My First Randonnée

J'ai terminé ma première randonnée!

4th March 2009, I cycled 148.03 miles from my home in London up to Aldborough in North Norfolk. It took the whole day! The randonée distance, 200km, was passed as I left Dereham, well within the 13.5 hours time that is allocated (14 hours for UK).

What do the words 'Randonnée' and 'Randonneur' mean?
'Randonnée' is a French word which loosely translates to 'ramble or 'long journey' - it's not really cycling-specific, but in this context is taken as a long cycle ride.
A 'Randonneur' is a person who has completed a recognised 200 kilometre ride.

Okay so it wasn't an official AUK event, but I'm still quite happy. Eventually Herrington will catch up!



The ride wasn't without issue, in fact I'm beginning to think that my bike is getting to the age where everything but the frame needs replacing! I had a string of punctures, and another spoke has gone, meaning I had to ride the last few dozen miles in with a dodgy rear wheel and no back brakes (especially fun for going down the hill into Sheringham the following day!).

Here is the route:

View Larger Map

The highlights: Beautiful scenes with scores of swans along the Lea Valley in the sunshine, seeing my father's old school, and completing the randonée.

The lowlights: Cycle computer refusing to congratulate me on the 100 mile mark as I traversed Thetford Forest, and the Red Lion in Aldborough being closed when I arrived!

Following day, with no intention of cycling back (!), I popped in to see Grandpa Cliff in Sheringham before taking the train back.


Grandpa Clifford Crawley

Happy 21st Birthday Lewis

The Brothers Crawley, youngest to most handsome L to R


White Hart Lane


You ordered it.. you suffer it..


Batson's finest pose


The vocal cords get exercised

Emmy the Great and Salty Beef

Emmy the Great

Emmy the Great played a free gig at Rough Trade Records off Brick Lane this evening. Set up at the back of the store is a small stage which they use to showcase artists that presumably have their CDs for sale in store. First we had Ex Lovers, a five piece band who had technical problems from the word go, with feedback and mics at wrong levels, to the point where they walked off and let the sound engineer have another go. The rest of the set was still plagued with feedback and equipment failure, but to be honest I wasn't that bothered as they didn't impress. Following them was Eugene McGuinness who I saw at Glasto, full of fast upbeat songs with cheeky lyrics. Worth keeping an eye on.

Then what we were here for! Emmmmy!


Emmy the Great

Emmy came on stage and solo with her guitar launched straight into Easter Parade. We were treated with a little of the famous Emmy banter, but not much. Look out for her album, First Love, and for a Glastonbury appearance, fingers crossed.


Emmy the Great

She finished with a song which she said was hers and Eugene's, but her ex boyfriend was releasing it, or something? Need to do some googling and will update this. Was a beautiful beautiful song though, and a lovely ending to a set that was good but too short.

Emmy the Great's Website / Myspace

***Turn away now, my Hindu friends*** :)

Salty Beef Beigels
At one end of Brick Lane, at number 159, you will find a food treat that is unexpected in a road full of Bengali food (unless you know a little history, that is).


The place you need to go (beware imitations)

For GPB 3.30 you get a bagel (sorry, beigel) rammed with a shocking amount of beef - my slab must have been about 2 inches deep, and it's so tender that it melts on your lips, falling apart with juicy tenderness as it hits your tongue!


A Salty Beef Beigel

To be clear, this is not about the bagel. I'm prepared to risk violence in saying that I don't rate the bagels, or at least not the one I had. It was all about the contents. I am prepared to be corrected on this point during a future visit.


A Salty Beef Beigel from the other side

Nom nom nom nom!

My First Polypin

Following on from my recent discovery that beer is available in 20L Polypins, I ordered one for my little brother's 21st birthday. Of course it was finally delivered the following day, a rant which I will spare you.


The polypin

Here are the sizes beer comes in:

Barrel Name : Size (Gallons)
Pin or Polypin 4.5
Firkin 9
Kilderkin 18
Barrel 36
Hogshead 54
Butt 108
Tun 216

Multiply by about 4.5 to get litres; 1 Gallon is 8 pints.

Anyway, the beer I chose was Alton's Pride from Triple FFF Brewery. How does one pronounce Triple FFF? Do you say "Triple F F F" or just ignore the tautological "Triple"?



Well, regardless of how you pronounce the brewery name, they make mighty fine beers, and Alton's Pride was Champion Beer of Britain 2008.


The beer

One has to leave Polypins 24 hours to let any sediment settle. This done it was time. One pulls off the cardboard to reveal a tap. Inside the cardboard box is a soft plastic barrel. This is the beer equivalent of wine in a box.


Tap of goodness

So a pint is poured. Swing the plastic round and the beer comes out, not too fast, takes about 8 seconds to fill the glass.

And the tasting.. marvellous! Alton's Pride is light in terms of alcohol but pleasant on the tongue - maltier than beers I'd normally go for, but balanced - there's a sense of hops there too.


Pint

From the brewery website:

Golden brown session bitter, full bodied for 3,8%. A forward hoppy aroma with a long bitter finish. “Excellent, clean-tasting, golden brown session bitter, full bodied for it’s strength. A delicious aroma of malt and hops. An initially malty flavour fades as citrus notes and hoppiness take over, leading to a lasting hoppy, bitter finish.” Good Beer Guide 2005.




Now the pin sits out on the bench on my balcony, which is fine now as it's quite cold (in fact snow is forecast for Wednesday, hard to believe but still..). This clearly won't work in the summertime, and there's no way I could fit this into my fridge. So I suppose this is a winter, spring and autumn thing only - how could I store the thing in summer time? Perhaps in a large cool box - after all the pin isn't as big as I'd imagine. Then again how would you pour without sloshing the beer and sediment about if stored in a cool box. These are all challenges to be overcome in the next few months!!

Cheers!