Wed 29th Dec – Thames Pathway Ride

Call up old friend and former colleague Geoff from Reading and arrange a cycle ride local to my home area of Kingston. Geoff has recently returned from a cycling holiday in Chile and Argentina and he brought his trusty Thorn Sherpa for the day’s ride. I was using my new Pinnacle mtb. The aim of the ride was to focus on a short section of the Thames Path and make our way to Walton on Thames but starting with a warm up circuit of Richmond Park .

Into Richmond Park via Ham Gate and an anti-clockwise circuit of the Park’s cycle/pedestrian path carefully passing pushchairs, dogs and kiddies on their new Christmas bikes (future SWRC members?). Return to Ham Gate but turn off right on the pathway to Petersham and the gate opposite the Dysart Arms. Out of the park and across the road to pick up a pathway round the back of Petersham that leads down to the river Thames. The river is shrouded in a spooky mist and in places the river has an almost milky tone due dense mist overlying the waters. Take the path in the upstream direction to Kingston passing Marble Hill Park on the opposite bank, Eel Pie Island, and Ham House.

Stop off at Teddington Lock to open a flask of coffee and have some biscuits and hear about Geoff’s thousand mile ride in Chile and tales of hanging glaciers and vicious dogs. My main contribution was to mention that Teddington Lock was used in filming the fish slapping dance in a Monty Python series – see clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwLirQS2-o



Me at Teddington Lock


Geoff and his Thorn Sherpa

On through to Kingston via Canbury Gardens and over the bridge. Nearly tempted to call in at Sigma Sport’s “King of Bling” new shop at Hampton Wick but carried on to Hampton Court, then Molesey Lock, Hurst Park, Shepperton Lock and Walton where we finished up at the Anglers pub by the riverside for a beer and coffee. We decided to head back by 3pm as a damp and foggy gloom was settling over the Thames Valley and we didn’t all have lights. Take the road to Hampton Court that runs parallel to the river for a speedy return in the fading light and back home soon after 4pm. A good afternoon’s ride and great to get the legs spinning again.
Richard

What more snow?

With monday being ,for most of us at least ,the first day that it was respectable to go out cycling Alan,John and I had agreed to meet up at Newlands. You might be surprised to know ( as I was) that one of our members went for a 70 mile ride on christmas day itself .I think it must be some sort of presidential prerogative that had been discovered hidden away in the club by laws.

It is said that the best presents are sometimes self -bought .And ,if this is correct,John and I were examples with each of us having bought a new bike in the week leading up to xmas.John, a Giant from the Giant only shop in Twickenham and me a Kona ,from Pauls Cycles in Norfolk ,courtesy of a tip from Bob Wooler communicated via our road race secretary. So ,as we gingerly set off across the ice in the car park ,it was a case of "All the gear and no idea " .

Our route went across to St Martha's and then down to Albury,up to the football pitch,up to Shamley Green and then following the route of the Tour of the SurreyHills with a short spell on the road we went up to the top of Winterfold where we stopped by the Windmill which was new to John and me at least.

We then went up to the top of Pitch Hill where we finally saw a few walkers but in reality we hardly saw anyone all day. It was about 3c which meant a few tracks had begun to melt a little but essentially all was still frozen so riding conditions were fine.

After John and I displaying the "all the gear and ..... " adage in our riding in abundance when coming down off Pitch Hill where the track became too steep for us we wound up in Peaslake. Alan had a piece of xmas cake burning a hole in his pocket so we stopped at the shop and sat in the bus shelter there.We now looked like proper mtb riders drinking coffee in our mtb branded mugs at the classic mtb hang out .We may not have looked very cool but we felt it -well not so much cool as bloody freezing. If stopping at this time of year it has to be indoors for me . We had a good chat with a couple of a certain age ( think Andy Hicks generation) who had walked the 8 miles from the church on Ranmore and were then walking the 7 miles back .A good effort we thought.

Back to Shere,the climb up the track running east of the road up Coombe Bottom being in good condition and we arrived back at the cars after a good ride and the only thing missing being the sight of an inverted 4 wheel drive which would have rounded our ride off nicely.

It is not proper cycling of course but it does have its moments and it certainly beats a turbo.....

Nick

Tuesday mtb

More snowy pics!!

