New Club Record at 12 Hour of 267.33

Colin writes about record breaking in the National 12 hour Championship at the weekend
This years National Championship was the Elmet CRC event on a flat'ish' course based on two circuits around Sutton on Durwent just East of York on a blustery day which provided an extra challenge to the distance I'd only ridden once before. We had a rude awakening by crowing cockerel at 3.30 so i had over an hour to ponder the event which has taken up a large proportion of my season, as the most demanding both in terms of preparation and training it is an event you only want to ride once a season to qualify for your BBAR position.

I was an early start 6.27 and it was quite cold, it took a few laps to warm up as i was not 'flat out' I kept to my schedule of 24mph for the first four hours to get into the body of the ride. I went through 100 miles in 4.12 and was sent on an extra lap of the big circuit(31m) as i has caught everybody in front before a single lap of the smaller finishing circuit (14m) where every body else had done 3 and 2. This was a little bit confusing for my helpers and put me back into the body of the field and it took them a lap or so to catch on. The wind got up and the flags outside the local cricket pavilion taunted every rider with their motion as if to say 'come on if you think you're hard enough' I took some grub which i managed to force down me, a chicken sandwich, a banana and a hot cross bun saved for later, the crucifixion motif not lost on me here as i ploughed my way on to 200 miles in 8.45 at 23mph average.


At this point i decided to be 'old skool' and i stopped for a 'sit-down' feed which not many of the riders do these days (aparently) but i was coming into a bad patch and i was glad of it, I ate some fruit and rice and a drink of flat coke (not easy and a little bit messy on the bike) i had been cramping up so the leg rub came in handy and i was off in less than 10 min. One more lap of the big circuit and it was onto the finishing circuit where once I'd worked off my cramp the day began to cool and it rained enough to wet the roads but it also seemed to calm the wind for the last two hours. I came into a bit of a 'purple patch' and was cruising along at 25-30 mph for the first time in the race, I had a ding dong battle with Paul Holdsworth (4th - 278.04)as we passed and re-passed each other i eventually gave way as i came to my finish at 6.27 in the evening and then rolled along to the next timekeeper where i was given the instruction i could cease and my support team pulled up.

For the last lap as i knew i had a PB in the bag and the Club Record fell with over half an hour to go and i was still over 22 mph (it would have been 22.5mph if I had not stopped) ahead of my target 264 and good enough for 7th place on the day and winner of my age category (45-49). Champion was two time previous winner the 'Master' Kevin Dawson 291.49 an awesome ride on such a tricky day a clear 2mph faster than I could muster. Second was C. Ruebotham with 280.25 and third Nik Bowdler on 279.61 a close run thing for the Silver and Bronze after twelve hours of racing

Mallory Park #14 - Win!.................at last

Colin writes about long overdue win at Leicester's premier race for 3/4th cat riders!
After a near miss last week when another rider tagged along and managed to spoil my evening this week i made no mistakes and made my move with just over two laps to go and pulled out a gap of 400 meters more than enough to come in ahead of the pack in a mass dash for the line, but they were fighting for the runners up position as i'd bagged the top spot. Because most of my other racing consists of time trialing my legs are not good enough to get a good finish place in the sprint and the best I'd managed was a couple of 10th's, I had got a couple of 5th places from break-away groups and I had tried (as usual) to get away during the race but all my efforts came to nothing, I had a near miss taking out another riders rear gear with my front wheel (Dura Ace wheel 1 Carbon rear Mech 0)as the race built to a climax and i thought i would not get my chance as the pace was high and it was the final event in the series but there was a slight lull in the pace and i took my opportunity. This result gives me a top 10 place in the overall series, results are on the East Midlands BC website http://www.veloriders.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=58234&sid=0022e2dbb458bc34d3af4102ab4cc5f0
This result gives me 42 points for the season and upgrades me to 2nd category

