Here is what today's A group ride looked like heading through the lanes to Barns green, for a bite to eat & a nice cup of tea.

See some of the other club members here: http://pics-by-swrc.fotopic.net/c1397056.html

Revoloution 17

Spent an enjoyable evening on Saturday at indoor track in Manchester, avoiding the Rugby (although it was on in the bar) and watching the Revolution Track meeting, one of a series of events that gives a competitive outlet for our established and up and coming track riders. The format developed over the past couple of years gives the public a chance to see top class riders in a series of events to showcase their talents, a few guests and notables are also thrown into the mix to encourage a sense of fun and (god forbid) entertainment.
This edition had a selection of road racing 'stars' to enliven the proceedings so the new generation of British Road men Cav (Mark Cavendish) and 'Gee'(Geraint Thomas) were pitted against Francesco Chicchi 2nd in last weeks Paris Tours and his Liquigas team mate 'Big' Magnus Backstead (to be fair the Brit lads were both world Champions on the track before going on to road success) and made mincemeat of their continental counterparts although they had their work cut out beating our other world class track men in a season that will culminate in the Beijing Olympics.
Britain is classed as the best track nation in the world (god it feels great to type that) and our traditional strength in the Pursuit has been consolidated in the Sprint and Endurance events and i have every confidence that British track cyclists will do us proud over the next few years, the Hoy's, Staff's and Queally's of the past few years are now being elbowed (literally) out of the frame by the new generation, Jason Kenny having a particularly good evening.


On the Sunday morning I had a session on the track myself, anybody can do a taster session (£9 + £9 for bike hire ) and most were in combat shorts and a T Shirt with a sprinkling of 'serious' cyclists. It's 15 years since I last mounted a track bike and got on a banked track, not since falling off and breaking my collar bone the week before the National Track Championship in 1992. I used the same bike that has hung on the wall all those years, replacing the shredded white tape and newly rebuilt high pressure wheels on my old trusty 'Campag' hubs. The wooden track was super smooth and hardly a mark on the newly laid surface of Siberian Pine, It was as if I had not been away, circling high on the banking and back into the feel of a fixed wheel on a steep track. To be fair I had ridden a fixed to work that week just to get used to the sensation but there were people in the session that had not ridden a fixed before so to combine that with riding the track and all the riders did very well
I had a puncture just before the end of the session (1 hr.) and managed to make an exit down onto the inside without embarrassing myself and I can't wait untill my next outing, roll on Newport

Thursday Morning Chain Gang

Anyone at a loose end on a Thursday morning and wanting a ride without having to trek out to Betchworth or Effingham, could join Bill ( the engine ) McCombe and Dudley ( you can go on the front ) Samuels, just over Kingston on Thames bridge at 09-30am for a brisk ride in the general direction of Windsor. This morning Mike Bates ( on half term hols ) and I met up with the 'dynamic duo' for an enjoyable if a bit exhausting ( well it was for me! ) jaunt to Windsor via Weybridge, Lyne, Chobham Common, Sunningdale and across Great Windsor Park for a well earned T stop at Runnymede. The route is mainly flat with only a few drags, no steep climbs, but the pace is a fairly constant 20 mph! After re-fuelling in the cafe; strangely I seemed to be the only one needing food in any quantity; we returned via Thorpe Park and Shepperton for a round trip of about 40 miles from Kingston. Home in time to do some of those jobs you keep putting off, put your feet up, or take someone out to lunch !

Tuesdays - Retired , Rich & Unemployed - Ride ?!!

A new benchmark has been set for extended T stops after minimal riding! Due to persistant rain at Tuesdays Betchworth meeting point for the 'Retired, Rich and Unemployed ' six hardy souls ventured as far as the Little Chef in Dorking for a two hour fry up breakfast with copious amounts of tea. It also has to be reported that only two of the aforementioned 'riders ? ' actually rode from Betchworth to Dorking, the others polluting the atmosphere in their cars. After much eating, drinking and constant monitoring of the inclement weather through misty windows the group departed with only four actually intending to ride a bike, and then only as far as another T stop at Newdigate about 5 miles away!! Fortunately no one had a camera, so there's no pictorial record of this sorry state of affairs, and concern about my continued health stops me from nameing the highly tuned athletes involved.

Bike show

Can you ride tandem?

 

Saturday's B ride - not a quicker route ?!!

Excuse me Mr Parky but the 'B' group did 33miles before arriving at Frensham in front of you A's, and that included stops for two punctures and directing the 'C' group to Seale, who we were playing 'tortoise and hare' with due to the unplanned stops! You A's are just bitter that us B's got to all the cakes first!!

Tyred out

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I was tired out after yesterdays clubrun, and tired of looking at that horrid picture of me on the last post, so here is a few shots from yesterdays A group ride to Frencham

John Harris had the map for the route but some of the group, Andy Hicks, Trevor Lenthall & Mark Packman turned up the pace so that everyone else was hanging on.

The pace eventually told and the group split as we neared the cafe and we trundled into Frecham Rural museum tearoom in a few smaller groups. Some how we were beaten by the B group who must have taken a much shorter route, and that were already tucking into plates of food & cake.

On the return leg our guest rider, had a puncture, and as shown here, we all helped, well mainly it was Sabin, to fix it. The return was not quite as furious, although I had to dig deep to beat Sabin up the Coombe Bottom climb. That did me in and I had to stop at Mark's house for more tea, before completing the 90 mile ride.

Evans Trailbreak

It's winter again, so time for the Trailbreak rides.

The first mtb one is at Gatwick on the 20th of October, me and Jane are up for this one.

This year they are doing some road sportifs too, there is one the following day from the same place.

Perky was there last year :-0

Season Finale

Colin writes about his final event of the season.
I decided to give my final TT of the season (Nottingham Cl. '25') a miss on Saturday and trek down to London for a party where I bumped into brother Alan, after getting caught in traffic jam on the M1 at 12.30! we did not get to bed until 2am so getting up for my final race on Sunday was a bit of a drag. Still I made it to the start line of the Lincoln Whs RR at Eagle just outside Lincoln. I had ridden this event the last couple of years a 3/4 event preceded by a 3/Vets over 60 flat miles which is always a bit of a 'burn up' It was a bright and windless morning better than many in the summer that was washed away.
The beauty of this event is that it's open to vets of any category so there is always a sprinkling of 'supervets' that make for an attacking race and more like an LVRC event than a normal RR, sure enough a break of six was away on the first lap as I sat in the bunch waiting for my body to wake up and join the race, It took a while to get the bunch organised and another two laps to pull the break back as they were working well, several Doncaster Whs. riders I'd been thrashing all season in TT's were in front as I bridged across with Malcolm Smith (Fenland Cl.) winner of the Percy Stallard Series, we had built up a bit of a competition during the season since getting 1st and 2nd in an early season RR.
With a lap to go Ian Furness and Bradley Johnson of the Doncaster Whs. went away again to take the win and after trying a solo attack and then with four others who got up to me came to nothing I decided to wait for the sprint. Unlike my brother my sprinting has got inversely proportionally worse the more TT's I've done so I was pleased to get up for eventual 8th place in a mass finish.

BBAR final table

Congratulations to Colin on his 18th place in this years 3 distance British Best All Rounder competition.
Full result here: http://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/News.asp?ID=773