A great ride in the snow today, up over Leith via Rookery and a bit of singletrack on Summer Lightning. On the way back roger and I finish the ride by riding up White Down. It's always a bit treacherous, but there were a couple of other obstacles today!

First a 4wd in the hedge at the bottom and then this one on it's side on the steep bit.




There were another three abandoned near the top.



At the junction we met a policeman and the guy whose car it was, so it had only just happened. The police car had taken his wife and children home and they were waiting for it's return.

Frosty

It's a bit dangerous on the side roads up here in the Midlands so I tend to stick to the Fosse Way which as you would expect is fairly straight and is kept well gritted and can be remarkably quite at some times of the day. On Sunday I had to wait until late in the day when the temperature had risen to -2 but I finally managed a couple of hours out to the basin at Brinklow (Stretton under Fosse) Warwickshire on the North Oxford - Coventry Canal, here the canal (built 1790's) and railway come through adjacent to each other as they make their way up from Watford Gap.

I did'nt hang around too long as the light was fading and it was very cold once off the bike, Fiona and her sister had taken a chance to drive up to the Lake District but encountered few problems as I think they are generally better prepared for bad weather up there.

Snow Mountain biking

With more icy roads abound, it was another mountain bike ride for some of the A group. But what a fantastic day we had in the powdery snow riding across the downs to Leith Hill and back. We had arranged to meet at Ryka's cafe car park where we are able to get straight onto tracks that climb upto Ranmore common. By coincidence a MTB friend of mine, Neil Cooper, also getting ready at the car park and joined us for the day.

Mark was on his new bike, a GIANT XTC hardtail, which I think is a great looking bike with all the latest kit on it, including hydraulic disk brakes.

After the slog we had through the slush last time we were out, todays conditions were the best I can EVER remember. It was absolutely fantastic. It snowed for the first hour as we climbed over Ranmore, down to Westcott village, then up Logmore lane and into Wotton common towards Coldharbour. As we rode higher and higher our bikes and clothes were getting covered in the light powder snow but as it was so cold, we stayed dry and my hand were lovely and warm when I reach Leith Hill tower. With the cafe closed it was no hanging around and we all heading down the valley to Wotton PH, across the A25 to Park farm, and the last climb of the day up the White downs.

The roads were empty of cars as we reached Ranmore again but the small bit we road along was the slippyest of the ride and I was glad to be on the tracks again as we road down past the vineyards.

thetford rnd 2

The snow had gone and luckily hadn't left any mud! :) Round two's course was fast and swoopy with a couple of steady uphill drags. Jane has been suffering with a bit of a sore throat for a couple of weeks and so had only ridden once since the last round.


Her fitness was completely gone! So we dragged around for the regulation four hours and managed five laps. On the second lap my rear brake completely failed! Paul had a great race and managed fifth again.




In a couple of weeks we'll be in Ibiza racking up some warmer kilometres for the next round. :)

Newlands in the snow

With a dump of snow during the week and continuous low temperatures for the rest of the time ment road riding was out of the question for the club this Saturday. The only option for getting out was to get out on the mountain bikes and so a few of the Alphas met a Cobham for at ride into the Downs. We stuck to the main road as far as Bookham and then headed up bridle paths towards our destination of Newlands corner. We had proposed to do a bigger loop but the snow was turning to slush as it was fairly tough going and so we revised our plans. We all decided to let as much air out of our tyres as we’d dared, to get a little extra traction, but there were time we all found it difficult to stay upright.
Although I have ridden in the Downs for years I still managed to get the group lost and at one point we had to retrace a section after coming across a pheasant shoot and were warned not to proceed. It all looks so different when covered in the white stuff.
Eventually we reached the highest point where we met up with the main east/west Pilgrims way bridle path and could pick the pace up and head for a well earned lunch stop.

Personally I have stopped going to the Newlands cafe a few years ago after not feeling welcomed, and having to leave bikes out of view. This time it couldn't have been further from the truth with a welcome smile from the staff and noe problem with leaving the bike just outside the entrance. I will definitely go there again it I'm in the vicinity.

After a rest in the warm tearoom it was out into the slush again and the route back was lead by Niall who knew a suitable direct way back to Cobham where by that time my feet were soaked and freezing from the rapidly defrosting slush.