VTTA National '25' re-run

Colin writes about his 2nd place (40-50 age group) in the VTTA National '25'
Despite torrential rain in Central England in the previous couple of days, the re-run of the VTTA National 25(cancelled from May Bank Holiday due to.....bad weather!) it took place on Sunday in Oxford. I had the previous days Coventry CC 25 cancelled due to 'standing water' so i was not hope full as i travelled down on the Saturday. At six in the morning i had to wade through knee deep water to get to my car on the outskirts of Clanfield, staying with friends i had spent two hours the previous day helping to bale out a neighbours house. I was lucky the next village of Bampton had been under four feet of water and 1000 houses had no electricity. Even though the nearby town of Abingdon was cut off the event went ahead on the A420 from Cumnoor to Faringdon, I was an early starter after trying to warm up from my early morning paddle the day was bright and just a hint of wind. There were lots of DNS's which probably accounted for my 7th overall on scratch with 57.28(5th if you exclude the non Vets) and second in my age category (40-50)only missing out by 46 sec to the winner Joe Murray of Hinckley CRC. Phil Bull was the overall winner and winner of the 50-60 age category with 55.45, 78 year old Dennis Milsom romped away with the Standard award with a +24.30 to my poultry +11.03 (for 20th)

Century Ride

18 people turned up at Cobham & signed up for Patrick’s mid summer century ride, yesterday. This year he had planned a route that took us to the coastal town of Bosham, just west of Chichester. With other parts of the country flooded, we were all expecting some rain during the day, and back pockets were filled with rain capes. Riding our usual route towards Haslemere along quiet country lanes, we were confronted with large quantities of sand, gravel and debris, washed down onto the road in the previous days downpours. Both A & B groups stopped in bus shelters during this first leg of the ride, when the rain was too heavy, as well as having to stop for puncture repairs.
All but Ted made the lunch stop which was a sandwich and chips buffet at “the Rising Sun” in Milland. While we ate it was raining outside, but it had all stopped by the time we got back on our bikes. It was here a few more members decided to turn back. Then we were down to 13.
Next it was the leg down through The Downs via West Marden, where again we were hit by more showers, which we rode through so as not to loose too much time. We arrived in Bosham to find all the locals (or city types down for the w’e) taking part in Dragon boat races across the quayside.
Not long after this we had our major accident of the day when Kaye was brought down by a switch in the bunch to avoid an overhanging branch. The result was a bad case of road rash and a knackered rear mech. While Kaye was being patched up in a neighbours house we made her bike into a single speed. This was enough to get her going but not to get her home, so it was all round to a local bike shop, Barreg Cycles. Not much to look at from the outside but full of Colnagos out back. Here Kaye fitted a new rear mech, and got her wheel trued by the very helpful owner. By now the the sun was out and the rest of the group were happy to lounge about on the pavement.
Then it was back over the south downs towards Petworth and our second late afternoon stop. Patrick had already called the staff at the Foresters Arms in Kirdford a few times, to say we were running late, but I think we were only a couple of hours later than planned. It was more sandwiches and chips followed by cake and tea/coffee that went down a treat.
The last leg had some riders suffering more than others and it wasn’t long before a split occured. We all carried on, over the north downs to arrive back at Cobham 11 1/2 hours after leaving, and with 110 miles on our computers.

More photos at http://pics-by-swrc.fotopic.net/c1330854.html

Fans of the week.(Cycling Weekly)

Look at these fine young men in their lovely jerseys. Spotted next to Tom Boonen in this weeks Cycling weekly.

Time trial on Saturday 14th.

After a hopeful midweek entry with SWRC outnumbering Epsom for a change, Epsom pulled out all the stops and fielded some 18 or so riders. In the end only myself, Jeremy and Thomas Nason showing for the club whilst some ( who shall be a nameless) got up at 5.00am but then couldn't find the course!
A windy day slowed me down, that's my excuse anyway for a 25'18''. However, Thomas keeps on improving and pulled a very respectable 30'.
Next interclub is this Sundays 25 starting from the Broadbridge leisure centre ( not the village hall) with Jeremy and I timekeeping. Already had an entry from Joe Friend so it would be great if we could have some more bods to keep him company.

