PLOMESGATE CYCLING CLUB

August 2000

July Club Run

Evert Wijnberg had planned a full day which started with coffee and cakes at his home in Hacheston. Robert had cycled over from Aldeburgh which included a diversion through Easton. Eight of us then set off on a circular route taking in Glemham, Blaxhall and Campsey. The pace was a little hotter than planned with Becky Figgitt making most of it whilst Trevor struggled off the back with Harry in tow.


Back at Campsey and it was time for The Figgitts to turn off. The remaining five set off for lunch. The journey took them south east to Bawdsey where they crossed the river by ferry before stopping for lunch at Felixstowe Ferry. The afternoon saw them return to Evert's where a perfect day was rounded off with coffee, cakes and live Tour De France action on Eurosport.


Well Done and thanks to Evert for an excellent and well organised ride.


August Club Run - Family/Fun Ride and Barbecue

This event will be on Sunday August 20th. The plan is to start the ride earlier than last so we can get the barbecues fired up a bit earlier. Therefore we will meet at 09.30 at John and Dawns in Knodishall. There will be a short leisurely ride for a couple of hours after which we will retire back to John and Dawn’s garden for the barbecue.


John and Dawn live at 2 The Laurels, School Road, Knodishall. Tel:01728 832404.

There is limited car parking in the street, but cars can be parked just over School Road on the common, which is on the left if you approach from the Butcher's Arms.

September Club Run

Viv and Mark have kindly volunteered to take an off road ride. The provisional date for this will be September 24th.  More details to follow.

Dates For The Calendar

Here are a few forthcoming events at which there may be a Plomesgate CC presence :-

5th August Godric CC "10" – Earsham
6th August Godric CC "25" Earsham.
10th August Our annual "Mob Match" against Ipswich Tri Club and Wolsey RC. Incorporated in our evening TT
13th August Mid Suffolk RR Capel St Mary.
20th August - Club Run, see above.
24th August Last evening "10".
26th - 28th August Mildenhall Rally.


Entry details for all above events can be found in either RTTC or BCF Handbooks.

Plomesgate Open 25 mile

The weather for July had not promised much and as the day dawned it didn't look too bad. It soon changed. The riders were subjected to gusty winds and driving torrential rain.


The event was a counting event for both local SPOCO competitions and also the RTTC District TT series, and it attracted a big and strong field with riders entering from far afield.


Our club starts of the day were Richard Tateson and Viv Broughton both appearing in their first attempts at the distance. Richard soon got into his stride catching his minute man and continued relentlessly to finish in 1.9.26. Meanwhile Viv fought through the weather to finish in 1.22.06.


The only other hiccup in the event was when Kirsty McLaughlin had an unfortunate accident in Eyke. Evert came to the rescue and Kirsty was soon whisked off to hospital where the prognosis was not as serious as first thought. Kirsty wishes to thank everyone in the club who helped her and is well on the way to recovery.


The event was won by Glenn Taylor in 56.58 and that was after riding the last few miles with a puncture. He beat Martin Pyne and visitor Tim Bayley.

Hopefully a few riders have gone away with a different perspective of Suffolks "flat" courses.


Along with some excellent coverage in Cycling Weekly a job well done by John Chalker has definitely put Plomesgate CC in the limelight.

Racing Results

Stowmarket & District "10"

Hilary, John, Trevor and Rob Cotton braved a cold, drizzly and very early start for this event at Bramford.


Fastest of the club was Trevor in 23.00, John did 23.30, Rob 24.17 and Hilary 25.33.


Redgrave Road Race

After marshalling and helping out in the open "25" in the morning, Evert, Steve and Trevor rushed away to ride the road race through Redgrave village.


The bad squally weather continued well into the event and many riders suffered punctures. After the race settled down Evert and Trevor took it in turns to go with each attempt to break, eventually Evert made the right move as a six man break slowly parted company with the main bunch. With Trevor refusing to work the gap gradually opened up and with Evert looking strong everything was pointing to a Plomesgate success, but bad luck struck and Evert was cruelly sidelined with a puncture. This left five in the break who by this time were some 30 secs in front of the bunch which by now only consisted of seven riders, one of which was Trevor, who now with one and half laps to go started to work hard to pull back the leaders, but it was too late. The 5 man break stayed away although Trevor's group closed to about 15seconds. Steve finished in a small group only a couple of minutes down for about 15th place.


Godric CC "50"

Another cold and drizzly morning, would July ever improve. Plomesgate fielded four riders fastest through the halfway mark was Trevor in 1.3.00, but he only lasted another 10 miles before climbing off. Jim ploughed on for an excellent pb with 2.9.24, next also with a pb was Steve with 2.12.06 and John finished in 2.14. Winner was Bobby De'ath in 1.54.54.


Polaris Challenge

Viv and Mark Broughton travelled to Guisborough, North Yorkshire for this gruelling 2 day mountain bike event on the moors. Lying 10th mixed pair overnight their vast experience showed as they paced themselves well to finish 6th mixed pair after the second day out of 102 pairs.!


Wolsey RC "25"

The morning dawned clear and bright and looked very promising with a slight rising westerly wind to hopefully aid the riders on the longer return leg. It didn't work out quite so good though with many riders finishing nearly 3 minutes off their best. Trevor finished in 1.00.08, John - 1.4.17, Rob 1.4.51 and Hilary in 1.5.57which gave him a veterans plus of over 10 minutes !

The winner was Andrew Horner in 53.00 beating Martin Pyne by exactly 1 minute.


Evening TTs

July 13th

We were blessed with a break in the unseasonal wet weather of late but it still wasn't very warm which wasn't helped by a very strong head wind on the outward leg.


Pete and Sarra flew around on the tandem again in 23.07. Evert improved his lead further in both the fastest of the year competition and the Vets competition with an excellent 24.10. What will he do on a good night ? The tussle between Jim and John continued with Jim getting the better again.


Becky Figgitt (12) chose a tough old night to attempt her first ten mile TT and finished in a very respectable time of 35.24.


July 27th

The best turn out so far saw 18 riders sign on and it turned out to be a good night. Fastest solo was Evert with a slight improvement to 24.08 but he was pushed a little closer this time by Jim in 24.21. Mark improved to 26.03 and Viv also improved to a fantastic 28.57. Other excellent rides on the night were from Richard Tateson - 26.20, novice Chris Coe - 26.12.


Mob / Challenge 10 mile Match

As last year we have taken on the challenge in one of our evening 10 mile TTs. A trophy is up for grabs for the best team from Plomesgate CC, Ipswich Tri Club and Wolsey RC. The competition will be decided on same rules as last year, if anyone can remember them - first four + first lady to score on positions (if a lady finishes in first four then next man counts). Points awarded as 1 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd and so on. The team of 4 + lady with the lowest score wins. Ipswich Tri Club won last year with 30 points, we were second with 33 points, Wolsey 3rd with 41 points. So it should be a good match again.


Forthcoming Wolsey RC Events

Some dates for the future for your diary:-


October 16th - Turbo Training Coaching / Instruction evening by John Tovell with assistance from John Gabriel at Tower Street, Ipswich at 7.30pm. Refreshments available entrance 50p on the door.


November 27th - Sale of Cycle Equipment at Tower Street, Ipswich, entrance 50p on the door.