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Plomesgate Cycling Club |
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June Club run
Did you enjoy it? Did the sun shine?
July Club runSunday 25th July, starting from Somerfields in Saxmundham at 10am.
August Fun DayIn past years we have had a barbecue and ride, this year with the help of Jim and Hazel Ingram we will be having a barbecue, bike ride and general day of fun at "The Ingrams" at 10 Hockett Crescent, Tunstall on 8th August.
There will be a bouncy castle for the kids and plenty of food and it’s free to club members and their families. Any one from other local clubs is more than welcome but at a cost of £2 each.
There is off road parking, no time limits - stay as long as you like - go home when you've had enough. If you fancy sitting on anything other than the floor bring along some form of chair/seat as these will be in short supply!
We suggest we assemble at Jim and Hazel's in Tunstall at about 10:00am, we will then have a short ride, suitable for the kids and non regular cyclists. As Tunstall is so close to the forest we could even include some off road stuff, then back to Tunstall for food, drink and a bounce!
NOTE! Please could everyone who is intending to go on this contact Jim and/or Hazel (01728 688103) by the end of July, so that they know how many people are turning up and so how much food and drink to get. You'll also need to let them know if you are vegetarian, on a special diet or just a picky eater :-)
Wow - Bonus Article!!
To read about Matt's century ride follow the link to Ride for Cancer 2004.
Open & GHS 10
The weather was fairly kind for this ‘10’, with two Plomesgate riders winning prizes. Bev was 2nd in 30.58, and Matt was 3rd in 23.21, despite an unexpected 12 hour night shift (and no sleep) beforehand. Thanks to all the officials and helpers, and to Trevor for the smooth running of this event.
Committee MeetingThe next committee meeting is on 29th July, after the club ‘10’.
Mountain MayhemPlomesgate CC entered a mixed team of 5 for this 24 hour mountain bike relay event, held at Eastnor Park near Malvern. The picture shows the team after the course recce, recovering from the hills in the sunshine.
Heavy rain on Friday night and until just after the 2pm start on Saturday ensured that the firm surface turned into a thick layer of treacherous mud. Mark was nominated to do the Le Mans start (1/2 mile run) and first lap, arriving back soaked, and with a brown Plomesgate shirt. The course gradually got muddier as the 400 teams and 90 solo riders slithered round the 10 mile lap. We all managed to get one lap in daylight, followed by ages cleaning the bikes to get the gears and brakes working again, and pedals ‘clippable’.
The night laps turned out rather longer than anticipated, due to portions of the course turning into a skating rink. Fortunately Trevor had plenty of battery power for his epic 3 hour walk, and lots of riders were completing the lap without lights. Watching the lines of lights snaking around the course, and the dawn over the Malvern Hills were highlights of the weekend.
Mark had a puncture on his night lap, but still managed a creditable time. Viv had two punctures on her second lap, and only one tube, so ran the last four miles of the course. As it was particularly muddy going, this was a reasonably quick option compared to the cycle. Hence Jon S had a lengthy wait for his second lap, and spent his time pulling clods of mud off Trev’s bike, trying not to get too nervous.
By mid-morning the course had started to dry out again and Mark was getting competitive. Mark did a fast lap, followed by John C, then Mark went out again. Both were enjoying the biking in much better conditions. Viv wanted to go out on a high after the previous puncture-ridden lap, and was cycling well until ‘two punctures and only one tube’ hit again. After a mile’s walk, someone assisted with a tube, then puncture number three. Fortunately someone else assisted, as the thought of running the final four miles again was not very appealing.
We finished with 14 laps in a time of 24:57:31, coming 51st out of about 150 mixed teams. There were a few ‘never agains’, but these seem to have worn off after a couple of nights of good sleep.
Becky did an excellent job encouraging us, making cups of tea, and soaking up the atmosphere ready for her debut at the event in 2006!! For further details see
http://www.singletrackworld.com/results/2004-ssmm/resultM.html
For other photos go to the off-road gallery page
Evening ‘10’s
17th June
With three riders under the 24 minutes mark, this was probably one of the most exciting Plomesgate evening events. Only the best time in the evening series so far, and best time for this course by a Plomesgate rider, allowed Matt to take the first spot. Visitor Philip Hetzel gave him a run for his money, but was relegated to second place by just a second. Both beat the time Dave James did a fortnight ago (23:24). Visitor John Gabriel was the third to join the 23-something club.
