Rim Wear - WARNING!

A word of warning as we get to the end of the winter, Rim wear has been coming up a bit in the radar of the cycling community and those who have not been involved in Cycling over many years may not be aware that it is an issue. I myself have not had a rim fail until recently and I have rims that are over 20 years old, the rim that failed was only 3-4 years old and an expensive Mavic so its not a quality issue but will happen whatever the cost or make. The type of riding, descending hills, break blocks and conditions all contribute to the wear of a rim and even though some modern rims have wear indicators the wall thickness is crucial so a visual check from time to time and maybe even measuring might be useful if you are in any doubt. Tyres are kept pumped up at +100psi all the time these days and putting racing pressure +120psi is not uncommon and this is when a rim is likely to split but unlike mine that failed on the rollers its always going to bring you to a halt. A word of warning we use (or should) use the front break much more than the back and its a front wheel failier that spells disaster if it happens on a decent or at high speed. Look for the tell tale sign of a concave breaking surface or the bulge or braking away of the rim side wall, these things can be felt more acutely with (bare) fingers and another reason to keep your bike clean and dirt free, pick stray bits out of brake blocks at the same time.

Harri Peccinotti

 Here's a series of pictures I have been looking for and that resource called the internet finally came good, I'd seen it in a magazine 20 or 30 years ago. I think it's from a series done for Nova or Vogue but using a SWRC jersey. It's from around 1971 and I don't know how the jersey came to be used in the photo shoot but I do know that several members of the club at that time were involved in the advertising/photography industry

Harri Peccinotti is a photographer and graphic designer. Born in London in 1935, he started his career as a commercial artist designing record covers and working in advertising before gaining international recognition as the founding art director of British women's magazine Nova in the 1960s. His work as art director in Nova is widely considered as influential for its graphic design as well as photography.

As art director, his distinct graphic design work was also deployed for other magazines such as Flair, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stones and Vogue both before and after Nova. In addition, he designed French newspaper Le Matin de Paris. From the mid 60s he focused more and more on photography and developed a graphic, yet very sensual style, which featured on the pages of fashion magazines as well as in the 1968 and 1969 editions of the renowned Pirelli calendar. A good example of his style during the 1970s are his book covers for Penguin, including a series of Iris Murdoch novels which features unusually cropped, striking pictures of women models with make up in vivid colours.

Holland Visit 1950

Having just got back from The Netherlands I found this piece written by Ex President Ted Shead in the Club Newsletter from 1949-50. There was still rationing in The UK and the Second war only briefly over and financial insecurity across Europe 

An interesting read if only to compare flying to and from the continent, being the recent recipient of a biological passport and with only hand luggage I was able to pass through Luton and Schiphol without 'checking in' or 'customs' all that remains is to overhaul the security where even though we were subjected to a 360 degree x ray we had to remove belts, shoes, and still be frisked.
All the SWRC Newsletters are available on the club website and reading them provides an insight into the history and lives of club members, not only their cycling although the final comment is somewhat critical.

Spring Onion Sportive aka Spring Swim

Having rained all night, I arrived in a car park at 0730 and it wasn't raining, result!  Whilst unloading my bike the rain began again.  This was going to be a nasty ride.  There were four of us riding the event, and we road the 3.4 miles to the start at the Oxshott Club, grabbed our numbers and were ready to go along with all the other riders who filled the forecourt and spilled out onto the road.

Left to right:  Jim, Andy, myself, Steve

About 0820 we were off into the headwind, and straight away I suggested we started moving through the field.  We had a good run to Effingham, but we soon found the damage of that much rain and rode through several floods, as expected punctures were everywhere but we kept a good pace.  Our little group broke up through the first set of climbs and I managed to gap my fellow riders over Whitedown and Leith.  It was then into the flatter sections for the run down to bedham Hill.  Bedham was removed from the route this year due to conditions on the descent, so a quick right turn and we were heading towards Kirdford.

For me the ride was a lonely one, having failed to connect with riders of a similar pace on the return route through Dunsfold and onto Bramley.  Coombe awaited and I had finally found a rider of a similar pace (well he was stronger).  I had to let him go up Coombe, thinking a home advantage on the descent to Chalk Lane would get me back in touch.  This was indeed the case, unfortunately pulling within 3 bike lengths of him, I could feel my front tyre was soft.  I carried on long enough to feel the bounce of the rim on the road, and then it was a change as quick as possible.  Not an easy task with freezing cold hands, and to top it off I couldn't get my usual pressure into the tyre and I had to put it back in with only about 50 psi.  The last 10 miles were going to make my legs burn, but I still pushed on and I managed to re-overtake a number of the riders that had passed me whilst I was changing the inner tube.  The final section from Cobham to Oxshott made my legs give up as we rode through what we called 'the posh' section of the ride.

Warming up, but where is Wally?

Hot Tea and Coffee and sandwiches greeted us in the Club (spot the wheel suckers and a solo effort riders above :-) ).  We were, however, a man down.  We were still a man down when we left the club to go and get changed back at the cars.  A quick check with the time keeper confirmed his number was still outstanding.  We were just finishing loading the cars, when in rode Andy, posting a DNF because he followed the signs of another sportive that was also in the area.  We were relieved to see him as he wasn't injured and, of course, we'll never let him forget it.

Results:
Richard 3h 40m 15s - 11th - Gold standard
Jim 3h 48m 29s - 27th (including stop at the level crossing with 1 mile to go) - Gold standard
Steve 3h 57m 09s - 45th - Gold standard
Andy - DNF - but did a whole bunch more miles!

RCUK top six overseas sportives

Fancy riding a European Sportive. Here is some to consider. ARTICLE HERE

How to destroy a carbon frame

The plastic Crud RoadRacer clip-on mudguard on my bike has wrecked my bike frame.
The rear mudguard has been steadily rubbing against the seat tube - and has actually cut a hold in the back of the seat-tube - irrevocably weakening one the major load-bearing parts of the bike.
You can just see the problem in the attached poor photograph.
So  - if you've got a carbon frame, make sure that any mudguards you've attached don't rub on the frame.  A potentially fatal - and certainly an expensive mistake on an 18 month old frame.

Yes please

More money is to be spent on cycling in London. This time a mere £1,000,000,000

Greetings from Mallorca

Here is today's photo, sent from Sabin while riding in Mallorca. Another OTHG and looking good.