Gorrick Brass Monkey rnd 1

Me and Paul headed out to Deepcut Barracks in the very minus centigrade of Sunday morning for the first round of the Brass Monkey winter series. brass monkey It was a beautiful sunny day but utterly, utterly freezing! The course was fantastic, lots of fast drops and rooty technical bits and about 11km in length. The ground was hard and so it was almost like riding in summer :) Paul was going very well and I think that I'm getting fitter slowly.

L'Eroica 2010

¬EROICA 2010
You’ve more than likely heard of the Eroica. It’s a unique event that takes places in the Chianti region of Tuscany every year, and has grown from a local niche event into one of the biggest challenges for classic bike riders in Europe. Classic bikes? That means anything before 1985, toeclips and straps, downtube gear shifters, exposed brake cables with woolly jerseys optional. Not only a nostalgia fest, the riders must negotiate a huge chunk of ‘strade bianche’ (white roads) around the Tuscan hills east of Siena. This year’s event was October 3rd, and probably 6 months previously my friend Malcolm and I thought it would be a good idea to wheel out the old crocks (bikes and bodies) and have a go. Maybe the bottle of Chianti had something to do with the decision making. So decision made, what was I going to ride? The only old bike I had was my first Peugeot I bought in 1985 to start cycling and do the PBP…now an old wreck with updated bits and rust rolling around inside the frame…hmmm! After a bit of looking around, I saw virtually the same Peugeot as my own but a year older on ebay and snapped it up for £75 – bargain. A little cobbling together of both bikes and a replacement 2nd/3rd/4th hand wheel from Ripley jumble, et voila!, a masterpiece of French bike building – 6 speed, 501 steel tubing, Sachs Huret gears, Weinman brakes, toe clips and a classic Rolls saddle, and only weighing 24lbs….they don’t make ‘em like they used to – thank goodness. Malcolm pulled a 1965 H.E.Green out of his garden shed (I think his dad made it) and somehow brought it back to life with an assortment of used goodies from God knows where. This very frame was what propelled him round Crystal Palace to sprinting glory from the age of seventeen, so why not both have a chance for more glory and a holiday in Italy?
FRIDAY
An Easyjet flight to Pisa, a hire car and a stay in a castle only 3kms from the start and centre of fun, Gaiole in Chianti, and looking forward to Sunday’s event.
SATURDAY
Down to Gaiole and the display of old, very old and ancient bikes and bits puts Ripley cycle jumble in the shade. Bianchi, Colnago, Legnano, De Rosa, Pinarello, Bottechia, Gios, Moser, Atala, Daccordi, Cinelli, Campagnolo in every shape, size and condition. Wooly jerseys by the hundred, some classic and pricey, some garish and cheap, loads of bits and pieces to get that rusty old heap into sparkling ‘as new’ condition. In fact nearly everything you could imagine brought out from the dusty old drawers and shelves of enthusiasts for a day in the sun and a chance to perform again. After signing in, a good look round, plenty of photos and a panini and coffee, we headed off to Siena for a bit of sightseeing, returning for a good meal and early to bed for the dawn start the next morning.
SUNDAY
Up at 4 for a 5 o’clock start (start any time between 5 and 7), dressed sharply in the oldest club jersey I could find, and a small drama rears its head. My bike was fine the previous day as I rode up and down from the hotel to the town and back, using all the gears, and now – crunch – the derailleur is stuck in the spokes of the back wheel! At 5 o’clock in the morning up a hill in Tuscany in pitch black is not the time to think about fixing a 26 year old bike, but I couldn’t give up now. So with the help of an adjustable spanner and taking the wheel and derailleur off twice, we managed to bend the gear hanger back in the light of a bike lamp, and off we went to start at 5.45 with my fingers crossed that nothing would go wrong again on the ride. Why that had happened I don’t know and I never will, but I didn’t suffer any more problems with the bike at all. At that time of the morning it’s still dark and we made our way along unlit lanes with a small group of chattering woolly clad Italians, just a cluster of lights and silhouettes to guide you along, until we reach the first strada bianca where an unmade track snakes upwards through black trees. This was a bit unreal and fairytale-like as we climbed silently in the dark with our route lit by small lanterns every 5 metres either side of the track…magic. Coming down the other side was a different story, completely dark and really rough with loose gravel and potholes – welcome to the Eroica! Onwards towards the south and Siena, dawn is breaking and finally we can see the road and the contours of the tracks, a nasty little hill and the first ‘resto’ at Radi. So far so good, we’re not racing and just enjoying being out in the Tuscan countryside, so why not eat as well, although the free chianti doesn’t look too appealing at this time of day! Soon we reach the turning point for the 138km or the 205km ride – no problem, we’ll do the long one! Then the first real hard hill crept up with some drizzle thrown in to make the track really sticky and hard going. Now we’re thinking the 138 may have been the easier option. Now the terrain was up and down most of the time, mostly on strade bianche and some smooth road as a relief. Malcolm had cunningly chosen fat cyclocross tyres for his bike which saw him flying along on the rough stuff, while I had thin 23’s on my mine to zip along on the roads. Three ‘restos’ on this section, much enjoyed, and one absolutely swine of a steep hill which I don’t think I could get up on a mountain bike, so walkies for us (and everyone else). It was here that we met a girl whose pedal axle had snapped and was managing to get along with one pedal…She got some sort of replacement at the third ‘resto’, but must have ridden around 50km with one leg! Back to the join with the shorter route, and it all seemed quite natural to be riding round the Italian countryside on ancient bikes with woolly tops on, the weather was warm but not hot and the views were a bit special. Along a road stretch, we were overtaken by a bunch of about 12 so we tagged on the back to get towed along for a while, and then – crash! – a touch of wheels and some poor guy in the middle went down heavily on the road. The bunch stopped, I stopped the traffic and 2 or 3 went back to help him, but no more than 2 minutes later an ambulance appeared that had luckily been not far behind us. I think the guy would have been OK with just cuts and bruises and a bit of concussion…OUCH! On we went with a bit of caution and a mental note to be careful what we’re doing around other riders. The last ‘resto’ before the finish gave us the chance to sit down and enjoy excellent ham rolls, cheese, cake and even a small glass of ‘vinsanto’ (for medicinal purposes only of course). Suitably fortified and getting back up to the last 30km or so we were riding with a Belgian guy with a bike from 1949 and going along tracks through woods on what seemed to be a long draggy uphill section then followed by ‘the final push’ of a pretty long hill up to Radda – the last hill, our friend tells us. Not quite, I discover as the road then drags up again (I am well and truly cream crackered by now) before the final fast descent into Gaiole for the finish. Started at 5.45 – finished at 5.45 – exactly 12 hours for 205kms. A bag of goodies including a bottle of Chianti, panforte(nougat & candy cake stuff), and a badly drawn commemorative plaque and ‘fantastico’….we’ve finished. Malcolm had finished really strongly but now decided he didn’t feel too well, so didn’t really want the celebration beer that I enjoyed. The climb back to the hotel was really hard – Malcolm walked most of it, followed by a good bout of being sick, so we really felt like we’d done a hard ride, even though it averaged out at only 17kph including all the ‘restos’….but not an easy jaunt through the countryside.
Monday
Packed up and back to blighty with memories of a unique experience…a mixture of night time magic, nostalgia, rough stuff, hills and Italian hospitality – all on a 75 quid bike!
*****recommended…look at: http://www.eroica-ciclismo.it/italiano/home.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lo-8wiJSks
Ken Dolman