Close but no Cigar

Colin writes of mid-week circuit race near miss as he takes a podium spot on the penultimate race of the Mallory Park season

2nd place my best finish ever here and I managed to fool all the sprinters with a break away with two and a half laps to go at last. I had to cede the win to a lad from the Coventry RC who managed to get with me when i attacked down the back straight into a fierce headwind. My legs were still hurting from the 100 at the weekend, I was in no shape for any heroics after a solo mid race break of 5 laps when the bunch hung me out to dry in the blustery conditions. So i sat in waiting for my opportunity and it came just as a duo were pulled back and the bunch was anticipating a mass dash for the line

Reading Track league

I have been riding at Reading's Palmer Park velodrome, Monday evening track league for the last couple of seasons.

The meetings are made up of 3-4 events for seniors and a similar amount for the juveniles (under 16yrs) who make half of the riders.

The seniors are then split into A & B category for some of the races, where I am in the latter class. Each category has it's own league results table for sprint & endurance events.

So far this season I have had a few placing, mostly in the endurance events, points & elimination etc.

I'm not sure what I did last night but I did feel more comfortable and finished the night with a 3rd (B-cat) in the final event of the evening, the 20km scratch event.

Please get in touch if you are interested in doing some track riding. Our closest tracks are Reading and Herne Hill which both have starter classes for newcomers.

Surrey League @ MOD Chertsey

Here's Andy powering around the MOD Chertsey circuit where he rode the E/1/2 event last Saturday. Photo by Dennis Sackett http://www.cyclingphotos.org.uk/

Unfortunatly Andy missed the decisive break that went away at half distance, of the 25 lap, 50 mile event, so finished in the main bunch.

Meanwhile in the 3rd category event, me and Ralph rode the 20 lap race. Ralph showed at the front, beaking away with various groups, while his family shouted support from the sidelines. As generally happens the field came back together for a sprint where I sprinted in for 7th place.

The Magic of Four Hours

Colin writes about his determination to get inside four hours for 100 miles. When i started my comeback a couple of years ago I decided to set myself a target to aim for that would be tough and yet achievable. Even in these technological improved times (aero wheels & bars) the four hour 100 does not re-lie on pure speed and yet the duration means that a significant amount of training and racing needs to be done to acheve the result. Only approx 30 riders in this country will attain this standard (and the vast majority will have done it before) so it is with this in mind and that at 45 years of age every year was not going to make my target any easier in the future, i decided that it would be a tough and yet realistic enough aim to motivate me. In a year when 500+ people will stand on top of Everest, once seen as the ultimate physical challenge, the four hour hundred mile time trial is still i feel a sporting achievement to be proud of. With this in mind and having gone so close in the BDCA event 3 weeks ago with a time of 4.00.26 On Sunday I rode the North Middlesex & Hertfordshire Cycling Association hundred mile event, using the A1 and roads between Bedford and Baldock, on a similar course to that used by the National Championship which i rode last year (in a time of 4.16.05.) I was the third to last man off in a field of 70 at just after 7.00am, I started well enough going through 25m in 57.30 and 50m 1.57.21 a significant improvement on the BDCA event, however a de tour (i mis-read marshal's signal) and a slow puncture in the next section forcing a wheel change (I was lucky to have help on hand in the event). Even with these delays my final time would not have put me inside four hours. A stiff Easterly breeze blew up making the 'lumpy' second half a tough challenge and the muggy conditions made me dispense with my crash helmet as the miles and effort took their toll. Everybody in the race suffered and went significantly slower in the second half, and i saw my elusive target missed on the roads just south of Biggleswade less than two miles from the finish. Even the winner Jason Gurney of Team Milton Keynes did not get inside 4 hrs getting as close as it is possible with a time of 4.00.00 (50m 1.55.25) My time of 4.03.51 was good enough for 6th place. At the result board most of the talk was of the second half and what might have been after the promise of the first, which leaves me planning another attack on this particularly elusive goal.

