WELLAND VALLEY CYCLING CLUB NEWSLETTER
MAY 2010
New members
We welcome Joe Norledge, Edward Martin, Graham Healey, Jon Houghton, Jacki, Andrew, Angus and James Cox, Joshua Morris, Catherine and David Robertson, Andy Twigg, Andrew Waller, Shayne Wright, Evelyn Clawson, Michelle Wilkinson and welcome back Rex Wilkinson and Angela Page.
Thank you from me
I sent out the e mail asking for contributions to this newsletter more in hope than expectation but was delighted with the responses. Four members – Matt Clasper, Mick Scrimshaw, Martyn Brown and Dean Barnett have sent in copy this time and it’s all included. If you intended to write something but didn’t quite get round to it, there’s always the August and November newsletters, and that’s just in 2010.
Club President
Most members will be aware that the club president John Vincent died in October last year. As a new president can’t be elected until the 2010 annual general meeting, the club committee spent time discussing the kind of president they thought would be best for the club. The following is a summary of the committee’s deliberations:
Members felt that it was important that our next president should be a ‘hands on’ president, and should attend committee meetings. It was felt that these qualities were unlikely be sustained by a president who was in place for life. It was therefore felt that the president should be in position for a 5 year term. Such a change would require a change in the club constitution and the committee would propose this rule change at the 2010 annual general meeting.
Meanwhile the committee’s thoughts on the role of president should be outlined in the next newsletter. Club members would be invited to suggest likely candidates for the position.
So here is your opportunity to give your views on the role of club president and to suggest which club member you might like to see in that position. You might wonder why I wrote ‘which club member’ – it was simply because, mindful of the the way the chancellor of one of the Scottish Universities, I think it’s St Andrews, is chosen, someone might suggest Bugs Bunny or Katie Price or their like. Please e mail your thoughts to me or to Paul Bramford but not to the chairman – reading e mails brings him up in bumps.
Performance
I’ve been quite staggered by the way this season has started out. Whereas I usually start and finish by banging on about individual successes, and there’s some of that to follow, most striking has been the level of participation in club events and beyond.
Fifty or sixty riders turning out for Tuesday time trials on April evenings so cold and horrible that I wouldn’t let a dog out is quite unprecedented That clearly indicates that riders weren’t put off, but seem to have been encouraged by the March mountain time trials – so well done Bill Barrie!
The huge new interest in road racing has been equally amazing. Fourteen club members, most of whom were road racing novices, rode the NCRA Spring Handicaps series, and with great success. We dominated the team competition and produced the winner in two of the races, not to mention several top ten places. Most of those riders, and more, are entered for the NCRA Summer Series and for the AA Brown race on May 30th. If you’ve not entered either of these but would like to, contact me for the NCRA series and Dean Barnett for the AA Brown race. By the time you receive this newsletter it will be after the official deadline date for entries but we can both take entries if there are spaces, which is likely for both.
I’d like to see lots of those riders, both in time trials and road racing, progress to the next stage, which is to enter open races, not just ones promoted by our club or with club connections (i.e. me and the NCRA), but beyond. Look on the BC and CTT websites – there’s lots going on. I notice that lots of the road racers, despite youthful appearance (mainly), are the wrong side of 40. It’s worth considering joining LVRC (League of Veteran Racing Cyclists) which provides less costly racing than BC and it’s pretty civilised, though I did see handbags raised after a hotly contested sprint in an Over 60s race recently.
Lots of members are riding sportives – I hear of more every week. I thought we did well to have 3 riders in the Cheshire Cat event a few weeks back but later found that there were another three that I didn’t know about and probably several more that I still haven’t heard about. Local sportives, including the recent Rutland/Leicestershire event, have attracted legions of club members.