Roundhurst farm

Although the roads were damp and the sun well hidden behind dense clouds there was a large group of riders at Cobham car park this morning for their group rides out into the Surrey and Sussex lanes. 13 riders started with the A group which is about as big as it gets throughout the year on what was to be a ride to Petworth. Climbing over Staple lane gave everyone a chance to test their legs and it was no surprise to see Simon, Trevor & Andy going for the prize of first to the top. On the decent we had our first puncture of the day.
Looking around it seems that most of the group are still on their summer bike with light weight tyres which could be the reason for so many punctures. Perhaps it would be beneficial for riders to put on some heavier tyres in future as roads conditions are only going to get worst over the next few months.



A few miles further on, in Albury and it was a similar story. At this rate we would never reach Petworth and so when we stopped for a third time near Dunsfold it was time to change our destination and Roundhurst farm was proposed.




So it was that we all headed further west and up onto Black Down and what is my own personal favourite lunch stop. This is a great venue for a large group, as all of us were able to sit around a single table and devour the delicious food that they serve there. A slight duplication of the drinks orders meant that within no time we had more teapots and coffee cups on the table than we knew what to do with. No one seemed to mind as we took the additional drinks off the waitresses with a “if it’s going free, I’ll take it off your hands” type of attitude. With everyone refreshed it was time to head home apart from Mark Williams who had broken a spoke on the last climb and headed off to Haslemere railway station, rather than risk trying to get back with his wobbly wheel.

