2011 Annual Cleland ride is Sunday 4th December

GrahamJohnWallace

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The 2011 Annual Cleland ride is Sunday 4th December. Retrobikers Welcome!

HISTORY
These rides started in 1982 as regular monthly rides and then became yearly rides in the 1990's after Geoff moved away from thee area. They have been run every single year since, so this modest ride is probably the UK's longest running off-road cycling event.

Each year, Geoff Apps travels down from Scotland to revisit the Chiltern Hills, the locality where Cleland designs were first conceived, tested and produced. During the 1980s, a regular ride used to begin in Wendover on the first Sunday every month, usually led by Geoff on his latest concept machine.

After he moved to Scotland in 1990, it was thought that a single ride each year would be more practical, and since there was a cluster of regular participant birth dates around the beginning of December (including Geoff’s), the first Sunday in December would become the date for each ‘Birthday’ ride.

This is a completely informal event, with no need to register, or anything like that. Just turn up with your mountain bike, or Cleland, or home-brewed lash-up, with an open mind and not too competitive a spirit.

This year’s ride will take place on:
Sunday 4th December 2011


We meet at the Wendover Library car park at around 10am, and then go round the corner to Crumb’s Cafe and Sandwich Bar, at the Clock Tower end of the High Sreet, for about 10:30. .

The pace is generally quite slow, with frequent stops for the younger riders to catch up with the pensioners! Although slow, the going can sometimes be quite challenging, involving lots of mud and as many bumps as we can find. One or more of the stops may involve messing around on an impromptu ‘trials section’, another will be for lunch at one of the hilltop pubs.

We should reach the Cafe in the Forest, at the top of Wendover Woods in time for tea, about 4pm. After this we turn our lights on (or not, sometimes) and take the descent back down to Wendover in darkness.

After a change of clothes, if necessary, an hour or so is spent under the outdoor heaters round the back of the Red Lion, in the High Street, from about 6pm.

So, even if you’re not riding, you may be able to catch up with us at one of the venues mentioned. :cool:
 
Here's a video of Geoff Apps riding near in the woods where he developed his Cleland Cross Country Cycles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbWuIHESe5M

The "off-piste" riding has always been a feature of rides led by Geoff though I don't think that it has ever been filmed before. Unlike the video these woods are normally wet and muddy which makes things much more tricky. Hence the Cleland's bash-plate, low-pressure studded tyres and enclosed hub brakes.

Another tradition is that the rides carry on after dark and end with a downhill. The down hill shown in the video is always interesting in the dark as the nodules of flint and roots are difficult to spot amongst the leaves. Even more so in the old days with just a 3 volt EverReady cyclelight to guide the way. Though you could always follow the Roughstuff Fellowship tradition, and walk these sections.

I am looking forward to next Sunday's ride! The trails are still very dry at the moment but with luck we may get to experience see some good quality, old-school, mud!
 
Me too - I love the look and history of Clelands, and it'll be great to see a bunch of them getting thrown around in the mud.

Are there any photos from previous rides?
 
Goldie":9hsqg9df said:
....I love the look and history of Clelands, and it'll be great to see a bunch of them getting thrown around in the mud.

It's been a great ride today but not much mud I am afraid because there was so little rain this Autumn. Last year the mud was frozen so I have to think back three years to the last muddy ride and even then it was mostly sloppy and wet. Four years ago the ride was very muddy at the end but by then it was dark so no photos were taken. I have always loved the mud and have always been two busy plowing through it to stop and take photos. On my next muddy ride I will correct this omission and post the results here.

To give you some idea of how bad the mud used to be: Some riders would wear wellies or walkers' gators and boots to keep their feet dry.

Goldie":9hsqg9df said:
Are there any photos from previous rides?

Yep, here are some links:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127312

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18256

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46740

I will post some aftermath video of today's ride as soon as I have edited it.
 

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Nathanedmunds":3p9s1ky3 said:
I'm interested in what hubs Mr Apps is using these days .

Hi Nathan,

Cleland are using Shimano Nexus Roller-Brake brake compatible hubs. Though I am currently building a wheel to test a Fallbrook Technologies' Nu-vinci n360 Roller-Brake compatible hub gear.

http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/ ... ype-..html

Regards,
Graham

Picture Below:

I had a fitted a new short nosed saddle and couldn't slide forward enough to keep the front wheel down on the steeper sections. Since I wouldn't give up and walk it took a while to reach the top with all the restarts.
 

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Roller-Brakes are very spongy. But that also means you can brake without the wheels locking. I would consider it suicidal to ride the hill using my hydraulic disk braked bike.
 

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