The View From Here - a blog

04/10/2023 - Falling for the jerk

When I’m asked why I like to ride my fixed-gear bike, I often reply “to make it harder.” Having one gear that is usually the wrong one, makes for a great challenge when you have to grind uphill or spin like hell going down the other side.

I applied a similar logic to taking part in Dulwich Paragon’s classic end of season sportive, The Ride of the Falling Leaves. With getting on for 5,000ft of climbing and grades up to 22% and several technical descents, it is absolutely not a tandem-friendly course. However, that is what I/we decided to do “to make it harder.” Ride tandem.

Former club chair Richard May with current chair Alec James

RoTFL, as they like to call it, is one of my absolute favourite cycling events in the calendar. An homage to Il Lombardia (AKA The Ride of the Falling Leaves), Paragon stage it on the first Sunday of October. I’ve ridden RoTFL six times over the seven years before the pandemic. It starts with a ¾ lap of the Herne Hill Velodrome, has several challenging climbs, great scenery and good food - coffee and pastries at the start and lunch and a beer at the end – plus it has a great atmosphere.

The ICC chain gang

Yours truly and Fiona Garland trackside at Herne Hill

Pre-Covid there were timing chips and the gold time band meant finishing in under 4 hours, which I achieved twice. Once I missed it by a single minute (that’s what you get for stopping to help a fallen comrade). My only real aim this year was to have fun. Fun being slogging up steep inclines on an unsuitable machine and watching the pilot – poor +RichardM – nervously picking his way on downhills with tricky blinds turns and dodgy surfaces.

Sleepy looking sheep on a misty morning on the way out of London

There were about six or so ICC riders out including +Alec +Wai +FionaGarland which was great to see. My riding plan is always the same for this. Take it strong and steady until the first climb at Woldingham at 16 miles, then really try and crack on from mile 20 to 40, where it’s fairly level. Then it starts to get attritional with Toys Hill and Sundridge Lane and several other ramps between you and the finish. Anerly Hill – the last climb of the day - has a longish 10% section which requires a strong push. By the time we reached Anerly, I was still feeling good and able to put out strong power numbers (for me). Richard had a near cramping up moment, but kept chugging away, too.

Grinding up Toys Hill is anything but child's play

Jerk chicken - the lunch of champions

Back at Herne Hill, we were treated to a jerk chicken lunch and an IPA, which were included in the ticket price. By then the sun was out and it was very pleasant sitting on the steps of the Herne Hill building. It did take a while queuing for the food, but boy was it delicious.

Here's the route if you fancy giving it a bash.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37446218