The Ironbike

Me and Paul Facer are off to Italy next weekend to ride the http://www.ironbike.it/

It's a seven day (plus prologue) mtb stage race in the alps.

We've done a few of these before, notably the Trans Alps, the Cape Epic and the Trans Rockies.

This one looks a bit scary in that only 42% finished last year and 47% the year before!

I will try to blog from my phone live when I can.

Raymond

Guildford town centre criterium

I bit the bullet and went to ride Guildford criterium last night after not riding there for many years. Not since Ken Dolman had ridden there and came a cropper on one of the corners.

As it is run on a Wednesday, I have always been racing the Beastway MTB series, which ended with the re-development of the Eastway circuit for the Olympics.

Anyway the evening was sunny and dry, which was the main reason to race here, on the tight circuit that runs over the top end of Guildford's cobbled high street.

After a few warm up laps I managed to get on the front of the start line-up of about 30 riders. Always very important as these races go from the gun and that is exactly what happened. I was 3rd to the first corner and I stayed there for the first few laps. I seemed to loose one place on every lap until I found myself at the back of the front bunch of 10 riders. There I stayed until we started to lap riders and then it became slightly more difficult to say with the leaders. Soon after this point the elastic broke and I was dropped and riding by myself which is when I realised how hard I had tried and packed. Short & sweet. Still not as dangerous as I had thought it would be.

The main race was won by Plowman Craven rider Gordon McCauley, 2nd going to Warrick Spence, both riders coming from New Zealand.

If it's Tuesday it could be Hillingdon!

Here is Barry Harwood racing tonight, at the Hillingdon circuit on a beautiful sunny evening.

He has been doing the British Cycling 4th category races all season, improving his speed, and getting top placings & some much needed B.C. points.

It won't be long before he joins other club members mixing it in the 3rd cat. events.

TDF Stage 1 (London to Canterbury)

Many of the club members had decided to ride out to Quarry Hill, Southborough to watch the riders on the London to Canterbury stage of the tour. Dave Pinder took a group out from Godstone, while I rode out from Wimbledon with Colin, Sabin, Mark Packman and Andy Mckie.

It was another lovely sunny day, so we spun along at a fair lick passing many other small groups of cyclists doing the same thing as us.

We got to the hill in time to watch the publicity caravan drive pass, catching a few freebies in the process. The best being a loud hailer megaphone that Mark took a liking to.

British rider Dave Miller had been away by himself early in the stage, was then joined by 4 others, but still managed to be first over the hill and win the "king of the mountains" points.

After watching the pelaton coasting by, we had a short ride into Tonbridge Wells wher a large screen had been setup in a park. Here we spent the afternoon soaking up the sun and seeing the riders complete the stage were Robbie McEwen won in a bunch sprint.

TDF Prologue

The prologue took part on Saturday where all 189 riders took part in a 7.9km time trial. Starting in Whitehall, the course went down Victoria Street, turned into Buckingham gate to passing infront of Buck house. Then up the drag of Constitution Hill, and under Wellington Arch to enter Hyde park. Down South carriage drive, West carriage drive and back past the serpentine. Around the top of Hyde Park corner again, down constitution hill, to finish in the Mall.

Many of the club went up to watch the event, along with an estimated crowd of a million people. After weeks of rain the day turned out to be warm and sunny.

I had volunteered to be a marshall along with Louise Flutter(shown here in a lovely Hi-Vis) and we met up in Victoria at 8am to be kitted out in our Hi-Vis and cap. I was positioned with 10 other at the entrance to Hyde Park where there was a huge screen that televised all the proceedings. My work only started when at 1pm they closed the pedestrian crossings and there was no footbridge for people to get into the park. I spend most of the next 5 1/2hrs telling people to walk around the course for 15minutes where there was a footbridge. Some were not too happy as there was no refrshment around this area and it was very hot by mid afternoon.

