Peter made a video of his ride in the time trial:
My ride looked similar, but the scenery didn't go by quite so quickly... I have an excuse in that the tyres I've currently got fitted are terribly slippery in the wet, and it rained during the event. However, everyone who'd done this time trial before seemed to be slower this year than last - except for Peter who rode two minutes faster than last year with his new Mango. H@rry was the fastest of the three Mangoteers on this occasion.
While Saturday was all about riding quickly, Sunday was completely different. Judy and I met cycling holiday customers for a coffee in the morning, and in the evening we took Nipper (of the Bicycle and Ukulele blog and Taunton Tweed Cycle Chic) away from where he was staying with his wife and children to ride around for a bit and to visit a local cafe.
Nipper is a member of the Night Owls band from Taunton in the the South West of the UK. That's quite close to Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge, where I lived for many years. He knows a lot about the sort of problems that cyclists have in the area.
Without his band, Nipper played and sang on his own at the cafe, using a compact ukelele which fitted easily into his Brompton's bag. He was terrific, and the local crowd showed their appreciation with much applause and free beer !
Sadly I didn't have a camera with me which could record sound, but together, the band sound like this:
Certainly a gezellig weekend...
The Night Owls are available for weddings, functions and gigs.
Read my review of the Sinner Mango Velomobile.
It sure was a fun day. Taking part in a time trial with your brand new velomobile is exciting anyway, especially with the wet roads and tricky corners.
ReplyDeleteToday I used the Sport for something far less exciting, shopping.
Holland was great, Assen was great and the evening with you and Judy was wonderful. Thanks for posting the picture and links.
ReplyDeleteI went shopping in Taunton today, bounced over pot holes and uneven road surface, fought my way through the traffic and complained to a disinterested policeman about the taxis parked in the cycle lane...again! It is all a millon miles from the comfortable and safe experience of cycling in Holland.
It really was great to meet up with you and Judy. In the next few days I shall post my impressions of Assen on my blog.
Best
Nipper
The speed looked impressive... and then a Quest flew past!
ReplyDeletePaul Martin
Brisbane, Australia
Paul: It depends very much on the rider and also on when you took the video. Peter happened to be going around at the same time as some of the fastest riders. You saw Ymte who rode a Quest at an average of 53 km/h to take first place. However, Ymte is immensely strong. Second place, also in a Quest, was a full 6 km/h slower. Harry and Peter were right in the middle of the Quest speeds. Even though I was quite a bit slower, I beat at least two Quests, and if the video had been taken from my Mango then the only Quest you'd have seen would have been the slowest of them, which averaged under 32 km/h and which I passed very quickly.
ReplyDelete