Mark, Tony and new member Ron improved their best time on course, Tony and Ron edging close to their veteran standard time.
Pete W, Stephen B, Valerio and John Vidler all recorded their fastest times of the season so far.
In the battle of the youngsters, Mattew managed to prevail on Harry. It’s good to see some (very) young faces around.
1st July
A well-timed race, as there was just time for everyone to finish, get back to the cars and read the results in the dry before the heavens opened!
Big Matt took his fifth win out of five starts and continues to improve - it can’t be too long before he has a 22 on this course to his name. As an (ex)rugby player, he was also keen to avenge the recent rugby result and managed to catch Andrew, a Kiwi recently arrived in Saxmundham, just before the finish. Andrew’s time was pretty impressive for his debut on the course – one to keep an eye on in the next few events? Phil Hetzel also pushed Matt close tonight - despite riding without tri-bars, he was only a couple of seconds slower than last time out. Becky and Trevor wheeled out the tandem for the first time this year and were only 30 seconds off their best time for the course.
Mark Howlett improved and is now just 20 seconds behind in the handicap comp, Steve B got into the 25s for the first time ever, Tony got his first “plus” in an evening event, while Steve J and Mark B both had exactly the same times as 6 weeks ago. In fact, Pete was the only club rider not to equal or set a new season’s best time – his jet-setting for work obviously taking its toll!
Next evening ‘10’ – 15th July at 7pm.
Matt just keeps cycling faster
1st June Godric Evening 10 series - 1st in 22m 54s PB
8th June Colchester Rovers Open 10 – 17th 22m 29s PB (windy night on the A120) Didn’t like this course, first time on a dual carriageway and didn’t enjoy it.
10th June Plomesgate Club 5 - 1st 11m 08secs PB
12th June Anglia Velo Open 10 - 7th 22m 18s PB (wet and windy on the A14) Was worried about this after Tues, but on a dull wet afternoon I really enjoyed my ride and beat some good riders
17th June Plomesgate Evening 10 series - 1st 23m 14s, promised Georgie, whose birthday(5) it was, I would win had to pull out all the stops to beat Phil Hetzel, really pleased with the time.
19th June Gt Yarmouth CC Open 10 - 3rd 22m 14s PB (wet and windy on the A143), got the best of the conditions and really flew,
An unexpected 12 hour night shift between races, so no sleep.
20th June Plomesgate Open 10 - 3rd 23m 21s tired but wanted to do well in our home event, on another day who knows?
22nd June Godric Evening 25 - 2nd 1h 01m 00s - my first 25 mile TT (wet and very windy) really enjoyed the distance though, hope to beat the hour on a better day.
27th June Ride for Cancer 2004 - 100 mile charity ride from Poole, Dorset/Wiltshire/ Hampshire for Cancer Research (report to follow)
Talent Team UpdateFor the first time for three years Becky missed the East District GHS "10" heat as she was in Manchester at a National Sprint Camp. The sprinters were put through their paces under the guidance of the National Junior Coach and Shane Sutton, National Senior Coach, but the highlight of the weekend by far was riding and doing gym work alongside Jason Queally and Chris Hoy!
Plomesgate Grass TrackDon’t forget this is on 14th August at St Mary’s school in Woodbridge. See the next newsletter for more details.
Plomesgate ‘5’10th June
Matt took another win, and knocked 22 seconds off Rob Cotton’s 2003 course record to boot.
Trevor, despite losing out to Matt and Sarra in a 3-up sprint for the line, was still quick enough to claim second place, ahead of Jim Ingram, who won the “battle of the fixers” ahead of Trevor C – a rower racing on dry land for a change.
It was very tight in the mid-field, with Trevor C, Jim H and Sarra separated by just 6 seconds, while Becky lowered her own youth’s and women’s course records by 11 seconds, despite her stated intention before the start to “not pedal until the turn” ! Last but not least, Bev’s 8th place equalled her best finish position of the year.
Dates For The Calendar