Danny MacAskill

2011 CLUB SUBS ARE DUE.

As of the 1st of November your club subs were due.

Cheques for £25 need to be sent to the club Treasurer, Ted Collins at the address below.

Family £30 and under 18 is £5.

Ted Collins,

16, Cornwall Road,

Cheam,

Surrey, SM2 6DT.

Remember that the club AGM will take place at the club room on Tuesday 7th December. Please show your support for the club and come along to find out what we have achieved this year. This is your chance to give your views about what you want to happen in 2011.

Thetford Round One

My first time at Thetford for a couple of and years and Jane's for 3 or 4.

There had been a bit of rain the day before and a shower or two before the start,so the course was a bit sticky for the first two or three laps. It was a fantastic course, classic Thetford. Lots of swoopy twists and turns in the singletrack and still big enough for 500 competitors.



I'd decided to ride with Jane and use the four hours as a long non stop training ride. ie to ride steady hard for six laps rather than bonkers for three and grovel for four :) The ladies went off two minutes before the men and it still took me over a lap to catch Jane! I was a bit nervous on the first lap and I'd forgotten how to ride a hardtail on this terrain, the last three seasons had been on the fullsus'. Once I'd remembered 'big gear standing up' started to get a bit more confident. By the time I'd caught Jane I'd passed at least three women riders and as there were only about seven ladies in her category I guessed she was either third or fourth. I didn't mention it because I didn't want to pressure her and the intention was a steady ride. At lap four Jane popped and slowed a lot, but more importantly she'd lost her skills in the technical bits. We eased right back for that lap and she had a couple of gels, a bar or two and some shot blocks. One of the ladies passed us on this lap. On the penultimate lap Jane regained her skills and 'maintenance of headway' was resumed :) a great book.

She caught the girl who'd passed us and sat with her for the the whole lap. Not long after we came through for the last lap Jane attacked and I held on for the rest of the lap :) Jane took a unexpected second place.



At the end we met Alan who'd been riding well but cramped and dropped out of the top three and finished 11th. Paul had a great race, starting almost from the back he pulled back from 21st to fifth.

OMG

Who would have believed it but as I sat down this morning for some tea and toast, it wasn't an image of Jesus present on the toast but an image of a cyclist on a biscuit I picked out of a packet I had on my desk.
The question that puzzled me most was which cyclist it is? Answers on the comments page please.

Review of the season

Well the plan was "simples" do less miles but more intensity and try and peak two or three times in the season and have two week long rests in between to 'cool it' and keep me focused. Hmmmmm! Well my early season was on target after the coldest winter I'd experienced but only hit the deck once (Ouch!) I had a 20:40 for 10 miles and 52:18 for 25 miles by mid April and I was on track for my best season.

I had a few niggles, a cold for the Zenith 2 Day my only road event of the year but doing the UK and European track takes alot of preparation and you can easily knacker yourself on the road getting over tired or an accident, I had a few mechanicals which did not point to anything in particular but when you wait all week to race and it doesn't come off you always 'feel' it more
I rode the '10', '25', '50' & '100' Championships, they were not all target events so I didn't get the results that I imagined I would, I just told myself they were part of a bigger plan, the shorter ones I guess are not for me but they were glorious events on sweltering days and you feel part of the day if you ride, which I'm glad I did but maybe I should have got my mental preparation right as well. The longer distances are more my thing so I was disappointed to crash in the '50' two days back from a break but still post a good time. So then to have everything perfect for the '100' and not post a good time at all I was a bit puzzled
I had fallen off and banged my head the week before warming up for the British Masters track in Newport, this had been my first big target of the year and although I posted a PB in the pursuit 24 hours later I felt terrible and did nothing in the points race (I sat out the scratch race with a large bandage on my head!) the doctors warning "Don't do anything stressful for 48 hours" as he pumped a tetanus in my arm. So was my poor performance in the Nat '100' just a delayed reaction?  I probably paid the price for wanting a result when I should have rested but when you make it a target it's tough to let go.

