it happen.

 

EBIKE LOAN

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A New Type of Ride: Easy Touring

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If you’d like to cycle on one of our touring rides but feel they’re a bit too long and/or a bit too quick then you’re in luck! A new type of touring ride is being launched which may appeal to you.

Called ‘Easy Touring’, these rides will be shorter and slower than our normal touring rides. They will be less than 20 miles, the pace will be an average of 11 mph whilst cycling and the terrain of such rides will be less hilly. As usual a café stop will be included, an essential part of our touring rides.

The first such ride will be next Tuesday, 11th June. The distance will be 18 miles and include a café stop at Upper Dicker. Full details are on the Rides Calendar.

Easy Touring rides will initially be held on an occasional basis but if they prove popular then they will be organised on a weekly basis.

Happy cycling,

Clive Aberdour

Ticks are becoming more prevalent in East Sussex – The risk is severe.

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East Sussex is one of the worst areas in Europe for disease-carrying ticks, a new study has revealed.

The report has been compiled by experts from across Europe, including scientists from the University of East London who combed through all recorded incidents of ticks found carrying the bacteria which causes Lyme disease, spanning seven years between 2010 and 2017.

After plotting the data on a map, the south of England appears as one of just a handful of areas in Europe where the risks are severe. The tick which causes the trouble is called ‘Ixodes ricinus’.

Writing in the International Journal of Health Geographics, the study’s authors said: “The distribution of I. ricinus continues to expand northwards in latitude and upwards in altitude in Europe.

“Climate trends and the density of key hosts for the adults of the tick, have been pointed as the main factors behind the spread of I. ricinus.”

The danger zone — covering London, Kent, East Sussex and parts of Essex — is on a par with Northern Italy, Romania, Switzerland and Norway when it comes to ‘very high’ populations of the blood-sucking critters.

Meanwhile, the report also warns climate change is set to increase the number of ticks further.

The data also said areas with a low and gradual rise in spring temperatures, as well as a big rise in spring vegetation, were locations where the blood-suckers thrive.

The authors add: “The highest prevalence occurs in areas of 280°–290° Kelvin (6.85ºC – 16.85ºC) of mean annual temperature – around central Europe and southern parts of Nordic countries – and a slow spring rise of temperature, together with high mean values and a moderate spring rise of vegetation vigor.”

Meanwhile, other maps looked at how predicted increases in temperature caused by climate change could see ticks carrying a certain strain of the bacteria which causes Lyme disease becoming widespread across the UK – and much of the rest of Europe.

The bacteria which the ticks carry, and which in turn causes Lyme disease, is called ‘Borrelia burgdorferi s.l’.

Whether you’re travelling abroad this summer, or you’re simply out and about in one of the UK hotspots identified by this study, you should use a chemical repellent containing DEET (N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide) to keep the creatures at bay.

You should also wear light-coloured protective clothing that covers the skin, as well as tucking your trousers into your socks.

What’s also vital is that you check your children and pets for any sign of a bite. A typical Lyme rash, spot looks like a bullseye on a dartboard.

And don’t assume that ticks only live in the forests or wild outdoor areas – they could just as easily be lurking in long grass in your garden, just waiting for you to walk past so they can hitch a ride…

 

If you want more information about Lyme Disease and it’s treatment click the NHS link here

If you have a tick the NHS recommend:

  • Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool – you can buy these from some pharmacies, vets and pet shops.
  • Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.
  • Slowly pull upwards, taking care not to squeeze or crush the tick. …
  • Clean the bite with antiseptic or soap and water.

Dr Bike Presents…

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Bike Maintenance Sessions

The Dr Bike team have been giving some thought to the proposed Bike Maintenance Sessions and have decided on a series of sessions that will follow each of the Peacehaven Dr Bike sessions from June until September.

This creates four sessions and we propose each will be for one hour, commencing at 12:30, allowing a little time to tidy up after the Dr Bike session closes. The following series of maintenance subjects is the current proposal but we are also open to cover particular subjects on request, time permitting;

Saturday 15 June 2019:
General Safety and our standard 20 point checklist.

Saturday 20 July 2019:
Tyres, tubes and punctures.

Saturday 17 August 2019:
Brake maintenance and adjustment.

Saturday 21 September 2019:
Chains, cassettes, detailers and shifters.

Saturday 19 October 2019:
Spare session if required – Subject to be confirmed.


Currently, this leaves Saturday 19 October 2019 as a spare day and a session could be introduced once we know the subject our attendees would like to cover. Beyond that, the Dr bike sessions will come to a close but if we can locate a suitable venue to continue with more sessions we could maybe extend into the Autumn and Winter months. All subject to demand and interest. We can of course re-visit any of the proposed topics in later sessions.

We propose making use of the Dr Bike sessions in Peacehaven as this will give us access to the storage container, the full range of tools and even some club bikes if we need example bikes for the session.