All the fast rider were set off near the end and after Andreas Kloden set a blistering time beating the next rider by 10sec. it was down to British rider Bradley Wiggins to get the crowd cheering. He did a great ride 10sec behind to finish in 4th place. It was Fabiao Cancellara who did the ride of the day with a time of 8min 50sec (54km/h) beating Kloden by 13sec.

Tour de France hit town.

The Tour de France visits London this weekend. Trafalgar Square was taken over on Friday night were a large stage had been set up and all the teams were intruduced to the crowd.

If it's Tuesday It must be Mallory Park

Tuesday evening see me riding at the Motor Racing Circut at Kirby Mallory just outside Leicester. Mallory Park was used as the Road Racing venue for the 1970 World Champoinships but unlike the stars of yore all it gets to see these days of top class bike racing is on Thursday when the Elite/1st/2nd cats race. On the Tuesday a motley assembly of wannabees, hasbeens and new converts get to bash around the circut to their hearts content, in the early part of the year can see bunches of 100+ but as the season wears on and enthusiasm runs low (and some get upgraded god forbid) there is a more managable bunch of about 50. Juniors, Ladies, Vets, Triathletes (no tri bars) and even the odd rollerblader (on a bike) pile in together and usually it ends in a mass sprint after 25-30 laps (32-40m). Yours truly usually has a go at getting away or attacking in the last few laps to get caught on the final bend (i think they are catching onto my tactics!) but i have managed a clutch of placings in the top 10 with two 5th places in the last 3, I do feel the spectators are rooting for me as one said to me last week "You'll win one soon"

The Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross

I've just got my entry off for this Three Peaks X today. The available spaces fill up pretty quickly!

I did it last year for the first time and it's great fun. There is a fair amount of hike-a-bike involved, so this year I've been doing some running and hiking.

Lots of info here:blog

And KB's write up here: Diary

Any takers?

Ramon

London 2 Canterbury Cyclosportive

I was one of 5000 riders that had entered the British Cyclosportive event,that covered the 120 mile Tour de France stage 1 course from Greenwich to Canterbury.

I had been given a slot in the first wave of riders starting from Greenwich park and as you can see from the photo, I was kitted up for a long day in the rain (it had rained all day Saturday).

The organisers had put on transport, for bags, that could be picked up at the finish, and that there was hot showers. This was the main driving factor for me to get to the finish before the other 4999 riders.

I kept with the leading group of 25 riders as we left a grim and wet SE London, escorted by a couple of police motorcyclists. It wasn't too long before we saw some greenery, and then passed under Rochester castle. The last time I had been along here was to watch the Rochester Classic, a one day pro-tour type event which Chris Boardman & Sean Yates had ridden back in the 90's.

Further along the rain stopped and I took off my cape off ,which I never put back on, as the sun was trying to come out. No one in the group dared stop at a feed station as the protection of the group, and police, was keeping the pace high. Through Maidstone, Tonbridge, then up the climb of Quarry hill, I was riding well, accompaned by Guardian cycling correspondant Matt Seaton & Ex divisional RR champion, Mike Coyle.

Through Goudhurst and another climb and I was running out of water. I wasn't going to make the whole way so I stopped at Sissinghurst feed station. Unfortunatly the food hadn't arrived, and was stuck in a van in a traffic jam on the A21. There was water so I filled my bottles and got straight back on the bike, with the others that had stopped. We did bit & bit for an hour or so but as the 100 mile came up I dropped off the back and rode the last hour with a rider I had been with earlier in the day. Up the last climb of the day at Farthing common and then all down hill with the wind behind into Canterbury for a 20mph ride of 5hrs 47min for 42nd place out of 3743 finishers.