Bob Kemp memorial ride

  • Starts: Saturday 25 June 2016 5:00 am
  • Ride leader/Event organiser: John Rosbottom
  • Supported by: Phil Beed
  • Category:
  • Route grade: B - Hilly route
  • Ride to elevenses grade: D - Flattish route
At: The Spring Centre, Havant

Address: East Street, Havant, P09 1BS

The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre web site is here.

More details and map.

Contact us about this event

Send an email to leader: John Rosbottom.
Send an email to supporter: Phil Beed.
Send an email to both John Rosbottom and Phil Beed.

Map

This year our traditional Bob Kemp Memorial ride - 100 miles plus via Salisbury - will also be part of the Cycling UK Tri-Vets Rides 2016. The ride is open to anyone, but those who are 50 or over on the date of the ride will qualify for a certificate, brooch and date bar (which have to be purchased from Cycling UK) if they complete 100 miles in 12 hours. There is no fee to join our ride (the CTC web site incorrectly shows a cost of £15).

To read more about Cycling UK's triennial 100 mile rides for veterans see Cycling UK Tri-Vets Rides 2016.

The Bob Kemp Memorial ride is an imperial century that is intended (like all our rides) to be a fun day out and to provide riders who may not have ridden 100 miles in a day with an opportunity to sample long distance cycling on a well-supported and relatively easy ride. The actual distance depends on where you start and where you leave the ride. The distance from Havant to Havant is about 115 miles. This enables us to visit some great places following a lovely route, and to accommodate two start points in Havant and Wickham.

Because of the tri-vets connection we need to pay more attention to time than usual. We will keep track of timing as follows:

  • Meet at the Spring Centre Havant at 5am. John will take a register of those wishing to ride as tri-vets.
  • Depart at 05h15. Start the stopwatch!
  • 06h10(ish). We shall stop for 5 minutes at the public toilets in Station Road, Wickham (about 17km or 1 hour from Havant) so that more westerley based riders can join us without having to trek to Havant for the 5am start. Anybody wishing to ride as a tri-vet let John know; John will add them to a second register.
  • Depart Wickham at 06h15. Start a second stopwatch!! Note that Wickham starters must finish in Havant to record 100 miles.
  • The next stop will be breakfast in Salisbury at around 09h30.
  • When 12 hours comes up on the stopwatch(es), and provided we have covered 100 miles, tri-vets riders still present will be noted, and subsequently notified to Cycling UK.

If you enjoy typical club rides of around 80 to 100 km and feel OK at the finish then there is no doubt you are capable of managing a 100 mile ride. The finish will be late afternoon as usual. Bring a bit of food as there are few eating opportunities on the way out to Salisbury (especially at the time we will be riding). If the weather forecast is sunny bring sun tan cream. It's very important to bring a water bottle, basic toolkit and at least one spare inner tube. But the most important thing of all is to be comfortable on whatever bike you use.

You don't need to worry that the pace will be too fast; the ride is more about energy conservation than speed. The toughest part of the ride is towards the end when people start to feel tired, so taking it steady is important. We will be off the bikes for around 2.5 hours, so the 100 miles in 12 hours challenge amounts to a riding time of 9.5 hours, or an average riding speed of around 10.5 mph or 17 km/h.

Just so you know what you are letting yourself in for, the ride to Salisbury is flat(ish). However we will find some hills on the way home making the ride overall a hilly one.

BKM2016RouteInfoImperial

In metric units the ride is about 185 km with approximately 2028m of climbing which is an average climb of 10.9 m/km. However we all know that hills come in lumps and not as a steady rate of climb. The profile illustrates the point (click to enlarge):

BKM2016Profile

Salisbury itself is just under 50 miles / 80km, so you can see most of the hills are after second breakfast. Here is the complete route:

Click to show the route

Download the GPX file

Because of the tri-vets connection John will do his best to ensure that tri-vets riders will complete 100 miles within 12 hours. Riders unable to keep up, or having a lengthy mechanical delay, will be looked after by our co-leader Phil Beed whose job is to guide stragglers and strugglers around the route. This isn't to say that Phil's group will not achieve 100 miles in 12 hours, but this will be less likely.

The 5am start at the Spring Centre in Havant means we will enjoy some exceptionally quiet roads for the first few hours and will arrive in Salisbury in time for the traditional cooked breakfast.

There is no fee to join the ride - normal ride guidelines apply. We will not be providing any food. We'll stop in Stockbridge for lunch where there are several cafés and pubs, as well as picnic possibilities. We'll have other top-up stops all the way round, including a tea stop.

Please let us know if you plan to join us in Wickham so I can watch out for you. Other nodal points for even more Westerley riders are the bridge on Poles Lane under the M3 (37km / 2 hours), or Hursley village (43km / 2h20m from Havant), although we won't be stopping here and riders joining so late in the ride will not be eligible for the tri-vet qualification. Again if you would like to join at one of these points let us know.

Note that - as for all our rides - the leader has an absolute right to cancel or defer the ride. We undertake to try to contact all riders if - for example - we have to make changes because of bad weather. In any case, we advise riders to check this page before joining the ride.

We're also running a 100km Tri-Vets ride on the same day (with a significantly later start time).

About Saturday and Wednesday rides

Rides from Havant with stops for elevenses, lunch and sometimes tea. If you're unable to keep up or have a mechanical problem, someone will be available to help you - although we obviously cannot guarantee to solve all problems.

Riders are free to join and leave the ride at various points. Some ride directly to the elevenses stop.

Click either heading below to find out more about Wednesday and Saturday rides:

Wednesday rides

Wednesday rides are the largest of our rides and can provide a range of options to riders. We often split into multiple groups at the start, for example:

  • A fast group that takes a longer and/or hillier route to the elevenses stop
  • A ride which takes a more direct route to the elevenses stop at a moderate pace
  • An elevenses ride comprised of riders going only to elevenses; the elevenses ride will have its own ride leader and might go to a different destination if the route to the main elevenses destination is long and/or hilly

On Wednesdays it is highly likely that there will be several riders coming back to the Havant area from the elevenses stop - although they might not include a PCTC ride leader. If that is what you'd like to do, please consult the ride leader at the start to ensure someone knows and is able to bring you back.

In addition, some rides split after elevenses to go at different paces or to alternate destinations. These are usually announced during the ride briefing. Please ask if you are unsure about the options available.

Saturday rides

Saturday rides are (usually) much smaller than Wednesday rides. As a result they offer fewer options for rides but more flexibility for routes and destinations.

The rides are often shown as 'informal' meaning there is no prescribed ride leader. Unless weather is particularly adverse, however, they always go ahead at the stated time and start point. We try to keep to the suggested elevenses destination to allow for people who want to ride directly there.

The lunch destination does change occasionally but we will always take views of riders into account. In particular, if you join a ride because you think you can manage the distance/hilliness, we would not substitute an alternative if it meant you couldn't join the ride.

If you want to ride with us but only to elevenses and need someone to help you with the route back, please use our general enquiry form to let us know in advance of the ride so we can try to arrange something for you.

This article describes what you should consider bringing with you on one of these rides.

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