And now to the individuals:-
By the criteria that I usually use he wouldn’t usually make this section but my ‘man of the season so far’ is unquestionably Ray Taylor. He’s gained 11th place in an NCRA road race, very good, but nothing special by this year’s standards but he’s done so much more. The surge in road racing is down very much to Ray as motivator. Since the start of the year he’s been getting a team together, and it really has been a team. I’ve seen the enormous enthusiasm and team spirit at all the NCRA Spring races and the team’s success has bred even more enthusiasm. Tom Sexton and Martyn Brown have won races. Vic Barnett, John Taylor, Mitch James, Phil Rayner, Alex Fry and Nick Horder have also had top ten finishes. Between races there have been motivational e mails, sometimes with verse. There have been Sunday afternoon training sessions and since mid April the Thursday chaingangs with enough riders to cause gridlock in Cranoe. Ray has been the prime mover of all of this. Dean Barnett and Phil Rayner have also made great contributions to this ‘road race revolution’, Dean through his Wednesday evening road skills sessions and Phil for going along on the earlier training rides and offering advice and showing example to novice riders.
Phil has also been regularly winning age group races in LVRC events – not an easy thing to do when you’re a marked man, which, as national champion, he is.
In time trialling Tom Sexton has made a tremendous start with great success in club events and a recent second place in the N&DCA Ten at Middleton. Ian Waterfield has prepared more thoroughly than ever before for this season and his performances reflect this, though looking at results so far, it appears that, like me, he’s not really a Tuesday evening man. Ian’s improvement has intensified the rivalry between himself and Matt Plews, who certainly is a Tuesday evening man. Matt has made a fine start to the season.
Linda Hubbard goes from strength to strength and is beating people this year that she’s certainly never beaten before.
Rob Jacks, new to cycling, though no novice to gut wrenching competitive sport (squash), shows great promise.
If I’ve not mentioned you and you think you deserve a mention, I apologise, but there have just been so many fine performances this year. In the interest of balance, I’ve got to stop my ‘praise section’ somewhere, and it’s here.
Repairs to carbon fibre wheels
I was talking with Paul and Chantelle Rothe after yesterday’s time trial and they happened to mention that Chantelle had recently cracked the deep section carbon fibre rim on the wheel she was using and had had it repaired. They were very impressed by the quality of the repair, the cost and the service they received from the repairer. I asked Paul to send me details – here they are:
It was a crack caused by hitting a pot hole (hard enough to puncture a 320Tpi tub) and they charged their minimum charge of £30 plus postage (both ways).
Really good service and they just fix it and send an Invoice, so very trusting as well. Apparently they have never fixed a wheel that has cost more than £100 to fix and it usually ranges between £30 and £80 for a major rebuild. It was returned mended in just over a week.
They also built Boardman’s Lotus bike. So I think they know a thing or too about carbon!
HQ Fibre Products
5 Norwich Road
Lingwood
Norwich
Norfolk
NR13 4BH
And now to our ‘guest contributors’:
From Matt Clasper
Since starting cycling 2 years ago and joining Welland Valley last year, I have found my times etc coming down each time I ride.
The well organised and run events that I have done with the club have been a huge contributing factor to this. My 8.5m TT times have tumbled each week at Clipston this year, my sportive Squires and Spires time has tumbled by 45 mins over 50 miles in the last 2 years and the in NCRA events (rnd 5 & 6) I got closer each time to the bunch (even thought the handicapper knobbled me!!)– my 10m TT times improved last year each week also!!!!!!
My increasing enjoyment in cycling has been hugely aided by joining WVCC and I hope to keep getting faster. Speed and enjoyment have a definite correlation. The higher the first goes, the more of the second you receive.
From Mick Scrimshaw
Two Sportives in Two Weeks
For two consecutive Sundays I have found myself wishing I’d done more training and was a lot fitter, whilst pounding out the miles at two different Sportives. The first was the 90 mile White Horse Challenge in Wiltshire which takes in some lovely views while winding its way up and down the hills surrounding Swindon and passing four giant chalk horses carved into the hillsides. As the start/finish is only 10 miles from my in-laws this is actually quite convenienent for me and this is the third time I’ve ridden the course. Having said that people travel from all over Britain and I could recommend the ride to anyone, except that last climb up Uffingham Hill which is murder. Although I was travelling VERY slowly, I’m proud to say I wasn’t one of the ones who pushed their bike (although I did stop for a breather – but don’t tell anyone). I beat my six hour target by a whole five minutes which made the drive home tolerable.