Going to pot in the Nat '100' followed on from the same in the BDCA '100' a few weeks before so I'd ridden 3 x '100's (4:02:20 in the Anfield a good result but again for training) and got nothing out of them which meant I had to put pressure on myself to 'perform' later in the year.
The BBAR is a season long competition but it still means you have to 'perform' on the chosen day, I'd taken a week off without the bike mid June as a reward for early season efforts and to be fresh for the British Masters but after the BDCA 'missfire' and with no BBAR result the 'break' felt unjustified and with the National '50' disappointment as soon as I got back I think I was beginning to loose my focus (or maybe I was just too focused?) doubts began to creep in.
The National '100' should have been the TT'ing peak of the first half of the season as well as prep for the 12 hour which was on the same roads but after a good start I just rode the latter part like it was training and got the result to match, I could not quite take it in, doing a similar time to that of the Anfield on a day when the winner was within a whisker of Competition record. I had to have some time off so Fiona and I drove to the South of France (with bike this time) to watch some racing (Le tour) I had the European Masters the week after I got back and despite long slow miles in the Alps I took another second off my pursuit time in the qualifying but got DQ'ed and missed a medal in the points race by the smallest margin but at least I defended my title with a good ride and was 'in at the kill' so I knew I was on form, a bit late for a fast '100' but I had the Breckland 12 hour coming up and I knew I could do a good ride with average weather and no mishaps.

On the day of the Breckland it all feels like a dream (now) wafting along the A11 at 24mph for 200 miles (no matter I had to get off twice in the first 10 miles) I was leading by 5 minutes but more importantly I was 12 minutes up on PB and heading for over 280 miles (285 even!) when the race came to a premature end. I was in a bit of a daze for a week or so but I had to snap out of it PDQ as I had the Swift '100' to redeem my BBAR. It was a terrible day but I held it together to pull out a 3:47:39 nearly 2 min outside my best but 4th on the day and showed me I could do it on the day when necessary. I had to give myself a chance of a result in the final 12 hour of the season but I could not imagine going all that way without a decent '100' back it up

As it turned out neither my mind or body could master the Kent lanes or the late season weather (which was windy again!), I was just too un-prepared and fragile to get better than the 260 miles I recorded, which felt like a crushing disappointment at the time but probably all I had in me on the day. That I failed to record a faster late season '50' (not for want of trying) than the 1:50:38 I recorded just two days after the Masters Points and that my '10' & '25' were still those that I'd done by mid April says all you need to know about my season. I did not win an open event or record a personnel best for the first time since my comeback, I've had twice as many rest days (Av. two per week) but in the end the weight of expectation just got the better of me, I let my result become the focus of my ride, I looked too often at my split times and was disappointed by what I saw and that fed into my perception that I was 'on a bad ride' and if you tell yourself its bad then your legs feel the pain, and if you feel the pain then you don't enjoy it, it's always going to hurt but you need to tell yourself that the pain is worth it, the pain is necessary but like all belief its not rational to measure the physical reality against the perception of the goal, the mind had the ability to 'tune out' to stimulus (if you don't bring it to your attention - Some riders tape over their computers!) its an unlearned response all you have to do is to ignore the signs without being ignorant of the responses "Simples!"
What does that mean for me? Well I have to think a bit more about what I want to get out of my racing, sure fast times and good results are great but there is always alot to sacrifice to get there and I don't think I want another season like this one but you only learn by 'doing it' and learning..............such is life

Tally of events of the year - 45

3 x Hilly
2 x 2 Up
3 x Crits
3 x RR + 1 x Prologue
10 x 10
8 x 25
6 x 50
4 x 100
2 x 12
4 x Track
2 x Pursuit

Total 1888 miles

Balcombe.

Balcombe comes out as belching in my spell check option, which is quite appropriate as this was how we all felt after polishing off rather too much food at the tea room there today. Heavy overnight rain must have put some club members off as the carpark was only full enough for two groups. The A's where heading to Balcombe and the rest to Southwater. As it turned out the rain held off for most of the day, with us only having to cape up as we left the lunch stop for 15 minutes.

The Ups & Downs of Bike Racing, by Andy Hicks

At the final LVRC - MS Tina (Southern Area)series Andy was made to look a "right Charlie" by a couple of Horses. This is what happened.