The main focus for these sessions is to help members gain the confidence required to carry out simple maintenance and safety checks on our own bikes. Confident and experienced CSH members, and the Dr Bike team, will be on hand to run the sessions and offer support and guidance to any members attending.

This is a great opportunity to meet some of your fellow club members and riders and become more confident with the simple, day to day maintenance tasks that keep your bike running sweet and ultimately ensure trouble free and enjoyable cycling.

So let us know if you plan on attending any of the sessions (click here) so we can gauge the anticipated numbers. We look forward to seeing you there.

Tourers cycle Far and Wide

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The tourers cycle to not only local places such as Ripe, Muddles Green and Upper Dicker but also to places further afield such as Bexhill last Thursday, the Viking Trail in North Kent about three weeks ago and Dieppe a couple of weeks ago. Over the next few weeks tourers will be cycling through Belgium and Holland to Amsterdam, doing the annual trip to Littlehampton (a round trip of 70 miles from Seaford) and a ride to Hastings. A century ride is also being planned.

We cycle three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Our Sunday rides tend to be about 35 miles, give or take a few miles. This morning was 39 miles and involved a refreshment stop at Cinders Café at Isfield Station on the Lavender Line, a heritage railway. It was a super ride as there was little wind, the terrain was mostly reasonably flat and the threatened rain never materialised. Also, this is a wonderful time of year to be cycling through the countryside with lots of wild plants in flower, not to mention the May blossom.  Next Sunday will be to Horam and future Sunday rides will go to cafes at Pevensey Castle, Heathfield, Hampden Park and Shoreham.

So, if you haven’t been on a touring ride then give one a try. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Details are on the Rides Calendar.

Happy cycling,

Clive

Dieppe Channel Hopper

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We’re lucky to have a ferry port on our doorstep, so to speak, which means that France is only four hours away. And, of course, the quiet country roads and véloroutes of France are a great place to go cycling. So, with that in mind, nine Cycle Seahaven tourers hopped across the Channel to Dieppe for three days of cycling over the May Bank Holiday Weekend.

The English Channel was like a mill pond as we sailed from Newhaven to Dieppe, arriving mid-afternoon. After booking into our hotel, the Hôtel de la Plage, we sampled some of the delights of Dieppe including the famous Café des Tribunaux, see picture below.

Tourers inside the famouse Cafe des Tribunaux in Dieppe

Next morning was a delayed start as we waited for the rain to pass. It eventually passed so we set off mid-morning through the streets of Dieppe and into the countryside towards Neufchatel-en-Bray. It was an easy ride along the mostly traffic-free Avenue Verte to Neufchatel where we had an excellent lunch. On our return journey we were surprised to find a newly constructed part of the Avenue Verte for the final few kilometres into Dieppe; so new that it hasn’t been officially opened yet!

Next day we cycled out of Dieppe towards Pourville for the start of another superb greenway, the Véloroute du Lin, on our way to St Valery-en-Caux for lunch. The weather was superb and we were able to have our lunch outside a cafe; suntan lotion was applied probably for the first time on a bike ride this year. Then it was back to Dieppe along the coast on the Véloroute du Littoral although this was mostly along quiet roads.

Tourers on a newly constructed part of the Avenue Verte in Dieppe

For our third day of cycling, by popular request, we climbed the long hill into the Forêt Domanale d’Arques. We had climbed this hill on a previous channel hopper; it’s quite challenging in that it isn’t too steep but climbs for about 1½ kms. After that we headed to Criel-Plage at speeds we’re not used to as tourers; we felt like sportives! I have to admit that we were aided by some strong tail winds and some long downhill and flat stretches.

After a cafe stop at Criel-Plage we returned to Dieppe for a late lunch, afternoon tea at our hotel where we picked up our luggage and a pleasant evening mini-cruise across La Manche to Newhavem.

All in all, this has been three great days of cycling, some highly convivial evenings and lots of fun. Same again next year?

This cycling trip was organised through Phoenix-CTC, a member group of Cycling UK.

Bon cyclisme

Clive

Cycle Seahaven Tourers climb Ditchling Beacon.

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Made it to the top of Ditchling Beacon

Nine club members joined the Road Touring Section’s ride on Easter Sunday and conquered Sussex’s most notorious climb, Ditchling Beacon. Several of the group had never previously managed a ‘non-stop to the top’ before; it would be fair comment to say that some anxiety was expressed and some unfamiliar (to me) self-motivational words were heard at the base of the climb.

Cycling this big hill is a fair effort by any standard, so well done to those that have now conquered it. The smiles on the club members who achieved it were a joy to see.

Many thanks to Chris Girder who swapped his normal forest trail habitat for the open road and helped me out with TEC duties.

This was another Touring Ride success story. The Tourers ride every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, weather permitting. All types of cyclist are welcome on whatever bike you choose although it’s easier on a road bike. We only ask that you can average about 12½ mph whilst cycling.

Happy Cycling,

Dave Sutton