We were blessed with yet another superb day weather wise. Warm sunshine greeted everyone as they met in Knodishall for the ride which took us north through Middleton and back via Minsmere and Eastbridge.

After the ride we all tucked into the excellent barbecue and beer and cider.

Well done to John and Dawn for another excellent day.

Viv and Mark have kindly volunteered to take an off road ride on September 24^th. The ride will start from Viv and Marks in Aldeburgh at 10.00 am. From there the ride will head for Walberswick where we will have lunch. The ride is about 57km of which 12km is on road.

If you don't have a mountain bike then Viv and Mark have two spare Kona MTBs, they are 18/19" frames but can fit most people between 5'4" and 6'. If you want to borrow one then ring in advance so Mark can fit some off road tyres.

Mark and Viv live at 185 Saxmundham Road, Aldeburgh, telephone number 01728 452143. It's the third on the right after the Golf Course when you
approach via the A1094.

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

9^th September Norwich and Region CA "10". Earsham
10^th September West Suffolk Wheelers Hilly "49".
10^th September - Glendene Road Race.
16^th September CC Breckland Tandem "10". Wymondham.
17^th September Anglo Polymer Road Race - Cambs.
23^rd Sept Re-Run of VC Norwich "10" postponed from May 27^th .
24^th September - Club Run.
30^th September - East Anglian CC "10" Homersfield.
1^st October - East Anglian CC "25" Earsham.
7^th October - Norwich ABC "10" Earsham.
8^th October - Norwich ABC "25" Earsham.
22^nd October - East Anglian CC Hillclimb (See separate article)
5^th November - Essex & Suffolk BC Hillclimb. Semer, Hadleigh.

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

This years competition looked like it could be a close match with our own Evert and Jim hitting good form and hoping to give Ipswich Tri Clubs' Gabriel and Peck a run for their money. The result sheet looked interesting with John Gabriel winning in 23.24 from Steve Peck in 23.27 but the next five places were filled with Plomesgate riders. Evert was 3^rd in 23.48 just pipping Jim in 23.50 then Trevor in 24.10. Unfortunately this was not enough to topple the Ipswich Tri Club who retained the trophy with 31points from Plomesgate in 39 points and Wolsey in 92 points.

Other notable performances on the night were Richard Tateson's 25.44, Robert Robinson's 26.35, and Becky Figgitts 35.05. All improvements which almost went unnoticed.

If Jim wanted the fastest of the year trophy this was his last chance to topple Evert. His valiant effort was not enough as Evert got the better in 23.52 to Jim's 24.08. They were well clear of the rest of the filed which was led by Steve Jones in 25.40. Newcomer Gary Holden achieved his target for his first time trial by beating 20mph with 29.40.

Well done to all the riders and a big thank you to everyone who either pushed off did time keeping or just generally supported the events. A great team effort by all.

The East Anglian CC are promoting a hill climb on what is described as "the steepest hill in Norfolk". The hill climb is up Gas Hill which is off Riverside Road in Norwich an kicks off at 11.00am on 22^nd October. It is open to anyone with a bike. Entry Fee is £1 on the line, 50p if you under 18 (but over 12). Free Ice Cream for all finishers.

Alternatively why not get yourself or a team sponsored proceeds to go to Norfolk & Norwich Association for the Blind or Bryan Gunn's Leukemia Appeal.

Sponsorship forms from Tony Clarke, 139 Churchill Road, Norwich. NR3 4PZ. Tel: 01603 407395.

Plomesgate fielded a team of three for this Saturday afternoon event on the popular Earsham course. Mark and Viv Broughton were trying out a faster course for the first time after many rides on our own sporting course and neither were disappointed returning pbs. Mark finished in 24.43, Viv in 27.38 both around 2 minutes quicker than in our evening TTs. Fastest of the three was Rob in 24.17.

Due to a possible clash with a Radio 1 road show a last minute change moved this race on to a 10km circuit at Ringshall. Four Plomesgate riders started the road race after some delays caused by a crash in the first event. The course was on a tight and narrow winding circuit with one climb at the end of each lap. Our start performer was once again Evert who was unfortunate not to place higher than 7^th in the final sprint. The first BCF points to be gained by a Plomesgate rider. Well done also to Steve, Jim and Mark in a demanding race.

Plomesgate CC had two representatives in the under 16s grass track on the Saturday afternoon. Becky Figgitt rode in the Juvenile Omnium for riders on fixed wheel while her brother Harry (8) rode the event for riders on free wheel, a new concept and event. Although Becky was up against it being the only girl and riding against boys up to 4 years her senior, she didn't give up and did not finish last. As a bonus she got her picture in the East Anglian Times. Meanwhile Harry won a fiver for an excellent fifth in his omnium. (An omnium is a selection of events (sprints, bunch, devil, TT) and results are calculated on points across the events).

On the Monday Becky retained her run of wins in the girls section of the duathlon and finished fourth overall in the under13s section.

In the afternoon it was Trevor's turn to ride grass track. It was not the best day for a complete novice with occasional showers making the surface slippy. Trevor rode the 800m handicap sprint, 500m scratch and devil before deciding to quit whilst still in one piece but has not been put off.

Steve had an early start for this 100 mile event which was moved from its traditional course to the sporting circuit used for the National Championship at Fakenham. The course and stifling conditions got the better of Steve who still did well to finish in 5.04 for 16^th place.

CC Breckland "10" Wymondham.

Rob Cotton was our sole representative on Bank Holiday Monday morning. The course was changed and Rob made the most of the good conditions to return an excellent 23.36.

Some dates for the future for your diary:-

October 16^th - 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 27^th - Sale of Cycle Equipment at Tower Street, Ipswich, entrance 50p on the door.