This is the sorry tale of my last LVRC race of the season on the Ockley circuit finishing at Walliswood:



It was a beautiful morning and I was fired up and ready to go, having missed the bug that seems to be going round. This was the last of the MS Tina series, and if I had won the race I would have won the series. My closest rival, Barry Jones had already completed 7 races and was only 4 points ahead of me, while I had completed 6 races, out of 7 (best 7 count). The first 2 laps passed without much incident and were not very fast. We started to see some action on lap 3 out of 5 and I chased down several attempts to break away, and was about 50 yards away from the bunch with 2 other riders when it happened. We came round a corner and saw 2 horses riding 2-abreast in the road. We were obliged to brake hard, locked up our back wheels, but managed to stay on. After much swearing by one of my fellow escapees we managed to get past and carried on.



This was my downfall, as during the braking, skidding, swearing and getting past we also passed the Lead Car. This is not allowed, although it had not registered with me at the time. The three of us carried on, and then I dropped the other 2. The Lead Car had been quickly back in front and seeing this as my chance to win the race and the series, I decided to make a major effort to stay away. I had 1 and one half laps to go, but dug in and used the Lead Car as a kind of object to keep aiming for, although I never got closer than 50yards. When I finally got to the finish I was ecstatic and raised my arm in a victory salute. I then waited for the bunch and saw the sprint, won by Terry Devine, come in about one minute down.



As the riders came up to me, one of them congratulated me on a good ride but said I would be lucky not to be disqualified. I was shocked! The others came past and it soon became clear that I was not a popular guy. Ecstasy turned to despair!



At the Village Hall, the Lead Car, driven by the Race Organiser, apologised for not informing me that I should have dropped back, but said that I would be disqualified as I had passed the Lead Car. The other two riders who passed the Lead Car were not disqualified, (but were unplaced).



At the Prize Giving afterwards, the Event Organiser announced me as “the Race Winner who had a horsey problem and was disqualified”. I received a bottle of wine as a consolation prize.



It was a very upsetting experience, but having slept on it, I see that it was the right decision for the race. I do not know for how long the bunch was held up, but apparently the race had been stopped. I do feel upset that I was not informed while I slogged it out over the remaining lap and a half, with the Lead Car right in front of me. However, the driver is a friend, and “hey” it is only a bike race. Nevertheless, from being the ideal close to my season, it became about the worst.



C’est la vie! There is always next year!

Bec Hill Climb featuring SWRC championship

Today 4 members rode the Bec CC open hill climb event staged on White Lane "Titsey", near Westerham in Kent. The 2pm start meant I could get a few things done at home, before heading off with Judith to the event. 104 riders had entered, with some that had already ridden the Catford hill climb earlier in the day.
First up was Simon Howard in a time of 2 min 34 sec

Second was Dave Ellis in 3 min 26 sec

Third was Matt Berry who recorded 2 min 57 secs

Final rider was Alan who just managed to beat Simon with a time of 2 min 24 sec, and one second quicker than my 2009 time.

Best ride of the day must go to 15 year old Germain Burton who beat the lot, including current course record holder and Raleigh Pro Dan Fleeman. His time of 1 min 45 sec was the 3rd fastest of all time just a second behind Gary Dodd's time set in 1995 that was fastest for 12 years.

2010 champion Germain Burton Team de Ver

Cycle show

If you've got a few hours to spare this weekend, why not take yourself along to the Cycle show at Earls Court exhibition centre. Entry is £15 to look at all the latest bits of kit. I managed to find something to put on my Christmas wish list, so why not pop along and see what take your interest.

SWRC / Surrey League RR

Last Sunday 25 SWRC members met at Alfold Crossroads village hall to help run the annual Surrey League Road Races. In the morning there was a 3rd category race, which Jo Frend took part in, and he rode well to place 7th position. Luckily the previous nights down pour had subsided and we were all able to stand/sit at our marshalling point without getting too wet. The winner was Colin McDermott of the Festival Road Club who together with a couple of others had jumped off the front of the bunch earlier in the race to win by over a minute.




Jo Frend hitting the finish line






In the afternoon 2nd/3rd category the club was represented by Simon Howard who had started the season as a 4th cat but was now mixing it with the big boys.

Simon rode well and like Jo, finished in the bunch, managing to put in a sprint for the line that placed him a very creditable 10th. Again three riders had slipped off the front earlier in the race and Marcus Brueton of the Norwood Paragon CC came out as the winner.


Simon Howard as he crosses the finish line after a hard 75 miles. Well done to both riders and a big THANK YOU to all those who helped run the event.