The following week found me at Naseby for the third edition of the Squires and Spires, which even though shorter (cut down to 73 miles this year,) and certainly not as hilly, was still a challenge and made me think that I’d bitten off more than I could chew doing two in a row. I saw several other WVCC shirts about, although they were usually flying past me as I tried desperately to hang on in whichever group I found myself at the time. The worst part for me was a puncture half way round (can’t go back, can’t go forward) and finding that my two spare tubes in my saddle bag were from my wife’s mountain bike. I struggled on for a while hoping I was wrong, but it soon became clear I even to my non-technical background, they were the wrong size. Luckily someone stopped and gave me a spare (don’t you just love cyclists!) and I carried on. Towards the end of the ride (the tough bit) I met a twitter friend from Diss whom I have never met before. We spoke briefly for less than 140 characters before he left me at the base of the final climb. I eventually finished with 4 hours 32 on my computer, which didn’t allow for my puncture time. I had also missed out the two feed stations, not so much to make up time, but I had learnt the week before that when I stop I lose my rhythm and it makes the pain a lot worse.
My next ride is Flat out in the Fens at the end of June and I’m hoping not having another sportive the week before and the fact there are NO HILLS, might help.
From Dean Barnett
Wednesday night Skills.
For eight years I have been delivering a floodlit off-road session on a Tuesday night during the winter.
The demand for more structured activities has led me to start delivering a Wednesday night road session based on The Compass Point Business Park, Northampton Road, 7 pm till 8pm.
The 60 minute session is short and sharp with riders exploding out of corners or trying not to get lapped by some of the younger riders.
The club is now providing a club rider with a superb package of mid week activities to support your racing and training needs.
Tuesday – Club TT
Wednesday – Circuit Skills
Thursday – Chain Gang
Friday – Social MTB ride
Feel free to join in.
Dean
A A Brown Engineering Road Race.
A A Brown Engineering Ltd has been associated with the club for many decades –previous winners of their sponsored races have gone onto become Cycling superstars. Our thanks go to AA Brown Engineering for the renewal of their sponsorship.
To support the increase in road racers I am promoting an event for riders new to the sport of bunch racing who are 4th Category riders and 3rd Category riders.
The road race will take place on Sunday 30th May, starting from Tur Langton at 10.00am.
The 60km event will see the riders contest 13 laps of a testing circuit.
To add extra spice to the event, the first Welland Valley competitor will win the A A Brown Trophy. This will be presented at our Annual Prize Presentation in January
17 Club members will challenge for this honour as they form part of a 60 rider field.
From Martyn Brown
Dave Thompson and I have entered the Tour of Wessex Sportive, May 29th, 30th and 31st. The event involves riding 330 miles over 3 days over some pretty challenging terrain. We hope to raise some sponsorship in order to support Medical research into Leukaemia and Lymphoma. A very good friend of mine, Paul Bennett unfortunately died at the age of 59 from Myeloid Leukaemia in February 2009 and I am taking part in this challenge in memory of him. The Tour of Wessex takes in the roads of Somerset, the Dorset coast and on the final day we’ll be subjected to the hills of Exmoor! If you feel able to support us in this challenge then I invite you to either pass a donation to me directly and I will make sure it reaches the correct fund. Alternatively you can donate through the following website link: www.justgiving.com/Jon-Bennett
If when you make a donation through the website then I would be grateful if you could comment that your donation is in support of the “Martyn Brown - Tour of Wessex Sportive cycle challenge”. This will then enable me to account for donations made in relation to the ride.
Thank you.
Martyn
For sale
Dolan Aluminium Track frame and forks in black, little used, 54cm. Good clean condition, never dropped. Offers around £200
Contact Trevor Wise, 01572-822709
Dave Birch 17.05.10